After five long years of waiting, including two years of chemotherapy, an 11-year-old girl was finally able to realize her childhood dream: a week-long trip to Walt Disney in Florida with her entire family.
Patience is a virtue that Zoé Coulombe, an 11-year-old girl from Quebec, acquired at a very early age. When she was just 5 years old, Zoe felt unusually tired and developed bruises in unusual places, such as her neck.
Her mother, Nathalie Laberge, quickly sought medical attention after being alerted to the change in her condition by the young girl's teacher. A week after the first consultation, Zoé received her diagnosis at CHUL: acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer that starts in blood stem cells.
“The doctor said it was the easiest leukemia to cure,” Zoé remembers. This is one of the rare pieces of information that she, who was only 5 years old at the time, retained in her memory.
She was immediately hospitalized for a month. He received “shock” chemotherapy, accompanied by blood transfusions and lumbar punctures.
“You don't notice it, I was almost angry at the doctor who told you the diagnosis. “You’re angry with him, but you know it’s not his fault,” the mother admits.
The beautiful Zoé fought her battle during her school years. Despite the absences, she successfully completed her school career without falling behind. And despite the tougher times, the little family put their lives on hold and followed a painful treatment plan over a two-year period.
We see Zoé accompanied by her little brother Olivier Coulombe, her mother Nathalie Laberge and her father Christian Coulombe. Photo Stevens LeBlanc
A long healing process
From 2018 to 2020, Zoé went to the hospital every Wednesday for her chemotherapy, called the Boston Protocol. It was necessary to ensure that the disease did not spread after the intensive month-long treatment.
In May 2020, doctors announced the end of treatments and informed the family that remission was going well. Back then, the pandemic changed life across the planet. Unfortunately, Zoé had to wait until the end to realize her dream of a trip to Florida to visit Disney World with Rêves d'Enfants.
“I was starting to get a little impatient. I couldn't wait for the phone to ring to let us know it was our turn. But I waited at least two years,” says Zoé.
Last October, Zoé was finally able to make her dream come true. Life is going well because October 29th was his birthday. But more importantly, it was also the time to make way for official healing.
“We really enjoyed it, it was the trip of a lifetime,” says the mother.
When you meet Zoé, it's hard to believe that life has thrown such a formidable obstacle in her way as leukemia. Today all those bad memories are a thing of the past.
Quote :
“We asked ourselves what we did to deserve this. You don't know and I checked but there was no reason. It’s a cell accident and that’s it” – Nathalie Laberge, mother of Zoé Coulombe
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