Several months into a fundraiser To treat her illness, a mother from Sainte-Julienne plans to give around a hundred gifts to children in her community by New Year's Day.
• Also read: The Quebec singer, who suffers from a rare disease, is undergoing an operation that will give him “a second life.”
“It allows me to stay busy, meet people, but it also makes me feel good about giving back to the people around me. “I feel useful,” Stéphanie Panneton admits with emotion.
Last August, Le Journal spoke to the 31-year-old woman as she began collecting doses to afford a hyperbaric chamber. This technology, which delivers maximum levels of oxygen, should help relieve symptoms caused by multiple sclerosis and trigeminal neuralgia, a condition that causes throbbing headaches and severe seizures.
Photo Marianne Langlois
Today, the single mother's health is still very fragile, but she still wants to use the holidays to bring joy to those around her.
“We made Christmas baskets for new parents, we have lots of toys, and we want to give away around a hundred gifts to families in need […] “It’s a way to thank people for their donations,” she adds.
Photo Marianne Langlois
Plush toys, clothing, balloons and all sorts of things are included in the gifts, some of which were already distributed to children in Sainte-Justine last week.
Donations are still needed
Although she gives back, Stéphanie Panneton continues to raise funds to help fund her treatments. However, she can no longer use the hyperbaric chamber she rented because she underwent emergency eye surgery at the beginning of December.
“I had a severe attack which is now radiating to my eye and I had to undergo a small reconstruction of the inside of my eye […] That’s why I can’t use the machine at the moment,” she complains.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY Stéphanie Panneton
The mother of little Luka, 5 years old, is trying every solution to improve his health, but so far nothing is working. The next step will be Botox infiltrations, which act on the nerves and relieve pain.
“It's difficult these days, I always hope that treatment will work […] “Despite everything, life is worth living,” she draws a positive conclusion.
Can you share information about this story?
Write to us or call us directly at 1 800-63SCOOP.