This is particularly good, because Simard shouldn’t be here. His doctor thought he would become another victim of COVID-19, but his family had other ideas.

Mom, I think I will die.

Before everything went dark, Simard remembered waking up and picking up the phone on a Tuesday afternoon in August.

“I called my mother and I said,’Mom, I think I’m going to die.’ I can’t breathe.”

Simard began to feel unwell last week, and on that Friday, he learned that he had tested positive for COVID-19. His condition deteriorated rapidly.

Lafrenière, 50, thinks it’s time to call 911.

She said: “This is not a joke, you can see him trying to breathe.”

They decided it was over, I’m not ready yet.-Céline Lafrenière

When the medical staff arrived, they gave Simard oxygen, but once they took off the mask, he would be out of breath again.

He recalled: “It’s like someone is holding your nose and mouth, and you can’t breathe.”

On August 25, Simard was taken to Hull Hospital, where he was taken to the COVID-19 ward. A few days later, he was transferred to the COVID-19 intensive care unit, where he was the only patient.

A week after her husband was admitted to the hospital, Lafrenière received a phone call from the doctor. The doctor told her, “Peter is not in good health.”

Simard was placed in a medically induced coma and placed on a ventilator. Lafrenière has seen these statistics.

She said: “I know it was really very, very bad.”

Time for miracles

Simard tested negative for COVID-19 on September 21, and his family was finally allowed to visit.

“For all of us, it was really frightening and frightening,” the 37-year-old Claire Simard, the oldest of Peter’s five children, recalled. “We are together, surrounded my father with our love and energy.”

But the patient can only be safely intubated for so long, so a few days later, the doctor had to perform a tracheotomy to keep Simard breathing on the ventilator. There was a complication, he suffered from a bacterial infection of both lungs.

Because of lung calcification and failure of other organs, Simard has a poor prognosis. The doctor called his three adult children to a meeting with Lafrenière on October 3 and told them that the medical team had no other options.

“[The doctor] Say, “Peter is dying. There is nothing we can do. He is dying.

But the family insisted that they would continue to work hard, and insisted that doctors continue dialysis to maintain organ function.

“I said,’It’s not me or you that decides. He will.’ I agree with that, at least? At least we will try everything.”

She said: “They have decided to end, and I am not ready for it.” “I said,’You read miracles every day, why can’t he become a miracle?'”

She said the doctor knew. Soon after the meeting, they started taking prednisone, a steroid commonly used to suppress the immune system and reduce inflammation in diseases such as asthma.

Lafrenière said: “That bought him time. It saved his life.”

CBC requested an interview with the medical team caring for Simard at Hull Hospital, but a spokesperson for the District Health Bureau rejected the request on the grounds of confidentiality of the patient.

Cowboy rides again

On November 2, Lafrenière conducted a 45-minute visit every day.

Although Simard is still in a coma, she still spends the first 15 minutes to learn about his family news, the next 15 minutes to read an inspiring book (Tony Robbins likes it), and the last 15 minutes to Inspiring speech for herself her husband. She doesn’t know if it passed, but she will continue to work hard.

That day, she walked into the room to say hello, hung up her coat, and turned around to see her husband’s eyes half opened.

This is the beginning of another long and painful journey for Simard and his family.

Simard is paralyzed by Guillain-Barré syndrome, he is conscious but unable to move or communicate.

His son made a letter chart for him, and in the next few weeks, Simard was able to let his family know that he was ready to make a comeback. Within six to seven weeks of waking up from a coma, he began to speak.

Simard’s miraculous recovery continued at the La RessourSe Rehabilitation Center in Gatineau, where he continued to impress the medical staff. Because of his hardworking attitude, he even earned the nickname “Cowboy”.

Simard said: “I exceeded their expectations of me because I want to go home.”

On May 13, he got his wish and returned home to be welcomed by the hero. His wife and children have been by his side for the past eight and a half months.

“I’m not ready to go”

The once energetic 59-year-old knew he still had a long way to go.

Before signing the COVID-19 contract, Simard played hockey and chopped down trees in a forest owned by his family in Pontiac, Quebec. He has been promoted to the general manager of Benson Truck and Trailer Specialist in Ottawa.

He said: “There is nothing I can’t do.” “Today, it is difficult for me to mention a cup of tea.”

He had to sit down to walk about 10 meters, but as he did in hospitals and rehabilitation centers, Simard showed improvement every day. His goal is to get rid of the ramp in front of the house within six weeks and replace the wheelchair with a walker.

Simard believed in his beliefs and his family, and had no malice towards doctors who thought he was going to die.

Simard said: “It’s not that… the doctor is wrong. The doctor doesn’t know.” “My kids are not ready to let me go, I’m not ready to go.”

Lafrenière’s advice to other families in similar situations is twofold: Don’t be afraid to question the advice of medical professionals, and never give up hope.

“Don’t let others tell you that things are over. You don’t give up on yourself, don’t give up [on a loved one] anyone. That is when they need you most. “