Émylou is 11 years old and was sponsored by Tremblant’s 24h in 2016. She was diagnosed in July 2015 with synovial sarcoma and had her right leg amputated.

We asked her mother, Karine Lapointe, for an update on the family.

How is she?

“Émylou is doing very well. She goes to school and still does physiotherapy to help her walk better with the prosthetic leg. She plays sledge hockey once a week and loves it. She’s growing quickly; we have to change her prosthesis often!”

Émylou is in remission, but is still being followed by doctors at CHU Sainte-Justine.

Back on the slopes for 2018!

“Her doctor has talked to her about skiing with a prosthesis, and she’s excited about that and hopes to start next winter. She’ll soon be fitted with a prosthesis with a hydraulic knee, which will further facilitate her mobility and make it easier to go up stairs.”

 

Before anything, take care of yourself

Émylou’s disease was difficult and stressful for the whole family. Karine’s wish is that all 24h participants stay well physically, mentally and emotionally. “Take care of yourselves. We are slowly recovering from our ordeal and looking ahead to the future. We want to go to France this summer to see relatives. Travel is something we had to put on the back burner for a time. Today, I do yoga to relax and my husband is into boxing.”

An on-going adventure for all the family

Their participation in Tremblant’s 24h didn’t end in 2016. Karine created a team of 12 participants for the 2017 edition; they raised more than $11,000.

“We loved our experience as a family. We felt that we had good support all around us. It wasn’t a big leap for us to sign up as participants the following year. We see the concrete results of everyone’s efforts.”

 

 

In the summer of 2015, when Émylou was eight, her parents noticed that she often limped while walking. After seeing their family physician, their lives were upended: Émylou was diagnosed with synovial cancer, which attacks soft tissues. It had started in the muscles behind the right knee. The verdict came as a shock for the family. After a few chemotherapy treatments proved unsuccessful, amputation was seen as the best option. It was a difficult decision, but necessary in order to remove the cancer and minimize the odds of recurrence. Émylou is still an active child in spite of everything, and undergoes physiotherapy one to two times each week.