Jean-Guy St-Aubin has been getting emotional seeing new wheelchairs roll into the Ullivik centre in Dorval, Que., during his monthly stays in the Montreal area for cancer treatment.
They were purchased and donated following St-Aubin’s experience at the temporary housing centre that’s intended to serve as a safe space for patients who fly in from Quebec’s far north for medical treatment.
In March, St-Aubin, who has lived in Kangiqsualujjuaq, Que., a community located 1,500 kilometres north of Montreal, for over 40 years, was wheeled to his room on a luggage cart.
His family looked on in shock at the time.
“I was tired, I was feeling bad,” said St-Aubin, who had just returned from radiation treatment.
“Three times in a row I gave my wheelchair to the security. Security says, ‘okay, [I’ll] keep it for you,” he said. “And three times in a row, no more chairs.”
Following the incident, which was first reported by Nunatsiaq News, his granddaughters Julia and Brenda St-Aubin filed a complaint with the facility’s commissioner and posted the photos on Facebook. What followed was an outpouring of support.
Among the people who were moved by the story was Samantha Poirier, who helped raise money to buy Jean-Guy a wheelchair. Julia St-Aubin said the kindness of that stranger inspired her family to do more.
“That’s when my sister and my brother decided to start a GoFundMe page. And our goal was to raise $4,000 for 10 wheelchairs,” said Julia.
In the end, they surpassed that goal, raising more than $7,000, which allowed them to buy six adult wheelchairs and three children’s wheelchairs.
But it didn’t end there.
The St-Aubin family then received a message from a Quebec wheelchair manufacturer, Motion Composites, whose vice-president had heard about the fundraiser. He was offering to donate 10 new, high-end wheelchairs worth about $30,000.
“He saw it and was touched,” said Julia. “I told my grandpa right away and he said he was emotional.”
“My sister and I did this whole initiative to support our grandfather. But my grandfather’s aim was to support everyone in his situation at Ullivik,” said Julia.
‘Hard for me not to be emotional’
Julia says that, in the long run, the new wheelchairs will be “much more comfortable” for patients, and families and staff will no longer have to deal with the frustration of limited access, considering how many people staying at the centre have difficulty walking.
In March, a Nunavik Regional Board of Health and Social Services spokesperson acknowledged St-Aubin’s situation in a statement to Nunatsiaq News and said Ullivik has eight wheelchairs available on a rotating schedule. Jean-Guy says thanks to the donations, at least 27 are now available.
“Can you imagine? That’s a lot … It was so human, so good,” said Jean-Guy St-Aubin.
“At the beginning, it was not a very funny situation. And then it turned out to be good … It’s hard for me not to be emotional.”
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