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Marc shoots for the stars

Thanks to the life-saving care he received at Children’s Memorial, Marc (shown here with brother William) is now a college student who enjoys playing basketball and traveling with his family.

To look at Marc now, you would never know that not so long ago he became so ill; he faced the prospect of a heart transplant. What Marc’s parents, Jil and Jean-Pierre, first suspected was a stomach flu turned out to be a deadly virus that attacked Marc’s heart. When his condition worsened, the high school senior was rushed to his local hospital, and then transferred to Children’s Memorial Hospital. For the next several weeks, multiple teams of caregivers, among the most experienced in the world, worked around the clock to save Marc’s life.

When a child has a life-threatening illness like Marc’s, it has a profound effect on the entire family. “The rest of the world keeps going,” recalls Jil. “But your life comes to a screeching halt.” During Marc’s hospitalization, the family put their lives on hold and “camped out” in the waiting room of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. While Marc was surrounded by those who could save his life, his family was also cared for at the hospital. Jil recalls how the nurses, social workers and pastoral care staff reached out to the family to answer questions, lend an ear or offer a shoulder to cry on. “The entire support staff is there for the parents as much as for the patients,” recalls Jil. “I turned to them many times for my own well-being.”

After several weeks on life support and treatment, Marc’s heart and lungs began to recover and he was no longer in need of a heart transplant. Surgeons implanted a pacemaker/defibrillator to regulate his heart rhythms and he eventually returned to school in time to graduate. Today, under the care of a cardiologist, he is enjoying a successful college career, playing basketball and traveling with his family. “Considering how severely ill Marc was and how incredibly healthy he has become, it’s really a miracle,” says Jil. “That has everything to do with the care he received at Children’s Memorial. It’s an amazing hospital.”