Vaudreuil comes together to help a young mother with terminal cancer

WATCH ABOVE: A young mother in Vaudreuil is fighting for her life after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Rachel Lau reports.

MONTREAL – When Maxime Chevrier and Marie-Elaine Huberdeau said “I do” two years ago, they really thought they had the rest of their lives to grow old together.

But last March, 30-year-old Huberdeau was diagnosed with an inoperable and aggressive brain tumour; a cancer that has been growing for years but only showed side effects a few months ago.

“There were no previous signs that she was sick and it happened like that,” Claude Roch, her step-father. “The type of cancer she’s got is terminal. So it was a shock for us.”

Within a few weeks of her diagnosis, she became paralyzed on her ride side.

Now, Huberdeau needs constant care.

“She can’t function anymore,” said Celine Pichette, her mother. “It takes a bed, railings, a shower.”

“It’s a completely new lifestyle, especially for her and for her husband and for us. Life has completely changed,” agreed Roch.

The family has been struggling, not just emotionally, but also financially.

Since she’s between the age of 18 and 55, made enough money as a CEGEP teacher, and has to take her chemotherapy orally, Chevrier’s private health insurance refused to cover the costs.

“He’s got to pay for a lot of the expenses that are not covered, either completely by the insurance, or not at all by the government,” said Roch.

It was only after a plea from Huberdeau’s doctors that the insurance company finally agreed to pay 65 per cent of the treatment’s cost.

The couple is still left with $3,000 to pay each month for medication alone.

Chevrier is now the primary caregiver to his wife and their two-year old daughter.

He’s been forced to scale back his work hours.

“The type of cancer that she’s got is terminal,” said Roch. “So she will die. Maybe in a month or in a year, but she will not last long.”

To help with the costs, a local Hockey Experts started a silent auction to raise funds.

“We’ve seen everything that actually happened to her really, really quick and it’s hard to see him and her and their families struggle through that,” said manager Olivier Fleurent.

Others in the community have also come together to help the couple.

Huberdeau’s parents don’t know how much time their daughter has left, but they cherish every moment.

“How are we going to remember her?” Roch asked Pichette.

“Oh, Marie-Elaine, she was a ray of sunshine. She was so dynamic, always smiling, positive and strong.”