Langis Gagnon’s story of resilience and gratitude
An early retirement
When picturing the final years of their career, most people imagine a gradual transition into a well-deserved retirement. For Langis Gagnon, it was more like a sudden drop. Langis, a researcher who was passionate about his work and devoted his professional life to innovation,
was near the end of his career and serving as the director of a research and development department at the Centre de recherche informatique de Montréal. He dreamed of an active retirement playing sports and working on personal projects. But in March 2019, acute joint pain and chronic anemia forced him to change his plans and take an early retirement.
The long fight for a glimmer of hope
Just days after a hospital visit to the CHUM to find the root cause of his pain, Langis received an urgent call. The doctors had tested his blood and found a mycobacterial infection called MAC, which is closely related to tuberculosis. He had to be hospitalized for a long time and complications arose when, already in fragile health, he contracted Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disease that required an additional three months in hospital.
Doctors had been continuing to run blood tests on Langis and finally discovered he had a myelodysplastic syndrome, a type of bone marrow cancer. This disease disrupts the normal production of blood cells, which explained why his immune system was so weak, leaving him vulnerable to infections and complications.
Regaining stability
When Langis speaks about his medical journey, he is so grateful for the care and attention of the CHUM’s medical staff. “I was so lucky to be referred to the CHUM. Their care teams were absolutely top notch.”
“I was so lucky to be referred to the CHUM. Their care teams were absolutely top notch.”— Langis Gagnon
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