Several members of the Aux trois sentiers team joined the organization after accompanying a loved one through their final days. Such is the case of Catherine Bourdages, Director of Strategic Development of the organization, who made a complete career change after accompanying her mother at the end of her life.
Her new mission: to help improve end-of-life care in Quebec so that the beauty that can emerge at life’s end is accessible to as many people as possible.
A Diagnosis That Changed Everything
Catherine had been working at Énergir for six years as Manager, Communications and Organizational Change when she decided it was time for a career change. She was looking forward to a new professional challenge and hoped to launch a business with her partner.
During a brief transition period between jobs, she travelled to the Gaspé Peninsula to visit her mother and spend time with family. That is when everything changed.
“The house was full, so I slept in my mother’s room and noticed that she was restless all night. The next morning, she told me her arm hurt, that she had felt a lump, and asked me to take her to the hospital. My mother was a nurse and was in excellent health. If she wanted to go to the hospital, it meant she knew something was seriously wrong.”
Without hesitation, the two women got in the car and began the 12-hour drive to Montreal and the Jewish General Hospital. Once there, the lump began growing at an alarming rate. After a series of tests, doctors delivered the diagnosis: an extremely rare form of blood cancer whose source was very difficult to identify. An experimental treatment was initiated.
As if that were not enough, Catherine received another devastating piece of news one night while she was home trying to get some rest: her father had died suddenly.
Putting Her Life on Hold to Become a Caregiver
Fortunately, Catherine had withdrawn from the new position she was about to begin so that she could care for her mother around the clock, first in hospital and later at home. This unexpected pause allowed her to devote all her energy to navigating both her father’s death and her mother’s illness. “That professional break was the greatest gift life could have given me. It allowed me to be with my mother throughout her illness.”
Although a CLSC nurse visited once a week, death does not follow a schedule.
“The day my mother died, I sensed that it was approaching, so I called my sisters to come. By some miracle, I managed to reach a physician I had met at the hospital, and he was able to provide the medications I would need.”
Armed with a grocery bag filled with preloaded syringes and medications to administer according to various symptoms, Catherine suddenly found herself acting as a healthcare provider. “Every time, you wonder whether you’re doing the right thing. Are these secretions? They told me to give an injection every two hours, but she seems uncomfortable. Should I give it more often?” Before each injection, she sought her sisters’ agreement.
“At one point, my mother opened her eyes and said, ‘It’s okay. I’m ready.’ She closed her eyes again, turned over in bed, and that was it. It was such a profound moment.”
A Passage of Extraordinary Beauty
Catherine carries a vivid memory of that moment when life gives way to death.
“As difficult as it is because you’ve just lost someone you love and it leaves an incredible void, you are also witnessing one of the most beautiful things imaginable. It’s like a birth. A revelation. An end to suffering. I never knew it could be beautiful. It’s an immense paradox: you give so much of yourself to ensure the person is comfortable, and at the same time, you receive something intangible and extraordinarily powerful. As painful as it is, it is also deeply nourishing.”
Catherine considers herself incredibly fortunate to have been able to honour her mother’s wish to remain at home until the very end.
“I am profoundly grateful for that. It is my greatest source of comfort. If my mother’s symptoms had become more severe at the end, I wouldn’t have known what to do.”
The Maze of Procedures
What followed proved more challenging. Because her mother died during the night, simply having the death officially pronounced became an ordeal in itself. “I called a dedicated Info-Santé line, and they were asking me for information I didn’t have. I was told that no one could come unless I provided it. I also had to find a funeral home—in the middle of the night—or they wouldn’t come to confirm the death. Had someone guided me through that day, had I known what to expect, I could have prepared myself accordingly.”
As she emerged from the five months she had devoted entirely to caring for her mother, Catherine found herself reflecting on what came next.
“I kept asking myself what the next step was. I had put my life on hold to care for my mother, and I simply couldn’t believe that this was how people died in Quebec in 2022. Something had to change.”
A Meeting Meant to Be
One month after her mother’s death, Catherine knew she wanted to work in end-of-life care. “How? I had absolutely no idea. I wasn’t a healthcare professional and I didn’t work within the healthcare system. But I knew this was what I wanted to do.”
As she shared her aspirations with those around her, a mutual friend arranged a meeting between Catherine and Dr. Caroline Ouellet, founder and president of Aux trois sentiers.
To say there was an immediate connection would be an understatement.
“We talked for three hours, and two weeks later I was meeting with the Board of Directors.”
With her extensive management experience and her desire to make a meaningful contribution to end-of-life care, Catherine was uniquely positioned to take on the role of Director of Strategic Development of Aux trois sentiers. “Caroline had been carrying the project forward with the Board from the very beginning, and they were looking for someone to bring it to life. I truly fell in love with the organization’s mission and with the people behind it. Working together felt completely natural. There are no coincidences… In fact, I don’t believe in coincidences anymore.”
