A Firefighter and a Police Officer: One Shared Fight for Life - Event Recap

On Saturday May 30, Jonathan Berthiaume, Samuel Clair-Côté, and Danny Luissier took on a 200 km cycling challenge from Montréal to Saint-Damase to raise awareness for “A Firefighter and a Police Officer: One Shared Fight for Life”, a fundraising campaign organized in collaboration with the CHUM Foundation in Montreal.

This fundraising challenge was initiated by Jonathan Berthiaume, a policeman at the SPVM, to the honor memory of his late father Sylvain Berthiaume, a former volunteer firefighter in the town of Saint-Damase.  All funds raised will go towards supporting the TIL Therapy research led by Dr. Turcotte at the C3.  

First stop: Jeanne-Mance Park

The event began at Jeanne-Mance Park in Montréal at around 6 AM. Despite the cold, damp weather caused by heavy rain the night before, the warmth of the volunteers, family members, and other supporters made this an unforgettable moment.

Image 1: Jonathan Berthiaume’s colleagues from the SPVM (left) , the volunteers and the cyclists (right), and Dr. Simon Turcotte with his children (bottom-right) at Jeanne-Mance Park in Montréal.

Image 2: The volunteers (left and bottom), the cyclists (centre) and Dr. Simon Turcotte (right) at Jeanne-Mance Park in Montréal.

Ready, set... Go!

Jonathan Berthiaume opened the ceremony with an energizing speech, followed by inspiring words from Dr. Turcotte. The three cyclists, accompanied by Dr. Turcotte and his children, then completed three laps of the cycling path at Parc Jeanne-Mance at around 7:30 a.m. They were also escorted by three SPVM police cars, driven by officers from Jonathan's station, all the way to the Jacques-Cartier Bridge.

Image 3: Samuel Clair-Côté (left), Jonathan Berthiaume (middle), and Danny Luissier (right) getting ready at the Jeanne-Mance Park in Montréal. 

Image 4: The cyclists (left) with Dr. Simon Turcotte and his children (right) Escorted by two SPVM cars in Montréal. 

After completing the island of Montreal portion, the cyclists tackled the South Shore of Montréal, biking over several of Quebec's famous mountains: Mont St-Bruno, Mont St-Hilaire, Mont St-Grégoire, Mont Yamaska, and Mont Rougemont. Two volunteer vehicles, led by Kim Martel, Jonathan's partner, followed closely behind throughout the route. In addition to providing valuable moral support, the volunteers coordinated the cyclists' refueling stops.

Image 5: Jonathan Berthiaume (left), Danny Lussier (middle), and Samuel Clair-Côté (right) biking in the South Shore of  Montréal. 

A triumphant arrival

After seven hours of cycling in total, Jonathan Berthiaume, Samuel Clair-Côté, and Danny Luissier successfully completed the 200 km challenge, arriving triumphantly at the Saint-Damase fire station. They were greeted with enthusiasm to the sound of fire truck horns, warm applause, and tears of joy.

Image 6: Crowd Waiting for the cyclists at the Saint-Damase Fire Station.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/4e65e7_1f4228dbf5524772b76b9c0206526067/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

Video 1: Arrival of Jonathan Berthiaume, Danny Lussier, and Samuel Clair-Coté to Saint-Damase after Biking for Seven Hours. 

A few emotional hugs and warm handshakes later, Jonathan gave a heartfelt speech to thank everyone and officially announce that over $17,000 had been raised as of May 30. He was followed by Dr. Turcotte, then by Pierre-Luc Barré, the Mayor of Saint-Damase, who gave the closing speech. 

Image 7: Jonathan Berthiaume (left), Dr. Simon Turcotte (middle) and Pierre-Luc Barré, the Mayor of Saint-Damase (right) at the Saint-Damase fire station. 

Closing thoughts: 

Attending this event left me with a renewed sense of hope. Seeing an entire community being mobilized for a common cause was living proof that cholangiocarcinoma awareness is slowly but surely growing throughout Canada.

Thank you to the Berthiaume family, the Martel family, the volunteers, the SPVM, and the Saint-Damase Fire Station for believing in the C3’s mission.