April 1, 2025
Paul Fontaine, of Winnipeg, came close to death one week before his 33rd birthday. At the time his wife, Shay, was eight months pregnant with their second child.
Fontaine was diagnosed in June of 2021 with complete heart block caused by a rare inflammatory condition called cardiac sarcoidosis. After emergency care, he had a pacemaker put in at St. Boniface Hospital.
Read Paul’s story here.
“The years following my literally life-saving visit to St. B have been incredible,” said Fontaine. “I think about my experience there and feel an incredible sense of gratitude.”
We caught up with Fontaine and his family this winter to find out how they are doing.
What’s new with you and your family, Paul?
We’re all doing great over here! The last few years have been quite busy for us.
Shay and I got married in August of 2023. It was a small ceremony: just the two of us, our two children, two witnesses, and the marriage commissioner. We got married in the living room of our old home, which was funny, because it was already sold to the new owners. One of the conditions of the sale was that our move-out date had to be after we scheduled to get married.
We moved into our new home in October 2023. We have been falling in love with it more and more with every new update we do.
You and Shay welcomed your third child, Kieran, in July of 2024, joining older siblings Elena and Emmett. What is family life like at your house?
Our oldest, Emmett, is six. He loves school and he is starting to gain an interest in learning music. Having been a musician myself for more than 20 years, and teaching a few people before, I definitely plan on teaching the kids how to play drums. In the meantime, we’re all learning how to play piano!
We like to say Elena is three, going on 16; she has an incredible amount of independence with equal parts sass. She loves to play with her Barbies by herself and loves to sing along with the songs that I’ve been learning on the piano.
Our newest addition to the family is seven-month-old Kieran. I’m not comparing them, but he is, by far, the happiest, calmest baby we’ve ever met. His older siblings absolutely adore him. They can’t wait for him to walk and talk so they can play with him.
To say they keep Shay and me busy would be an understatement.
How is your health these days?
Day to day, I feel great! You don’t realize how terrible you felt until you don’t feel terrible anymore. Of course, it hasn’t been easy. I had to quit playing music – live shows at least. It comes with some physical restrictions that I have to work around.
“Finding a positive outlet to deal with this stuff on a daily basis is important.”
The biggest thing was that nobody tells you how it all can affect your mental health. I’ve dealt with my fair share of mental struggles through my experience, but I’ve kept a positive outlook on things life has thrown our way.
Shay is my rock; she has been incredible through it all. She really helped me with my mental health; she was always the first person I turned to.
Finding a positive outlet to deal with this stuff on a daily basis is important. It’s important to work through it with your family, but mostly, it’s important to work though it with yourself. Having purchased an older home, there are a million projects that I need to do around the house. Working with my hands and using tools is what I like doing the best.
What would you say to Foundation donors who support Cardiac Sciences at St. B?
You never know if something like this is going to happen to you. I cannot stress that enough. You could be at work one day and be in a hospital bed within a few short hours, like I was. What comforts me is that if something like this were to happen again, I know with absolute certainty that I would be in good, capable hands at St. Boniface Hospital.
You always hear the question, “What’s the purpose of life?” I’ve always thought the answer to that was simply to live a life with purpose. Being a husband and father is, without a doubt, why I’m here and why I’m STILL here. Everything that has happened in my life, whether it’s good or bad, has led me here. I am where I’m supposed to be, and that is with my family.