If you have reached this page through a link to jc.bobsroom.com, the guestbook was removed but all of the entries were sent to J.C.’s sister in Montreal.
Below is the original post I put on my blog site which contained a message from J.C.’s sister.
– Matt, May 11, 2007
No more hearsay folks. Here’s what actually happened from J.C. Chiasson’s sister’s mouth:
Hi Matt,
Yes, I am J.C.’s sister Cookie. Unfortunately, what you and Andrea heard is true. I still can’t believe it, but J.C. passed away on Friday, February 9th, just over a week ago.
This is what happened, according to those who were with him. J.C. was celebrating with a couple of buddies (our nephew Paul and another guy) because he was happy about the way his job situation was developing. Apparently he decided to start drinking beer and vodka chasers, and after about four or five, his heart stopped. He keeled over and passed out. He also threw up on the way down and aspirated some of his stomach contents into his lungs. The other two called the ambulance, and the paramedics tried to revive him, but his lungs were too clogged to send the air to his brain. When they got him to the hospital, the emergency doctors managed to revive him (get his heart beating and get him breathing on his own), but by that time he had been at least 20 minutes without sufficient oxygen to the brain. J.C. was in a coma for about 36 hours before he stopped being able to breathe on his own. We were all there with him (his four sisters), and if he could hear anything, he heard how much we love him and how sad we were to see him go. We made the decision to donate his organs (because we thought he would be OK with that), and the hospital found five recipients, so the last thing J.C. did was basically save or vastly improve the lives of five people.
It was a freak accident, combined with terrible luck. How many people do you know who have partied, drunk some shots and come out of it with nothing more than a wicked hangover the next day? I am having such a hard time believing it, despite the fact that I saw him at the hospital. When I do manage to convince myself that it actually happened, I say to myself that at least his last conscious thought would have been that life was good and things were looking up. He probably went out with a smile.
We will be holding a memorial ceremony in Montreal or Ottawa on his birthday (March 13th), and we will be burying his ashes (he was cremated) in New Brunswick in the summer. We’ll be burying him with our parents at a cemetery near the house we had in Janeville, near Bathurst. I will let you know when the date is set, in case you want to be there.
I am very glad you contacted me. I know a lot of J.C.’s friends by first name only. You and Andrea, for example (I think I remember you from Moncton, when JC was about 16. If I remember correctly, you and your Mom put J.C. up for a while when things were crazy with our Dad), plus Jason (who is in B.C. if I’m not mistaken), Robin and April (in Ontario?) and J.C.’s buddies from Pizza Delight, the Igloo and the Steadman Street house. I left a message on Paul Goguen’s answering machine last week, but I think he may be in New Brunswick right now. If you can send me any of their contact information, I would really appreciate it.
Best regards,
Cookie
(Marie-Catherine Chiasson)
