A child. A fight. A mission.
In June 2024, two-year-old Arthur Tétrault experienced a serious drowning accident in a residential pool.
Deprived of oxygen for a critical period of time, he was hospitalized in Montreal and placed in intensive care for several weeks.
Refusing to give up
The prognosis communicated to his family was extremely poor. The doctors spoke of major and lasting sequelae.
For his father, Nicolas Tétrault, accepting this conclusion was not an option.
Like many parents confronted with the unthinkable, twirling through a broken health system, they sought to find alternatives to save their child.
Spending whole nights learning about the mechanisms of the brain, the impact of oxygen on tissues, and the different approaches used elsewhere in the world to support the body after severe trauma.
It is in this context that they discovered environments using controlled oxygenation, particularly in unconventional settings and outside the Canadian system. Against the advice of several professionals and driven by a deep conviction, the parents chose to pursue this path out of love for their son.
Time, support and life
Over time...
With time, patience and constant support, Arthur has shown signs of evolution.
Today, he breathes independently, smiles, laughs, interacts and starts to say his first words again. His career path does not correspond to the initial expectations that had been formulated.
This story is not presented as a promise, nor as a universal model. It is the testimony of parents who refused to stand still — and of a body that continued to adapt.
From personal experience to a collective mission
From this ordeal was born a deep awareness:
Too many families struggle alone to access complementary support environments,
too often outside the country,
Too often in an emergency and isolation.
The Arthur Tétrault Centre was created to meet this need. Not as a medical facility.
Not as a miracle solution. But as an accessible, structured and human place, offering sessions in soft hyperbaric chambers in a framework of well-being, respectful of the limits and rhythm of each person.
Why the name Arthur?
Arthur's name is not there to convince. He is there to remind us why these centers exist. Each person who enters an Arthur Tétrault Centre arrives with their own story. Arthur simply reminds us that behind each body, there is a life, a family and a dignity to be respected.
