Hélène Lamarre: Why Me?

Imagine a road—your road—like the journey of life. Along the way, there are entrances, exits, joys, sorrows, moments of happiness and periods of pain. Then one morning, your arms ache, your legs limp, your body struggles. Time goes by, but no medication helps. The pain persists—an invasive presence in your limbs.

On her journey, Hélène Lamarre found herself on a service road, trying to understand what was happening:
“I’m not the kind of person who stays seated at home,” she says. “There’s no way I’m spending the rest of my life in pain.”

She sought out specialists, including a physiotherapist who followed her for five years. She questioned doctors, experimented. Water—though she hated it—was one attempt. Then an osteopath, who helped her regain some function. Eventually, she found the Centre Multisports, where she finally began to reclaim her path. A winding one, away from hospitals and driven by her own determination and the guidance she received.

Choosing to Fight

Hélène’s journey with the Centre Multisports may seem ordinary to her—nothing flashy or exceptional.
“I’m completely normal compared to your athletes,” she insists, justifying her story in this magazine. Yet, her journey offers powerful lessons, depending on the lens through which you look. Everyone faces problems, but few are willing to try everything to get better, to reject the status quo, and above all, to refuse to give up.
“I’m the kind of person who fights, who pushes forward, who’s afraid of nothing,” she explains.

Raised by strong women, including a tenacious grandmother, she had always stayed active—kayaking, biking, walking. But the sudden pain in her limbs brought that to a halt. She turned to the traditional healthcare system, eventually landing in a chronic pain clinic where she was told to accept her reality:
“What are you going to do?” she asked the doctor.
“Nothing more than what you’re already doing,” he answered.
Faced with a therapeutic dead end, Hélène made a choice: stagnation or action. She chose action.

And Then Came the Kinesiologist

In her search, she learned about kinesiologists—professionals trained to develop personalized exercise programs for athletes and everyday individuals. Around the time the Centre Multisports opened, she met David Forget, a kinesiologist determined to help this resolute woman.

At first once a week, then three, then four, Hélène came to the Centre with one goal: to get back on her feet. For the first four months, she focused on strength training—biceps, calves, and more—before taking her first group class after a year.
“David would adapt the plan based on how I felt,” she recalls. “It was all trial and error.”

She logged hours on the bike, joined spinning and yoga classes, and slowly regained her energy—enough to return full-time to her job at Bourassa-Boyer as an accountant.
“My health issues forced me to pause,” she reflects. “To realize we need to make time for ourselves. People wait until something bad happens before they act. That was my wake-up call.”

Sport as Therapy

Although she's progressed immensely, Hélène never returned completely to how she was before. One side of her body still lags—but that hasn’t stopped her. She completed the Grande Boucle des Trois-Lacs in June, cycled 80 km during the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Chamber of Commerce’s golf/bike tournament, and often rides with her 75-year-old mother. She travels by bike and on foot with her husband, remains a loyal Centre member, and continues to see her kinesiologist.

This journey transformed her—physically and mentally.
“I’m not afraid to say it: this was a mental and physical therapy,” she shares. “These business-focused environments are intense. Being surrounded by people, doing tough workouts—it helped me a lot. I worked hard, but I enjoyed it. I saw the benefits.”

“Why me?” she had asked when approached about this article. Why you, Hélène Lamarre? For your determination, certainly—but more so for demonstrating that time doesn’t appear out of nowhere. You have to make it.
“I’ve explained what I do to so many people,” she says. “And they always tell me they don’t have time. That’s the classic answer. But put it in your calendar!”