LCGH WELCOMES NEW LIFE

01/22/2010

Christina Chartrand was just 32-years-old when she discovered breast cancer would change her life forever. She felt a lump on the left side she knew was just too big. “It felt like a fist was pushing right through.”  Initially, she thought it may have been a duct enlarged from just having had her second baby boy, Lucas, in March 2005. Christina was diagnosed December 7, 2005 with breast cancer when the lump had grown to seven centimeters. 

Four years and a double mastectomy later, Christina had fought hard, beaten the cancer and just delivered a baby girl, Charlie Emerson Lynn, on December 9, 2009, at Lewis County General Hospital. “After Lucas, we just assumed it was done. I didn’t plan it, especially after chemo. It’s a miracle I really got pregnant,” Christina said. Charlie is named after Christina’s grandfather, who had traveled with her several times to and from treatments while she overcame her breast cancer. 

Christina, of Cedar Street, Lowville, married Christopher Chartrand nine years ago December 30. They have had three children together, including Anthony, 7, Lucas, 4, and Charlie Emerson Lynn, one month.  Laughing about her boys, Christina says, “They think the world of Charlie. Even when they’re playing video games, they stop what they’re doing to help out.”

Christina had high praises for the care she received at LCGH. “If it were possible to have any more babies, it would be here. They went beyond.” Remembering the care she received from Dr. Gerard Crawford, Christina said, “He almost knows what you’re thinking.” Lewis County General Hospital congratulates Christina and Christopher on the birth of their daughter, Charlie Emerson Lynn, a miracle which Christina says is her “present for a lifetime.”

Photo: Christina Chartrand with daughter, Charlie Emerson Lynn Chartrand