Meet Louis Chaix | A Survivor of A Rare Disease

We had the good fortune of connecting with Louis Chaix and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Louis, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
At a very young age, I learned the hard way that giving up is never an option. I was 6 years old in the hospital and I was losing my battle to Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis,

I was presented two options: Giving up or keep fighting to see another day.

I chose life, I chose to persevere and see the brighter outcome for myself and my future.

Since then, I realized we must always show up for ourselves. Day after day no matter the circumstances and what others might say around you.

I want others to know that they can chase their dreams and accomplish what they want by taking that first step, putting in the work and staying consistent day after day.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
What sets me apart from others is my resilience towards life and my perseverance that I apply to my every day life.

I just don’t speak on what sets me apart, I let my actions speak for there self.

Resilience is one of my favorite words. Fun fact, I have a resilience tattoo on my chest.

My Journey across the United States to raise awareness and funds for the disease that tried taking my life started off with a shower thought.

I have experienced survivors guilt and wanted to shake those thoughts once and for all. Many think because you are one of the lucky ones who survived, you automatically should be happy and carry on with your life.

I can’t speak for others, but in my case I struggled moving forward with the why. Why did I survive? How is it that I am strong and healthy and get to hug my loved ones? I just felt that it’s time to make those thoughts in my head change once and for all.

Skating across the United States took a year of planning and orchestrating the logistics with my team to insure a successful journey.

The planning process was by far one of the hardest. It seemed that with each day new issues and concerns would appear with what seemed to be road blocks at the end of the day.

I learned throughout the planning process that if one door closes another door is sure to open.

Juggling my hockey career, my college credit hours and in general navigating everyday life at one point seemed impossible.

I learned that I need to take one day at a time and in my case “One Stride at A Time”.

I want to set the record straight that if you put your mind to something and trust the process and most importantly follow through with the actions us humans can accomplish what might seem to be the impossible.

My Journey skating across The United States had to be for me at the end of the day. Nobody else could or would be able to skate for me. I had to persevere and hold on to my resilience to execute my shower thoughts into reality.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
That’s a great question. Health and wellness is very important to me. I built a home gym in France at the house I live at with my family.

I would make coffee in the morning, we would sit on the porch that overlooks the fields and talk.

After coffee we would head to the gym in my house. Working out releases endorphins with many other benefiting factors.

Once our workout was finished we would take a drive into town and visit the local fresh markets and explore the town.

Definitely would stop at different pastry’ stores that are my go to for a sweet tooth pit stop.

We would then go back to the house and cook some fresh food from the market and mosey on down to the beach.

On the way to the beach you will see the farmers sheep grazing in the fields. And the landscape surrounding is a sight in its own.

Family and friends are important to me, so we would visit with the closes and tell stories and laugh.

The evening would consist of fine wine and cheese that would take us into the night.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My Journey in life so far has been unique to say the least. Many people that I have crossed paths with have impacted me in more ways than one. I want to start off with the importance of family. My parents have stood by my side from day one.

My mother Delphine Durand is my main example of resilience. She is the strongest person I know and has taught me to never give up even when I’m faced with what seems to be the impossible and for that I am forever grateful.

From a young age my father Sylvain Durand has set the standards high of the man I hope to become. He has showed me the importance of hard work and selflessness.

Grandpa Alain is another key character in my life. He helped raise me into the man I am today and I can always count on him. My grandpa has inspired me to be a better version of myself and the importance of giving back. I’ve always dreamed of living up to his legacy.

To my siblings, thank you for being my role models, my best friends and thank you for your unconditional love.

I want to thank Ryan James DeLaney, I feel beyond lucky that my journey across America has allowed our paths to cross. I am extremely thankful for him. He has believed in me, my story and my vision. The bond we have created is like no other and I will forever cherish it. To do incredible things you need to be surrounded by incredible individuals.

Alongside Ryan is a key character in this adventure, Jennifer Cox.

Jennifer is a very important person with an incredible vision. I feel honored that she has believed in my story enough to get involved and help me give hope one stride at a time. I also look up to Jennifer for her hard work and her resilience as she has also faced her fair share of battles. I recognize myself in her quite often and I’m proud to call her a friend and a team member.

Lastly I want to thank Michael Hatfield our videographer for helping me share my story for the past year and a half and capturing key moments of my cross country skate.

Together we go further.

Website: https://miafilmproductions.wedid.it/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/louischaix?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Linkedin: https://linktr.ee/LouisChaix?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=487ea1e6-1c88-4c35-9d8f-fe6236f415c8

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/louis.chaix.5

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCM5o-xB1o03TnXE9atfDkmQ

Other: https://instagram.com/10forten?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Image Credits
Mike Hatfield