Nothing in life is guaranteed and it takes no time at all for it all to change.
Just ask Martin Desjardins.
In the early morning hours of Aug. 12, Desjardins was asleep in his Alexandria, Que. home with his common law wife, Sarah Cholette, and their three young children: Chloe, Jacob and 19-month-old Maxime.
Tragedy struck shortly before 2:30 a.m. when a fire broke out in the home and claimed the lives of Cholette, Chloe, and Jacob. Maxime died days later at CHEO.
"I felt like I was a failure because I didn't save none of them," Desjardins said. "I felt completely lost."
Desjardins—the sole survivor of the blaze—was brought to a Toronto hospital where doctors kept him in a coma so he could recover.
He was still there when his family was buried on Aug. 19.
"I was asking for my family and when they put me into a coma, I was dreaming like I was in a dark hole," said Desjardins. "It's not something that I wish upon anybody."
His doctors say that Desjardins' recovery has been remarkable—something that he credits to his family watching over him.
"She's telling me to move on, telling me that she loves me and that she'll always be beside me."
But although he is progressing well physically, Desjardins' heart is broken.
He is seeing a counsellor and will hold a private vigil to remember his family at Glen Robertson Cemetery on Sunday.
With a report from CTV Ottawa's John Hua
