January 27, 2013 in the earliest hours of the morning, Joanne Deveau suffered a tragic fall down her basement stairs while her husband was taking a shower. When Gerry went looking for his wife, he found her semi-conscious at the bottom of the stairs and helped her back to their living room.

Joanne was dazed and disoriented and said she felt sick to her stomach. Her family called an ambulance and she was transported to the Moncton Hospital.

It took hours and consultation with numerous doctors and surgeons to get a full diagnosis, but it was determined that Joanne had suffered a fractured skull when she fell backwards on the steps. That caused swelling around the brain and she was operated on Sunday afternoon to remove a blood clot that had formed. She also broke two small bones in her neck (which doctors hope will heal without surgery) and has to wear a cervical collar.

For the first five days Joanne was kept under close observation in the neuro ICU where she was mostly sedated because of the pain. On Friday, February 1st she was moved to a regular room on the fourth floor where she continues down the long road back to good health.