Today we’d like to introduce you to Chloe Temtchine.
Hi Chloe, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a singer, songwriter, speaker, and entertainer. I suffered congestive right-heart failure in 2013 and was rushed to the ER. I was told that I had a rare and fatal lung condition, Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), that I had little time left to live, and that I would have to be on oxygen for the rest of my life.
Six years later, and many more days than doctors thought possible, I lived with a newfound sense of meaning, purpose, and passion. I wrote music, performed, and my mission became to empower those affected with PAH and other chronic illnesses via entertainment.
In July of 2020, I suffered a cardiac arrest (due to PAH and Pulmonary Veno Occlusive Disease), ended up in a coma for four days, and on life-support (ECMO) for 21 days. I was told that my only option left was to have a double-lung transplant.
Miraculously, on August 5th, 2020, I was the recipient of a life-saving, double-lung transplant.Today, I’m back to living my life as a full-time performer. I’m continuing my mission of using my story and music to bring hope to those in need and of also bringing awareness to PAH and to the importance of organ donation.
In addition to writing music, performing, and spreading my message, I created Super Brave Kids, a series that consists of interviewing pediatric patients who are living with a chronic illness, with the aim of providing hope and inspiration to these superhero kids and to those watching.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest struggle has been my health.
Aside from my diagnosis, I also have a permanently paralyzed left vocal cord. It’s been a challenge relearning how to use my voice, especially since I was told I would most likely not be able to sing again. But when I was given the bad news, I secretly thought…If I can speak, then I’ve got to be able to find a way to sing…. I have an implant in my throat which allows me to produce sound.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a full-time singer, songwriter, and speaker. I think that one of the things that used to set me apart is that I performed with my oxygen tank (named Steve Martin) at my side.
Now I feel as though what sets me apart is that I live, breathe and sing with someone else’s lungs. I always say that I feel as though I am now living for two people: myself and the angel whose lungs are now inside my body.
My proudest moments have been hearing from the parents of kids who wear oxygen. While I was still on oxygen (prior to the transplant), they would come up to me and let me know that because their child had seen me on stage performing while connected to an oxygen tank, their child is now not afraid to wear his or her oxygen, and they now believe that they, too can be a singer one day.
I’m fluent in three languages (French, Spanish, and English) and I sing in all three. This has been hugely helpful as it allows me the opportunity to communicate on a much more profound level with a wide range of people.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
It has reinforced the lessons I’ve been learning as I’ve been navigating my own health challenges. I have become even more aware of what’s most important to me: spending quality time with the people I love, being truly present in my life, giving hope to someone who has lost it, spending my time doing what inspires me, remembering to be grateful for all that I have, and maintaining perspective.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.chloetemtchine.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/chloetemtchine
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/chloetemtchine
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/chloetemtchine
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/chloetemtchine
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chloe-temtchine
- Other: www.TheChloeTemtchineFoundation.org
