It’s a story of resilience and gratitude, and a story Guylaine Pépin and her husband Marc Gagne are happy to share.

Five years ago, Pepin was airlifted from Quebec to the Saint John Regional Hospital in New Brunswick after experiencing critical heart failure,

It was a terrifying time for the Quebec couple, who were visiting their campground in Lemec, Que,., when Pépin collapsed.

“I didn’t know what to do,” recalled Gagne, who said he immediately sought help from nearby campers.

Pépin was taken to New Brunswick Heart Centre with an aortic dissection, which is a large tear in the largest artery of the heart and can be fatal.

According to the National Institute of Health, about 30 per cent of people experiencing a dissection do not survive.

The couple credit the medical staff at the hospital for working tirelessly to help Pépin.

“She got the surgery here in the middle of the night — nine hours on the table between Saturday night and Sunday morning,” Gagne said.

The couple visited the hospital this week in Saint John to personally thank her team of health-care professionals. Speaking to them, including anesthesia assistant Peter Triantafillou, has become an annual tradition.

“Her having the surgery and how she recovered after, I think it is because of how her health was before,” said Triantafillou, who keeps in touch with the couple through email.

“She doesn’t give up, she wants to keep going, and it just goes to show the amazing attitude some people have.”

In fact, Pépin is now back to her usual activities: hiking and biking about 1,000 kilometres a year. She never forgets to thank those who helped her regain that freedom.

In French, she told Global News how important it was for her to visit the staff and to share the reward of her health.

Now, she and her husband plan to return to that campground in Quebec for the first time since her medical emergency. While she’s nervous to do so, she said she’s happy they will be able to do it as a couple.

— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau