Louis Chaix is a 24-Year-old French Hockey player, originally born in Paris; Chaix started playing hockey at the age of 4 in a very small town called Poitiers. Unfortunately, life had other plans for him, and he was forced to step away from the ice for a couple of years as he was diagnosed with an extremely rare disease called Steven Johnson Syndrome/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis. Louis was burnt to the 2nd degree on over 80% of his body surface and had to be airlifted to the burn unit in Paris as his health was critically declining.

Going through extremely intensive care in a very specialized hospital, Louis was told by a doctor that if his health did not get better by the end of the day, his chances to be alive the following morning were slim to none.

Louis’ love for life and desire to chase his dream played a huge part in his survival as he had one goal in mind: Play hockey in North America. His resilience and strength allowed him to miraculously survive. Following his traumatic stay in the hospital, he had to learn how to walk again, could not be exposed to the sun for almost three years, and had to go through a very strict routine of care and treatments.

After recovering and building himself back up, he was able to skate again, which eventually led him to leave his house at 11 years old to join a high school hockey program in France. At Age 14, Louis was presented with the opportunity to leave France and play high school hockey in Canada… his lifelong dream was coming true.

With incredible support from his parents, Louis moved to Quebec City, where he played for two years, he then played in Toronto before moving to the United States in El Paso, TX, and then spent three years in Boston before transferring last year to Missouri State to further his hockey career and his education in the field of exercise and movement science.

Moving to Springfield and joining the Missouri State Hockey team was an incredibly positive change in his life which allowed him to develop himself as an athlete and a person, but also reflect on his life and what he wanted to accomplish.

September 2020, is when he decided to put together an incredible journey to raise funds and awareness for Toxic epidermal Necrolysis that he survived at a young age, but most importantly, to give hope to current patients, survivors, and families. He also desires to give hope and show people that when we truly want something in life, the most important thing is to get started and believe that it is possible. Consistency and hard work are an amazing recipe for success. Louis will be Rollerblading from Los Angeles to New York City this spring.

Last Summer, Louis was invited to the worldwide annual SJS/TEN conference to share his story and 10ForTEN journey while connecting with incredible researchers and survivors from all over the world. Louis is currently affiliated with Vanderbilt University and Dr. Phillips, where all the funds will be directed for research.

As he’s been creating this journey he was able to meet a videographer Mike Hatfield, movie producers from Los Angeles, Ryan Delaney and Jennifer Cox – who will be alongside Louis to document his journey across the country and help him achieve his dream.

Louis has been able to connect with an incredible amount of people and companies, sharing his story and learning from others around him. So far, he is involved with TB12SPORTS, RHONE, and Downtown Health Bar in Springfield, who have provided amazing support and resources in helping him prepare for the journey.

As Chaix is currently training for this journey. He hopes to keep making amazing connections and that people will join him for some miles along the way while he Rollerblades across the country. He often says that he was at a point in his life where he felt like he needed to take action and be a part of something greater than himself. He was feeling some sort of survivor’s guilt and he couldn’t not get involved and give back. This journey will help research and will help give answers that so many people do not have regarding their health and this awful syndrome. This is an exciting journey ahead for an amazing cause!

Click here to make a donation for research. If you want help with the journey, or simply connect with Louis, you can contact him through Instagram and Facebook or email [email protected]