Managing and embracing change

Autumn is undoubtedly one of the seasons most conducive to change. Vegetable gardens fade, students return to school, and the sun sits lower in the sky. The kitchen clock picks up a steadier rhythm, reluctantly leaving behind the soft hum it produced during the summer.

However, change surrounds us every day, all year long. Decisions are made, and certain actions beyond our control disrupt the path we are on.

In Search of Oneself

“Nothing happens for no reason; I truly believe that,” confesses Esteban L., massage therapist at Bota Bota. Since discovering massage therapy in 2016, he has been learning more about himself through life’s ups and downs. “Few massage therapists have a career without hurdles. We are limited by our bodies,” a reality Esteban knows all too well.

As a very active and cheerful child, Esteban grew up feeling like he was always doing too much. “Instead of bringing people closer to me, I would push them away… It wasn’t working out the way I wanted,” he says with a smile.

“I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew I wanted to help others,” he recalls. He didn’t have a passion for studying but harbored a distant desire to enter the medical field, though without much conviction. “I had a kind of blues about the path I was supposed to take.”

Out of comfort, he joined the electronics field, where his father also worked. He installed booths in the audiology department at CHUM, but the work didn’t fulfill him as he had hoped. “I only really enjoyed the troubleshooting and talking with clients.”

This zest for life and constant need to be close to others finally became clear to him a few years later, through the profession of massage therapy. “I realized that being welcoming, caring, and taking care of others, even strangers—that’s what I wanted,” he explains.

Facing Change in the Blink of an Eye

At the beginning of 2019, Esteban’s worst nightmare took shape in the form of a thumb injury caused by overwork. “It was the worst moment of my life, by far. Losing massage therapy, which meant everything to me.” His world crumbled as he discovered the Lomi Lomi Nui massage offered at Bota Bota.

“I hit rock bottom without a parachute. I lost a part of myself,” he says, five years later, his voice still betraying the emotion from the incident. While his doctor insisted he could no longer practice the profession he loved, Esteban found solace in his family, who supported him through this difficult time.

Reluctantly, Esteban embarked on a new professional path in 2020. Driven by his natural curiosity, he began training in flight regulation in Quebec, where he discovered a new passion for meteorology. In 2021, he was hired by Airmedic, an air ambulance company operating throughout Quebec, and started a new way of reconnecting with his desire to help others.

“A year later, NavCanada called me with a training offer I couldn’t refuse.” He joined the program at the only company in Canada mandated to manage air traffic, where he learned a great deal about meteorology.

For nearly a year, once again far from his family, Esteban had the opportunity to learn extensively about aviation and meteorology. Despite intensive learning and gaining a wealth of new knowledge, Esteban was unable to qualify during the final stage of this long journey filled with changes and sacrifices.

Back to square one, he found himself once again facing major life questions. “I had a long reflection last summer. Should I return to electronics? Go back into aviation with the experience that would open many doors? Or return to the only place where I always felt at home and happy?”

After the Effort, Comes the Comfort

It has now been a year since Esteban returned to the spa-on-the-water. He sees signs everywhere: “On October 4th, I signed my contract at Bota Bota, and a year earlier, on the same date, I joined NavCanada.” In hindsight, he views his period of transition with gentleness: “You have to be at peace and let yourself be carried by what life has planned for you. I cried so many tears of pain, I suffered so much. Today, it’s joy that I feel.”

“My primary motivation was to offer my family a better quality of life,” he explains about his decision to join NavCanada’s training program. If that opportunity hadn’t arisen, Esteban would probably never have left Airmedic and, ultimately, might never have made a full return to massage therapy.

When he returned to Bota Bota, he gave a massage to Arnaud Gaston, the Director of Care on board. As they finished the session, Esteban asked him if he had lost much precision. “No, you’ve gained a lot,” Arnaud replied, a true testament to how time heals even the deepest of wounds.

“Massage therapy never left me. I’m much more careful today. I really want this to last.”