Guy Maréchal

Guy Maréchal is a businessman whose résumé also includes a detour in the military. He studied at the "’Ecole de Préparation à la sous-lieutenance" (School of Preparation for the second-lieutenancy), one of the two Belgian military academies, and then spent three years on active duty before leaving the army. His short military career was rich in various adventures, which included winning the 1972 "Challenge Fusiliers d'Assaut" (a fighting troops competition).

Immediately after being discharged, he worked as a representative for an insurance company, but quickly became a broker. A few years later, the group Frere bought up his portfolio and he then was named director for the Group's insurance branch. Next, he became director for the Donnay company, the manufacturer of the rackets used by Henry Leconte and Andre Agassi, and enjoyed exceptional notoriety. He then developed an import-export company dealing in antique furniture, architectural artifacts and works of art coming from India, China, and other Southeast Asian countries.

Guy Maréchal also lived an authentic miracle. Indeed, nobody has ever survived a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain stem and the disappearance of some forty cerebral cavernomas.

Guy Maréchal is a surprising and likable man who lives life to the fullest and leaves no one indifferent, whether the person is a believer or a skeptic seeking proof of the existence of God. After looking down many other avenues, much hesitation, and a lot of thought, Guy became convinced that this world could exist only under the impulse of a higher being rather than through the random occurrences of chance. After years of seeking and meditation, he finally concluded that this intelligence bore a name: God. And that this unique God, who had one day stretched out his hand to humanity through the sacrifice of his Son, was the God worshiped by Christians.

Robert Dion

I have known Guy since he had his “open heart” surgery in 1989, and, as you will see, he has kept an “open heart” since that time and will into that Eternity in which he and I believe.

He is personable, often provocative (at times irritatingly so), and can even raise a few eyebrows. Ask the receptionist at Saint-Luc’s University Hospital who, on August 17, 1989 (the day before Guy’s operation) found himself suspended from the coat rack in his office for dereliction of duty.

He’s a giant with feet of clay, sensitive, and generous. He was carved out from childhood by the harshness of poverty, the violence his father and the dispassion of his mother. He was chiseled by the breath of the Spirit to yield these apparent contradictions. His “naivety” is a strength that has made it possible for him to move mountains and to face death without fear: his awareness of his vulnerability is his strength.

Guy's recovery is a medical miracle: no one has ever survived a massive subarachnoid hemorrhage of the brain stem. Even more miraculous was the disappearance of some forty or so cerebral cavernomas, which, according to a friend who is an eminent neurophysiologist, can only be defined as paranormal.

But, as Guy likes to reiterate, “today's miracles are only useful in convincing those who already believe in them.”

This account does not follow a chronological order, but rather the winds of inspiration, rebellion, and enthusiasm as well as the themes provided by various ideas and discoveries. The author claws, shoots, rebels, abuses, seeks to forgive, exults, demonizes, and lays bare his innermost thoughts and feelings. But he loves, wants to love and be loved, and this makes up for "nearly" everything, right Brigitte (1)?

This former corporate CEO is full of compassion as when he rants and raves over the greed of certain leaders that triggered the crisis, and then swings: to the other side of the political spectrum: “the banks should be nationalized!" At the same time he maintains that: "Entrepreneurs are the true pioneers of our time" and that “when the bath-tub overflows, the collaborators should also get their feet wet”.

Alan Kay: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it”…

Guy lives life to the fullest: he shakes it up, tries to make sense out of it, attempts to discover the thread, burns himself in the process, recovers, and finally finds peace in the arms of God. One can frown when he criticizes ecumenism or homosexuality, but is he not, in spite of such occasional outbursts, an instrument of God or even “a fool for God”? For example, when he whispers that "the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective" when it is combined with action, in reference to the exploits of Moses and Joshua, or when he insists that “ life is beautiful and eternal!"

ROBERT DION has been a world-renowned celebrity since 1994 when he performed the first transplant of the “novacorps” [a portable titanium heart] on a patient who had previously received a heart transplant, and who is still alive at this time (the beginning of the year 2012). Robert Dion is also the head of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg (a teaching hospital in Genk, Belgium), professor of medicine at the University of Leiden, professor and head of the cardiovascular and thoracic surgery department at Saint-Luc’s University Clinics in Brussels, an active member of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), and associate editor of the European Journal for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.

(1) Brigitte is Guy Maréchal.'s wife.

Bernard Hinault1

I met Guy when I was working for Look Cycle International in Nevers, Belgium. Guy was working at Donnay, a subsidiary of the Tapie Group.

He is a man who has shown tenacious courage all throughout his career, in the difficulties he has encountered.

He is a fighter and I’m not surprised at the no-holds-barred battle that he fought to stay alive.

Bernard Hinault

1Bernard Hinault is a former French cyling champion. He was at one time the top rated cylist in the world. He won the Tour de France five times, the Tour of Italy three times, and the Tour of Spain twice. He dominated the world cycling scene between 1978 and 1986, with his 216 victories.

Eddy Merckx2

In 1978, Guy and I played soccer together in a game against the Standard de Liège in a benefit game for sick children. It was then that I met Guy for the fist time, and since then, we have met up whenever our busy schedules allowed it.

Several years later, Guy was the C.E.O. of the Donnay company and he proposed that they develop a prototype cycle out of carbon for my company. Unfortunately this project did not work out. We occasionally spent time together after that, for example when Guy would invite me to visit his shops. We saw each other again when I learned of Guy’s stroke in 2006.

I was shocked by how serious his condition was. However, Guy demonstrated that same fighting spirit, straight-forwardness, energy, and unfailing courage that had always characterized him in the past.

All the best Guy !

Eddy Merckx

2Baron Edouard Louis Joseph Merckx, better known as Eddy Merckx, is a famous Belgian cyclist. He rode the professional circuit from 1965 to 1978, and he is considered the greatest cyclist of all time. He is the only Begian to have been honored with the title of “Athlete of the Year” and he was so honored three times: in 1969, 1971, and 1974. He won 525 races during his career and that is still a record.

In particular, Eddy Merckx won the Tour de France five times, the Tour of Italy five times, the Tour of Spain once, three World Championships, set the world hour record, and totaled thirty-one victories in the Classics. Eddy Merckx was voted “Best Belgian Athlete of the 20th Century” and “Best Cyclist of the 20th Century” by the UCI. He is second to Michael Jordan in athletic awards in the millennium, followed by Carl Lewis.