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Terrace Bay News, 22 Nov 1989, p. 12

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Page 12 TERRACE BAY/SCHREIBER NEWS Wednesday, November 22, 1989 ESSO _IAN FUMMERTON FUELS - SERVING SCHREIBER/TERRACE BAY The winners of ESSO'S 500 FREE LITRES of Home Heating Fuel for last month were: Figliomeni Apartment Building Newman Street, Schreiber New Customer Mr. Mike Miller 106 Main St. Schreiber CONGRATULATIONS to both customers. ESSO is having another draw this month from November Ist to . December 31st for 500 FREE LITRES of the NEW Fresher Smelling Heating Oil. This draw applies to all regular customers and any new customers. Any New customer will also receive $20.00 off their first fill up. TRY THE NEW CLEAN SCENT HOME HEATING FUEL ONLY FROM ESSO Township of Schreiber PUBLIC NOTICE Regarding Snow Removal & Restricted Parking Residents of Schreiber are reminded that the parking of vehicles on any street in the Township of Schreiber, between the hours of 2:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. from and including the 15th day of November to the 15th day of April is prohibited. Also prohibited i is parking or standing of any vehicle on any highway or street, in such a manner as to interfere with the clearing of snow from the street or highway. As in previous years, any vehicle discovered to be in contravention of By-Law 88-26, which sets down the above regulations, may be removed and stored in a suitable place, until the owner pays a towing charge of $35.00, (if paid within 5 days) or $45.00 thereafter. Vehicle owners and operators are requested to comply with the By- Law, in the interest of public safety and efficient snow removal. A.J. Gauthier Clerk-Treasurer Township of Schreiber November 16, 1989 Serendipity, 7 Gardens FULLY LICENCED Eide wha Abe es c | | | 824-2890 ROSSPORT, GOURMET MENU Enjoy our changing lunch and ONTARIO ---- dinner specials Friday evening CATERING PRIME RIB available for larger all you can eat parties or in your home. BRUNCH SPECTACULAR Saturday and Sunday SERVING FROM 11 A.M. | Closed all day Monday and Sunday evening at 6 =p Reader hopes baby's strength By Shelley Long This article is written as a human interest story. I hope hear- ing of this courageous baby will encourage people to keep up their courage and strength when things look grim. My youngest sister gave birth to her second child in January of this year. It was a beautiful baby girl and her name is Stacey. For four months she appearcd normal for her age except for an intoler- ance to formula and slow weight gain. Shortly after she reached the age of four-months she began to vomit. She kept little food down and my sister phoned the doctor and started treating her with a clear fluid diet. A week went by and the baby started to improve slowly. Then on Friday she vomited again only this time she could not stop. She was rushed to the hospi- tal where she was secn by a pedi- atrician. Her heart rate was racing and her chest was pumping quickly with every breath she took. Her eyes were wide with fright. It was after an echocardio- gram that the pediatrician acted on arranging a transfer to a Children's Hospital in another city. She was flown by helicopter to the city where she would spend her next four wecks. Like in most spccialized treat- ment centres, shc underwent more tests than many of us could even imagine. Aficr the tests were done the doctors informed my sister of the results. I don't know how she felt when they told her that the beau- tiful daughter she his would die. I only know when si told me how I felt. The words ri through my ears and I felt ".1t my heart became stone, faling from my chest. I was numb, This baby has a rare heart defect. The arteric: that feed the muscle of the heart «cre not feed- ing it blood that hu.) oxygen in it. Therefore, it causc:' the muscle to die more and morc «ach day. Only those of \: +: reading this who have had c': st pain can begin to feel some «:! the discom- fort this baby felt i the just four months of her life. The doctors did a surgery immediately to clamp off one of the "bad" arteries so her own body may develop more co-later- al circulation, It's like creating a dam in a powerful river, the water would find a new path. Her chances of surviving surgery was very poor. But she will give people courage Stacey, pictured above, suffers from a rare heart defect. Her family has received no support from charitable organizations such as The March of Dimes and the Heart and Stroke Foundation even though they financially support these groups. gambled the chances and was soon laying ina tiny bed in a spe- cialized intensive care. unit sur- rounded by life-saving devices. Day by day after she improved. Her heart did set-up its own co-lateral circulation. Then more news came from the vast number of doctors that had exam- ined Stacey. If her condition worsened she would be consid- ered as a heart transplant candi- date. The day came that she was able to return home. With $114 worth of medication she came home. Stacey's life was far from normal. She struggled to keep her 10 Ibs. of weight she had. Her medications disrupted her day three times which she grew to hate and tricking her into swal- lowing them became an art for my sister. Their family life would never be the same again. My sister who works full-time and her husband who works at two jobs to try and make ends meet would now have to deal with more financial stress. They spent their nights taking turns walking with a cranky, unhappy baby., Finding a babysit- ter to take on this burden would have been very difficult, except - that the woman who already babysat my sister's two-year-old had a child with Cystic Fibrosis so she was used to sick children. For two-months Stacey's hos- pital visits began to become more frequent so the doctors once again considered the heart trans- plant. She was again taken to the 'Children's Hospital in another city for work up to collect data for her transplant. She spent three-weeks there undergoing tests and procedures (even one under a general anesthetic). Hope was high in all our minds, we knew that her chances NOTICE OF MEETING Schreiber Community Credit Union Limited will hold its annual meeting Thursday- November 23, 1989 at 7:30 p.m. in the Credit Union Office Lower haat The agenda will include reports of committees, election of officers, appointment of auditor and transaction of regular business of the meeting. Draws will be held Coffee & Donuts will be served. Members are asked to attend. This notice will not be mailed. Board of Directors : Schreiber Community Credit Union Limited were low of surviving a trans- plant but they were lower of sur- viving without one. The doctors encouraged my sister to keep her hopes up. Stacey continued to improve with her lung conditions improving. She was now waving bye-bye as the nurses approached her with her medication and smiling when - mom walked in. ; She seemed like the ideal can- didate. Then the doctor dropped the bomb on my sister. Stacey would not be placed on the trans- plant list. Her future was grim. She may survive to celebrate her first year of life. The doctor' said that her arter- ies would not be strong enough to withstand the rejection tests. To the doctors that may sound like a fair reason. But to this baby's family it sounds like they have sentenced her to death without a second chance: Stacey went home this week and her monthly medications now total $130. The cost of these and all the trips that her parents have taken to see her are causing a financial pull. Is that the end of the road for Stacey? Stacey doesn't think so. She coo's and giggles and plays with her toys. At eight months | old she weighs 11 Ibs. There are other hospitals in the United States that perform trans- plants and some that are pioneers in that field but how do you reach that type of care? Without finan- cial security these hospitals are only ones that can be read about in magazines. There's a theory about sick children that I was told about when I worked in a Children's Hospital in Utah. "A child is born with a goal for life. ONce that goal is complete, they return to © God." That goal may be reached in one hour, one day, one year. or a whole life. Most of you reading this would be thinking that some foundation may be able to help. My sister began calling these foundations shortly after Stacey's first hospital visit. She called the United Way first since she had had a payroll donation to them for the 10 years she has worked. There, she found the first door slammed in her face. She contin- ued to find the doors shutting at the Heart & Stroke Foundation, the March of Dimes and the Easter Seals. The only ones to help the fam- ily out with some expenses were two small groups. The Salvation Army paid one trip and the Greyhound Bus Lines allowed my sister to travel for frce to see Stacey when seats were available. On behalf of Stacey and my sister, I'd like to th.ink them.

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