Lives That Have Touched Us

Lives That Have Touched Us, written by Lynne Atkinson for Lifestyles and reprinted with permission.

	Donors Do It For Life! Published May 5, 2012 Donors make the difference in health care. One donor in particular is tied to the life of local teen Meghan Morrison. Peter Munk, Chairman of Barrick Gold established the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre in 1997. Today, the Centre handles 20,000 patient visits to specialized clinics and 1,700 open-heart surgeries annually. Referrals stem world-wide but in our story the referral was a young teen from Parry Sound. >>Read More...

	Cementing Health and Safety in the Workplace and at the Cottage Published May 6, 2011 Lafarge headquartered in Paris, France with head offices for the Americas in Virginia operates in 78 countries worldwide. With this kind of global access you might wonder why the Regional Vice President and CIO for the Americas, Patrick Kys chose Parry Sound as the location to host a key team building weekend. It is no coincidence. It stems from relationships at the cottage. >>Read More...

	Urban Poling – Modern Day Waist Management Published April 25, 2011 This past Saturday evening at the Parry Sound Chamber of Commerce annual gala, Jeff and Sandra Quathamer innkeepers at the Bayside Inn, humbly won the ‘Tourism of the Year Award’. In celebration, they danced the night away. For Jeff that night of dance exercise and fun gave way to engaging exercise of a different sort Monday morning. Enrolled in the current session of cardiac rehab at the West Parry Sound Health Centre, Jeff was introduced to urban poling. >>Read More...

	Not Your Average Valentine’s Day Gift Published February 16, 2011 Having a family member with a dicey heart gives Valentine’s Day a different meaning. No longer is it just about chocolates and flowers. February 14th represents a milestone of another year passed without a cardiac incidence. Hundreds of local families live in this new reality of a celebration of heart health over heart shaped sweets. Treats for our sweethearts are a myriad of pills meant to keep their ticker ticking. >>Read More...

	Cindy Hatherley’s Advice: Support Local Activities Published May 27, 2010 The Biosphere Walk Run Roll takes place this Sunday, May 30th. The weatherman is promising our 200 plus participants a spectacular day to walk, run or roll the course. Added to the buzz this year is the Lafarge group. Brent Wolfram is a local cottager and principal with Lafarge Americas. Early on Brent joined us as a sponsor and through sheer enthusiasm is bringing 58 participants from the GTA, making our event an economic stimulus for the first time! Our good friends, the nationally acclaimed Running Room, have secured our chip timers to ensure accurate, reliable results. Local businesses and volunteers are supplying all the important details that make this event such a great sporting experience. >>Read More...

	Barb Scott's Advice: Humour is Hope Published May 14, 2010 On a gorgeous sunny day near the end-of-April, I walked our 5 K route for the Biosphere Walk, Run, Roll with an extraordinary woman. Every step of that walk led me to a new understanding of the power of counting your steps and setting a goal. >>Read More...

	My Advice: Try Counting Your Steps Published April 27, 2010 When Charlene gave me the schedule for the series of Do It For Life articles, she noted the focus in Lifestyles this week is Recreation and encouraged me to write about exercise. Back in January, I easily agreed. Now, as I sit facing my computer, I’m embarrassed. There are so many people better equipped than me to write an article on ‘exercise’. >>Read More...

	Sam Kewaquado’s Advice: Live Stress Free Published April 1, 2010 Sam cuts a striking figure and while I have been aware of him since first moving to Parry Sound, it’s only recently that we met. Sam is an artisan who crafts birch bark baskets in the pre-European contact Ojibway tradition and this year, celebrates a century of the industry within his family. His notable stature and soft-spoken manner belies an inner spirit ready to fight for honor, justice and moral right. >>Read More...

	Bill Jameson’s Advice: Don’t Let History Repeat Itself Published March 10, 2010 Since January 2008 Lifestyles has published 12 articles for our featured cardiac series. Most wrenched my heart as I delved into the stories of people fighting for life after almost losing it. But that's not Bill Jameson's story. While medical intervention is key to Bill's good health today, it wasn't a heart attack that brought him to cardiac care. It was history. >>Read More...

	Brittlee and Connor Advise: Go for Gold Published February 2, 2010 Two of Doctor Fargher’s youngest patients live with a chronic medical condition. Asthma. I’m astonished at how it presents in these two young athletes. Or perhaps I should say, I’m astonished at how these two young athletes present with asthma. >>Read More...

	Fred Smiley's Advice: Will, Determination and Faith can Create Miracles Published April 24, 2009 The woman that I work with at the Foundation is Cathy Knox. Our offices are adjacent, separated by a paper-thin wall with Cathy's office having the better view to the lobby of the hospital. Our practice is to speak to one another through the wall. One day, as I was working at my desk, oblivious to the world around me, Cathy spoke through the wall to tell me to look at the information desk. Volunteers staff the information desk at the hospital during weekdays. Two volunteers work two shifts for a total of four volunteers at that position daily. When I looked over, Lorna Smiley was at the desk accompanied by Fred, Lorna's husband. Lorna wore the blue vest signifying volunteer Health Centre staff while Fred was fully dressed in street clothes. My eyes moistened to see him sitting there. >>Read More...

	Pam Cameron's Advice: Carpe Diem, Sieze the Day Published April 3, 2009 Standing outside the plexi-glass enclosure watching her young students gracefully dance across the ice, I contemplate the world of Pam Cameron. Pam's students face their routines with a firm resolve. In that very same manner, the woman herself faces life. >>Read More...

	Carson's Advice: Understand that You are Special Published April 25, 2008 A common thread woven throughout my conversations with adults who have endured a heart attack is their denial when initialing suffering symptoms. Twelve-year-old Carson Deshevy-Renouf has never doubted what chest pains imply. >>Read More...

	Doris and Larry's Advice: Monitor Your Meds and Play Published March 28, 2008 It takes more than drugs to keep the adrenalin flowing... but for people with heart disease, drugs count. Although a cottager to the area since 1959, Doris didn't give much thought to the hospital until the summer of 2004. For the entire 45 years prior, Doris remained invincible. Arriving at the cottage in late June, she stayed put until late August, barely venturing into town except for the odd supply or the occasional Festival of Sound performance. But that summer, all routines changed. Prescriptions for Doris' faltering heart, heat, and age combined to create a cocktail that pushed the spirited cottager, in her words "down the drain fast". >>Read More...

	Eleanor Kearns' Advice: Give the First Million to Dr. Fargher Published March 7, 2008 It's a blustery February day and I'm pulling into Eleanor Kearns' driveway. Despite the blizzard packed winter that has parking lots elsewhere drowning in snow, I observe Eleanor's commodious well-plowed drive that allows me to turn and park my car with ease. >>Read More...

	Millie Graham's Advice: Take Charge of Your Own Health Published February 22, 2008 Despite being a cherished speaker for heart and stroke, a mentor for hundreds of recovering stroke survivors and helping to raise over $10,000,000 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation, Millie Graham never gets to finish a job for Parry Sound. >>Read More...

	Dan Lawson's Advice: Observe Your Lifestyle Published February 1, 2008 On May 2, 2007, Dan Lawson had a wake-up call. Quite literally. Like every other morning, Dan woke at 5:30 a.m. But that day was different from all others. Dan stirred from his sleep with a pain in the middle of his chest. >>Read More...

	Bill Spinney's Advice: Observe the Signs Published January 25, 2008 Upon reflection, Bill Spinney realized that he had been exhibiting warning signs of a heart attack for a couple of months. The week prior, the pain had been particularly sharp lasting 15 or 20 minutes. But Bill is a busy guy so those warning signs went unchecked. >>Read More...