Making our funds work to help

Tanya Hutchens presents material on Christian Blind Mission

Mississauga Physiotherapist Ready for Challenges in Haiti

CBM, Mississauga, ON, Feb. 23, 2010 – Next week, Julie Hard will be leaving for a trip of a lifetime. But it’s not a vacation. For the next six months, she’ll be working as a physiotherapist for cbm Canada in Haiti, helping the most vulnerable people who have survived the earthquake.

“People can rebuild their lives through rehabilitation. As a physiotherapist, I have a heart for helping people by making lasting improvements in the quality of their lives,” says 35-year-old Hard who has Masters of Science degree in Physiotherapy.

Hard believes her clinical experience will give her a strong foundation for embracing the many clinical challenges that lie ahead. Over 300,000 people were injured in Haiti from the January 12th earthquake. Thousands have had their limbs amputated, leaving a generation of newly disabled people.

“Professionally, I have worked in a variety of settings that have helped me to prepare for work in Haiti,” says Hard, whose experience includes caring for people with disabilities in underserved communities both at home and abroad.

From 2003 to 2008, Hard provided rehabilitation support to individuals with disabilities in a rural community of Western Kenya through the International Centre for Disability and Rehabilitation during a challenging time of drought and post-election conflict.

While in Kenya, Hard also provided training for people living with disabilities, as well as care givers who had complex neurological conditions, burns, wound infections and a multitude of injuries including amputation and traumatic injury.

Hard will be taking a leave of absence from her current job at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, where she specializes in acute care medicine and also coordinates initiatives to support rehabilitation for people living with HIV. She is currently living at Matthew House which provides shelter, guidance and support for newly arrived refugees to Toronto.

“I have a personal connection to the people of Haiti because of refugees I have met at Matthew House. It has reinforced the need for me to support our global community with my skills, training and experience,” says Hard.

“As a Christ follower, I am called to serve,” she adds. “I am fortunate to be able to offer my skills to help in this rebuilding process and to bring hope for a future in Haiti.”

Hard will be one of six cbm physiotherapists on the ground in Haiti, serving at different hospitals every day, treating about 30 patients per day.

cbm has been working in Haiti since 1976, with development projects throughout the country, including five programs for those with disabilities in Port-au-Prince. More than 300,000 people have been injured from the disaster.

cbm, Handicap International and a representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) are meeting with the Haitian Secretariat of State for Integration of Persons with Disabilities to begin drafting a National Plan on Disability. The plan will create a framework that will channel all efforts by NGOs working on disability.

A leading international Christian humanitarian organization, cbm works to meet the needs of persons with disabilities in the poorest countries of the world.

The Earthquake in Haiti

Tanya Hutchens contributes to Canadian Cancer Society

The 2010 Relay For Life has stepped into the ring in the fight against cancer and come out swinging.

Saturday night at the Royal Canadian Legion Pembroke branch, the 2010 relay campaign kicked off with an official media and public launch.

Relay team members, sponsors, Canadian Cancer Society supporters, cancer survivors and their families all packed the hall to begin the multi-month fundraising campaign that will culminate with the relay itself on the track at Dundonald Hall at CFB Petawawa on June 4.

It is the single largest fundraising event for the cancer society in the county and after the event this June, it is expected to have raised $3 million during its more than 10-year history. Such was the goal announced during the kickoff by this year’s event chair-ma

n Roger Martin, who has taken over from 2009 chairman Ed Gagnon.

Following opening remarks from Cancer Society staff and Relay For Life organizers and sponsors, past fundraising teams that had reached milestones in terms of dollars raised were acknowledged. After the formalities, it was time to get down to some serious fun with a little murder mystery mayhem courtesy of Those Phantom Knights.

To kick the event off, Dave Henderson of the Canadian Cancer Society Renfrew County Unit, doing his best ring announcer, got the group moti with some rousing cheers.

“Why do we Relay for Life? We Relay For Life to celebrate cancer survivors and to fight back. We Relay For Life to Remember those that have lost their battle with cancer,” he said. “We come as individuals but when we come together we celebrate and remember we have become warriors in the fight against cancer and we’re going to fight back.”

Someone that has fought back and won is this year’s honorary survivor, Danielle Swant. She is 14-years-old and a Grade 9 student at Bishop Smith Catholic High School.

This is the second time that she has been named the honorary survivor. She was also the honorary survivor in 2002 at the tender age of seven.

“It is really nice to have been asked back. The Relay For Life is such a good event, with more and more people every year. It’s fun to meet new people and to get together with old friends and reflect,” Ms. Swant said.

People who have recently received a diagnosis of a blood cancer often have questions about the disease, the prognosis and the treatments available. This section of the Web site is arranged to provide information to answer some of these questions and assist patients in finding additional resources.

It is important to learn about the disease, but also to learn about your insurance coverage, healthcare facilities and how to obtain support for yourself and your family. Specific questions may also be answered by information specialists at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Information Resource Center. The center is open every business day, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET, at (800) 955-4572.

The word “diagnosis” means to distinguish or identify a disease. Patients usually arrive at the doctor’s office with a series of complaints or symptoms. Through questioning and examination the physician may also observe abnormal “signs,” such as an enlarged spleen. The results of laboratory tests provide further information. The accumulated evidence leads the physician to a decision about the final diagnosis.

Patients who receive a diagnosis often wish to learn more about the disease and the tests used to determine the diagnosis. This section is here to assist.