FRIDAY
S I N C E
MARCH 15, 2013
1 8 9 5 Gardening guru returns
Vol. 118, Issue 43
110
$
Page 11
INCLUDING H.S.T.
PROUDLY SERVING THE COMMUNITIES OF ROSSLAND, WARFIELD, TRAIL, MONTROSE, FRUITVALE & SALMO
KIDNEY HEALTH MONTH
March highlights awareness BY SHERI REGNIER Times Staff
TIMOTHY SCHAFER PHOTO
Burn survivor Spencer Beach spoke to over 400 students at J.L Crowe Secondary School on Thursday about how decisions made now can greatly influence one’s life. Below, Grade 12 student Alyssa Berdusco meets with Beach after his presentation.
Burn survivor shares story with students BY TIMOTHY SCHAFER Times Staff
He was on top of the world. Spencer Beach was 29 years old, happily married with a baby on the way, was one of the best in the flooring trade in Edmonton, and his business was flourishing. But one day his life changed forever. A job site safety error found Beach engulfed in a flash fire. “It came with a whistle and a bang, changing my life within the blink of an eye,” he told an assembly of over 400 students at J.L Crowe Secondary School on Thursday morning. Beach spoke to the students for one hour on how the decisions they make now could greatly influence the rest of their lives, and how playing it safe was never a foolish option. Within 20 seconds of the fire breaking out Beach said he received third and fourth degree burns to 90 percent of his body. He fought through the fire to escape, even though he thought he was going to die. “Holding onto the fading thoughts of my wife and the developing child within her womb gave me the courage to find a way out,” he said. He had no idea what that survival would mean. It has been a struggle to
get his life back, and he has been greatly changed in the process. “But I would never change what happened to me if I had the option to go back, it’s been a blessing,” he replied to one student at the end of the presentation. “You guys have your whole lives ahead of you and some of the decisions you make now could make your life very rich, or troublesome like mine was,” he noted earlier. Beach spoke at length about the effects of his spiralling drug and alcohol use at a young age, and how he had lost sight of what life meant in his pursuit of his “fun.”
He earned thousands of dollars working on the oil rigs early in life, but spent thousands of dollars on his vices, finally deciding at the age of 20 that he did not want that lifestyle anymore. As a result of his decision to quit, he lost all of his friendships and had to start over. “That’s what drugs and alcohol got me: nothing. Absolutely nothing,” he said. “It was fun. I get that. But the problem is you are always trying to reach out for that next fun that it becomes normal. And then that normal becomes the only way you know how to have fun.” Beach also talked about safety in recreation, on the job, and in life, and how simple decisions—like to wear a helmet while snowboarding—could make a difference later in life. Now Beach measures success at the end of each day by asking if his family is happy, healthy and safe. “I no longer worry about anything else,” he said. “I no longer worry about what people think of me, I no longer worry about the bills coming in, I no longer worry if that next cheque is coming in. Why don’t I worry? Because those things always seem to work themselves out.” He encouraged the students to make their own decisions in life, and embrace their uniqueness. See MESSAGE, Page 3
The Kidney Health Foundation of Canada has earmarked March as Kidney Health Month. Its purpose is to bring awareness to this incurable and often underrecognized disease. For one Montrose native, a misdiagnosis in his younger years has lead to daily peritoneal dialysis, a treatment for patients with severe chronic kidney disease. “I had symptoms when I was much younger,” said Doug Deyotte. “It wasn’t caught early, because back then the doctor thought it was related to a sports injury.” Deyotte’s story is not unique. When a person’s kidneys fail, it seems to happen suddenly, without warning. Only afterwards do they learn that their kidneys had been failing slowly, unknown to them for quite some time. Deyotte said that this was the case with him; his kidney disease was silent. “Awareness is key,” he said. “If you have high blood pressure and other symptoms such as frequent urination at night. It might not be age-related changes, but kidney related.” According to Statistics Canada kidney disease has increased by 60 per cent in the last 10 years, A simple blood test called the eGFR (glomerular filtration rate) can be ordered by a family doctor to screen for kidney disease. “Approximately 600 patients from the East Kootenay and Kootenay Boundary receive care through the Kootenay Renal Program each year,” said Maureen Lewis, manager for the program at Kootenay Boundary Regional Hospital (KBRH). Even though the number of people diagnosed with early stage kidney disease has grown considerably, the efforts between the BC Renal Agency and regional authorities to identify and treat kidney disease earlier, have reduced the annual dialysis growth rate from 16 to less than five per cent. See DIABETES, Page 3
The days just seem full of warmth when you have the peace of mind lifetime financial security brings. We can help you, at home or at work, with retirement plans and investments, benefits, life and health insurance, and saving for your child’s education. That means a brighter outlook for everyone under the sun. Tim Pettigrew* CHS Pettigrew Financial Services Inc. 250-368-3553
Canada Post, Contract number 42068012
tim.pettigrew@sunlife.com www.sunlife.ca/tim.pettigrew 1440 Bay Avenue, Trail, BC V1R 4B1 *Mutual funds offered by Sun Life Financial Investment Services (Canada) Inc. © Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, 2013.
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Life’s brighter under the sun