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THURSDAY December 11, 2014 • www.langleytimes.com
16 28 31 He’s making it work for Isabella NEWS
COMMUNITY
SPORTS
Angels Among Us
Stafford ‘Good Citizen’ Named
Canada Calls ’Cats
ROUND-THE-CLOCK CARE FOR CHILD CHANGES ALDERGROVE FATHER’S LIFE KU RT L AN G M A N N Bl ack Pre s s
An Aldergrove father is struggling physically and financially in dealing with his young daughter’s serious health issue. It’s a round the clock responsibility as 15-month-old Isabella Olmr has a rare condition that simply causes her to stop breathing. It started a mere five hours after her birth, when doctors observed “episodes of apnea with severe oxygen desaturation and apparent seizure activity.” Doctors call it hypoventilation syndrome as she shows no respiratory drive but they have not been able to determine the cause. As a result Isabella has spent the entire first year of her life in BC Children’s Hospital, where she had a tracheostomy placed in her neck just over a year ago to assist her with her breathing. A ventilation system is connected, and sensors — a SAT monitor — set off alarms when there is a problem with her heart rate or oxygen levels. G-tube feeding was also used until Isabella started taking food from a spoon as approved by doctors at Children’s Hospital. Her father, Andrew, has taken on the responsibility of being her sole caretaker after separating from Isabella’s mother in January. He also cares for their eight-year-old daughter, Rachel, in the home he’s owned in Aldergrove for the past nine years. Continued Page 4
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Andrew Olmr feeds his daughter Isabella at home, where she wears a ventilation tube all day long to help her breathe. Isabella requires round the clock care in her home to ensure she is breathing and not suffering any complications.
City, police working to improve safety FRANK BUCHOLTZ Times Reporter
The City of Langley is working with police and other agencies to make its streets safer, and to reduce fears that some people have about their personal safety. That was the overarching message from a meeting called by Mayor Ted Schaffer on Wednesday morning, involving City administrator Francis Cheung, Langley RCMP head Supt. Murray Power, Langley RCMP
Staff-Sgt. Dave Carr, TransLink Police chief Neil Dubord and deputy chief Ed Eviston. Cheung and Dubord outlined measures the City and TransLink have taken to improve safety in and around the Logan Avenue bus exchange, which has been the centre of attention since The Times reported on a serious incident Nov. 28, in which a man getting off a bus was attacked and beaten by two teens. His tools and rent money was stolen. They were arrested soon
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afterwards by Langley RCMP. Dubord said the man, Chris Lafrenier, was attacked after he walked away from the bus exchange late at night, on his way home from work. He said the attack took place near the 7-Eleven store at 203 Street and 56 Avenue. Langley RCMP have not yet said exactly where the attack took place. Power said the two teens, 15 and 19, were picked up quickly as a result of an initiative Langley RCMP have developed to have a
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good presence in the City late at night. “The City is paying for a good number of members per citizen,” he said. “Geography works for us there, as it is a tight quadrant, and we can be very efficient at certain times. We have really started to see a change in crime statistics. Anyone who is around in the middle of the night will be checked by a cop, and the word is out that police are present.
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