Julianna Zahn is walking for dad

Twelve-year-old Julianna Zahn is walking from London to Windsor April 24-26 as a tribute to her late father’s long struggle with liver disease. A father to Julianna and Kevin, and husband to Anita, Mike Zahn died August 29, 2007 after three failed liver transplants. He was ill all of Julianna’s life.

As told to Casey Lessard

He always joked with us, no matter how sick he was. He always had a good sense of humour, and I really loved that about him.
Even when he felt terrible, he always smiled at us and wanted hugs. He loved music so much and whenever he felt bad, he picked up a guitar and played. He loved animals, just like I do.
My whole life I had to watch my dad suffer. Doing this walk makes me feel that I am helping him because I always had to sit there and watch him suffer, and I couldn’t do anything. We had rough moments when he was really sick and he couldn’t take it. But we’d tell him that we loved him and a big smile would come across his face.
I always remember when he went away in the ambulances. You’d hear the sirens and see them coming in and getting him. And I remember him struggling to get up the stairs, because his bedroom was up there and that’s where he wanted to be.
I want people to know everything about transplants. The waiting, the stress. It’s not just surgery and pain. You have to go through all of this depression, and transplants are really difficult. Some people do well after transplants, but a lot of people are not so fortunate. The heart, the liver and the lung are the worst. Canada has one of the lowest rates of organ donation among Western countries. There aren’t enough donors. People need to sign their donor cards.
While I’m doing the walk, there will be people walking with me who have had transplants. It’s going to feel like he’s walking with me in a way. I know if he were here he would encourage me.
I know I’ll always have my mom to turn to because she knows what I’m going through; her dad died when she was my age. When other girls get to turn to their dads, I get to turn to my mom. I really am going to miss having my dad around to talk to and having a dad. That’s really going to be hard for me when I get married because before he died, the doctor asked him what inspired him to have the third transplant, and he said, “Because I have a daughter to walk down the aisle.”
Sponsor sheets are available at Westland Greenhouses, Country Corners gas station, Movie Gallery, Sobey’s, Twigs flower shop, New Orleans Pizza, Re/Max Doug Pedlar, The Fitness Centre, and Grand Bend Heating Plus.

Help Julianna by attending fundraising barbecue at Twigs

Support Julianna Zahn’s walk by attending a fundraising barbecue Saturday April 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Twigs Floral Co. on Ontario St. S. in Grand Bend.
There’s recently been a role reversal at Twigs. Linda Relouw sold the flower shop to her employee Carla Sitter, and Relouw now works at the shop part-time. The store will have a re-grand opening Saturday, an event that will also celebrate the store’s 12-year anniversary.
Sitter studied floral design and business at Humber College, and has worked at Twigs for five years, with three years additional work experience at stores in Toronto and London.
In addition to flowers, the shop carries gourmet food products from Gourmet Village and Garlic Box; Sugar and Spice Chocolates, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans, and a variety of gifts. The store is open year-round, Monday to Saturday, 9 to 5. http://www.twigsfloralco.com.

April 27: A reason to ride - Tyson Breuer’s story

Pedal the Pinery
10 a.m. - Pinery Provincial Park
Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser. Ride and Stride 1 p.m. Ride 20 km, walk 8 km. Kiddy walk/ride 1.5 km. Pledge forms available from Peggy Smith at 519-296-5834 or email endoftheline@execulink.com.

Tyson Breuer’s life changed during a short trip to Grand Bend’s Movie Gallery in June 2006. His seatbelt was scratching his neck, and Tyson reached up to discover a sizeable lump on his collarbone. He was misdiagnosed with a terminal form of cancer (a form of non-Hodgkins lymphoma), but then rediagnosed weeks later with a treatable form of classical Hodgkins lymphoma. Treatment started in August.
“A lot of people don’t know what radiation and chemotherapy involve,” he says. “Chemo is a drip that you get through an IV, and it’s a long drip. You’re in there for five hours minimum; eight hours was normal for me, but others are there for two days.
“You’re taken into a chemo suite that smells like new plastic. You’re sitting in this room with tons of really sick people. It’s not a great spot to be in.”
“It messes with your head. Every day after chemo, I would think about out the best way to kill myself so that no one would find my body. That’s the kind of thing I did every day.”
Chemotherapy was once every two weeks for six months. Following that, Tyson had a month off before 25 doses of radiation.
“Radiation for me was the easiest thing. It depends on the person. The radiation hit my breastbone, my heart, my lungs. I had a raspy cough and a sore throat. Those are all of the side effects I had. Some men who have prostate cancer end up with problems with their GI tract and urinating.”
The 20-year-old has now been in remission for a year, but he takes nothing for granted.
“You always have to be cautious. Any time you wake up with a night sweat or something unusual with your health, you get concerned. You have to deal with that kind of stuff on a daily basis. It’s not something you can easily forget.
“I wish I could say I learned not to be angry or that everything’s precious. I still worry about school, getting a job, relationships and all that crap. I still have those kinds of issues. What I’ve learned is my parents and my sister will always be there for me no matter what.”
The family has taken part in the Pinery ride for years, and you can join them April 27.

Register before May 15: Help keep nursery school open

Grand Bend Nursery School needs your help to raise the money needed to stay open, and is launching an annual golf tournament fundraiser at St. Joseph’s Bayview Golf Club May 30.
The nursery school is housed in the Grand Bend Public School, and lost 2/3 of its government funding, reducing its teaching budget by $7,500 per year. Parents already cover the bulk of the costs through tuition and fundraisers.
“With this cutback, we literally will not be able to keep our doors open if we don’t find something big that we can do to help generate some money for us,” says teacher’s assistant Carrie Grainger, who notes the school has been running for about 34 years. “In order to keep young families coming, the town has to offer something. You have to be able to cater to everybody. When you look at the community, there’s nothing for that age group (from 2-5). For the parents, it is important that they have that free time, once or twice a week. And it’s in a learning environment, so they’re learning to play nice and socialize.”
The fundraiser is seeking golfers, volunteers and sponsors, with each hole available for sponsorship at $100 per hole. There will be a live and silent auction, so any donations are welcome. All funds go directly to the school. To register as a player or sponsor, contact Julia at ELS and Company, at 519-238-2199.

May 6-8: Draft community improvement plans

Residents of Lambton Shores are invited to review the DRAFT Community Improvement Plans for Arkona, Forest, Grand Bend, Thedford and Pt. Franks and provide feedback and input.
Meetings will be held at 7 p.m. each night:
May 6 - Thomas Hall, Thedford (Thedford, Arkona & Pt. Franks plans)
May 7 - The Shores Recreation Centre (Forest plan)
May 8 - Grand Bend Legion (Grand Bend plan)

May 1 deadline: Sign up for Shore to Shore Relay

The 2008 Westover Shore to Shore Relay is signing up teams of walkers and runners for its May 30-31 event, a 322 km journey from Port Stanley to Grand Bend. Participants travel through picturesque parts of Elgin, Chatham-Kent and Lambton counties to end with a spectacular finish at Grand Bend beach. This event brings together individuals of all fitness levels in teams of 8-12 for a unique and rewarding challenge to cover a variety of distances.
All proceeds from the event go to benefit the Westover Treatment Centre located in Thamesville. Westover is a treatment centre where individuals can go to find counselling, guidance, support, and friendship in their recovery from tobacco, alcohol and other drug addictions. The centre also aids individuals who have been affected by another person’s addiction.

April 22: Help clean up Lambton Shores

The second annual Lambton Shores Trash Bash event is Tuesday, April 22 from 10 to 11 a.m. Volunteers are needed to help clean up trash, and anyone interested should meet at one of the following five locations throughout the municipality at 10 a.m.: Arkona Library, Grand Bend Legion, Forest Library, Port Franks Community Centre, and Thedford Village Complex. Bring your own gloves and wear bright colours. The municipality will supply garbage and recycling bags. For more information, contact Grace Dekker (dekfam@execulink.com), Catherine Minielly (minieljc@xcelco.on.ca), or Ruth Illman (illmanru@xcelco.on.ca).

Tundra Swans almost all gone

The Lambton Heritage Museum says the Tundra Swans are almost all gone. If you’re looking to get a peek at them, go to the Thedford bog soon (i.e. Saturday morning).

The site said Friday:
“Fewer than 500 swans remain on the bog this morning. They are sitting about four fields back, so bring binoculars if you come.”

Tundra Swans spotted March 25

Tundra Swans have been sighted near Grand Bend. Visit the Lambton Heritage Museum, which is the home base for sighting information, to find out more details about their progress.

Livin’ la vida in Grand Bend

Mexicans Anabel Salas, 18, of Torreón Coahuila and Carmen Rivera, 25, of Taxco both came to Canada in October to learn English. But it wasn’t until an email came through to Anabel’s adopted aunt Doris Becker that they realized the two were living only moments away in the same village. Now, they share a home with Becker in Grand Cove.

As told to Casey Lessard

Anabel: I wanted to learn English and I tried to come to a high school, but it’s so expensive because you need to be a Canadian. The paperwork is so complicated, and it’s as expensive as university. Doris told my dad, “She can come with me and find a baby-sitting job or something like that.” I am here, and I volunteer at her school – she’s a French teacher (at Usborne Public School). I read with the kids and help with the computers. I help in the kindergarten because there’s only one teacher and she needs help. I love the kids. They’re so cute and funny. The kids help me to read. I don’t have good pronunciation, and the kids laugh and tell me, you need to read like this. The kids are so nice.
Carmen: I had two Canadian friends, and they told me Canada is awesome. I love to paint, and they told me the landscape is beautiful, especially in autumn when the trees change colour. Now that it’s winter, there’s a lot of snow, and I like that.
When I was looking on the Internet, I saw the pictures of the beach and thought, it’s almost like Acapulco (laughs). The weather is too cold, but it’s okay. I like it.
I went through an Internet au pair agency. I got a family (the Gaukrogers) in Grand Bend, but they don’t need me anymore, so I decided to move here. Generally I came here to improve my English, but actually I’m a Spanish teacher in Mexico. I love to travel. The last year I was an assistant teacher in France and I was travelling a bit around Europe, too.
The idea is to live with a family so you learn the culture and you can go to the school. But here it was not the same because I didn’t take English lessons. As a nanny, you don’t get too much money. It’s good to learn the language, though.
Anabel: Doris came to Mexico when she was 18 (through Rotary), and she went to high school there and lived with my family. My father came to Canada to do the same, but he lived in Guelph. He stayed in Canada one year, too. Doris considers my family as her family.
Doris told me, “It’s a little town.” But I said, no, it’s not possible to be so little. When I got here, I realized it’s a little town.
I like Grand Bend. It’s so pretty. It’s different because I live in a big city. Here it’s so small and so quiet.
I miss the weather. I don’t like the cold. I don’t like the snow except when we are playing in it. I miss my climate so much. I live in the desert - right now it’s 45ºC there. I had only seen snow one time, but it only stayed one day.
I’d like to come back in the summer or in another year in June. I am not going to miss this weather. I don’t like wearing many layers. I feel I can’t move and I fall down because the ground is frozen.
Where I live it’s really warm. When it’s winter, in the night you need to wear a long T-shirt sometimes. But when I come here, I need three jackets and a scarf, two mittens.
Carmen: I love the weather. The snow, the landscape. Last week we went snowmobiling with a friend from Bikini Bob’s. It was awesome! I like it!
Anabel: It was like when you are driving a motorcycle. It’s so fun. We went by the drive-in. We went along the road and between the trees.
I’d like to go skiing. I went skiing with the kids from the school. I tried snowboarding, but I fell down many times and then I tried the skis and I like it. It’s fun, but it’s difficult.
Carmen: I like to watch, but I don’t want to try. Two years ago I was in Switzerland, and I hurt myself (almost breaking her arm) sledding.
Anabel: When Doris went to Mexico, they asked her if she lived in an igloo. She’d tell them, no, I have a house.
Carmen: I think people don’t know too much about Mexico. People think we are so poor. Obviously there are poor people and rich people. Here it’s easier to make money than in Mexico, but we are not so poor. People think we are ignorant and that we don’t know too much about culture or other things. I don’t like that. Sometimes people ask me, do you know pasta? I say, of course!
Anabel: I am going to miss my friends, the family, Doris. The kids from the school; they’re so friendly and they give me hugs and kisses.
Carmen: I’ll miss the people. People here are very friendly. Especially here in Grand Cove. They say hi when you walk down the street.

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