The Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-08-06, Page 22 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, August 6, 2014
It Only Took a Nickel to Change a Young Life
Submitted
Three-year-old Cayden Sloetjes is recovering
from complications of swallowing a nickel. He
still has a long way to go. June 2014.
'IF Cayden Sloetjes
Swallowed a Coin
with Disastrous Results
Valerie Gillies
Editor/Lucknow Sentinel
On February 14, 2014,
Anthony and Vanessa Sloetjes
were clearing the table after a
fancy dinner when they heard
their 3 -year-old son Cayden
screaming from the living room.
He said he had swallowed a
penny and it was stuck in his
throat. After both parents were
unsuccessful in removing the
coin, which was actually a
nickel, they decided to take their
son to a clinic to have him
checked out for their peace of
mind. The clinic advised them to
take him to an ER as they did not
have the equipment to remove it
if it was really stuck.
At the hospital Cayden walked
up to the triage nurse and said,
"Hi, I'm Cayden. I was watching
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TV and I put a penny in my
mouth and now it's stuck in my
throat." He was acting like his
normal self and charmed the
nurses.
An X-ray confirmed there was
a nickel stuck in Cayden's
esophagus. He needed to have
immediate surgery to have it
removed to prevent it from mov-
ing into his windpipe which
would not allow him to breathe.
After the surgery the Sloetjes
were told it was a success and
indications were that there was
only an abraision and he could
go home the next day.
The next morning Cayden's
parents noticed he was very
swollen. They had been told to
expect some, but this was exces-
sive. His voice did not sound
right, either. Vanessa alerted the
nurse and a whirlwind of doc-
tors and nurses soon came to
check and he was rushed to Sick
Kids Hospital and straight into
OR to repair a hole in his
esophagus.
There were strict rules with
how many people could be with
him at what times. The Sloetjes
made many trips back and forth
from the waiting room to also
care for their 3 -month old son
Donovan. The size of the hole
was much worse than they had
thought and fluid was collecting
around his lung. A tube was
inserted in his chest to drain the
fluid.
There have been many com-
plications and surgical proce-
dures since then. Cayden wears
a back pack for feeding so that
he can move around like a nor-
mal kid since he is unable to eat.
Cayden was discharged on
June 23 and the Sloetjes were
able to take him home. There are
still more surgeries to go.
Cayden is a grandson of
Belinda Sloetjes, owner of Luc -
know Travel. Everyone is invited
to attend a fundraising Silent
Auction and Raffle to be held
Saturday, August 9 from noon -5
p.m. at the Chesley Legion to
help Anthony and Vanessa cover
expenses to care for Cayden.
Art Exhibition Celbrates Blyth Centre 40Th Anniversary
Robert Tetu
The Blyth Festival Art Gallery is
taking a trip back in time to cele-
brate the 40th anniversary of the
Blyth Centre for the Arts. The gal-
lery has been hosting exhibitions
in conjunction with the Centre,
starting in 1976, with local artists
displaying their work in a make-
shift space in the basement of the
Memorial Hall. Since then art has
been displayed at the Festival and
the individual works have found
their way into local homes, as well
as private collections across the
province and even internation-
ally. Among the great artists
whose work has been shown are
London's Herb Ariss, George Reid
and Robert Bateman, as well as
native artists from Manitoulin
Island and some of the most
prominent makers of craft in the
province.
It is fitting that two of the
founding members of the Gal-
lery, Ron Walker and Jerry
McDonnell are curating the
show, which will include works
from previous exhibitions as well
as present Gallery members.
They dedicate a special acknowl-
edgment to the late Dan and
Marg Webster, who Wallcer says,
"bought a piece from almost
every exhibition we had."
Viewers can expect to see
beautiful examples of paintings
in oil, acrylic, watercolour and
encaustic, photography, mixed
media, wood engravings and
wood cuts, zinc engravings and
lithographs, silk screen and
collage. In three dimensional
work, there is stoneware, por-
celain and ralcu pottery, blown,
slumped and stained glass, rug
hooking, fabric art, folk art,
metal, wood turning and carv-
ing, and other media too
numerous to mention. It's a
one -of -a -kind trip down Mem-
ory Lane for the Gallery.
"Celebrating 40 Years", a ret-
rospective exhibition, is pre-
sented by the Blyth Festival Art
Gallery and sponsored by Carol
and Jerry McDonnell and Bev
and Ron Walker. It can be
viewed in the Bainton Gallery
(next to the Box Office) in the
Blyth Memorial Hall, August
15th to September 20th, Tues-
days to Saturdays, from 10 am
to 9 pm.
The public is invited to attend
the Opening Reception on Fri-
day, August 15th, at 6 pm.
For more information, con-
tact Robert Tetu at 519-345-
2184 or email gallery@blythfes-
tival.com.
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