HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-06-01, Page 10PAGE 10. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2017.
Blyth's Sawchuk makes recovery breakthrough
Making progress
Julie Sawchuk, who is seen here kayaking in Huron County last week, has been making
significant progress on her road to recovery after being paralyzed in a car/bicycle collision
nearly two years ago. As a result, Sawchuk was paralyzed from the chest down, but through
her physiotherapy has been making progress in building muscle to the point that she can now
move her hip flexer muscles. In terms of kayaking, Sawchuk is now looking forward to working
with the Canadian national paralympic kayaking team in the near future to help hone her skills.
(Photo submitted)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Almost two years since the
accident that left her paralyzed from
the chest town, Blyth's Julie
Sawchuk is seeing some dramatic
progress in her recovery.
Sawchuk, who has been
maintaining a blog since her
accident in 2015, recently wrote
about the build-up of her hip flexor
muscles, also known as the
quadratus lumborum (QL) muscle.
The muscles are far below her
paralysis line, which fills Sawchuk
with hope that her extensive
physiotherapy is working.
The revelation came through a
recent physiotherapy session at
London's Parkwood Institute.
Sawchuk was placed on her hands
and knees and through one of the
motions, was able to lift one of her
knees off the mat thanks to the
strength in her core and back.
If the building of muscle and
Report
projects
enrolment
Continued from page 1
discussed officially until next year.
If and when the move is initiated,
Baird -Jackson says that a
consultation process will begin.
A consultation process is different
from the accommodation review
process that was initiated in the
community a number of years ago
which resulted in the closure of
Blyth, East Wawanosh, Wingham,
Turnberry Central and Brussels
Public Schools.
Baird -Jackson says that a
consultation is necessary when a
school board is considering moving
less than 50 per cent of a school's
population for any reason. The
process would be open to parents
and potentially students and staff
members as well as the school
board.
For more information on the
school board or to view the
preliminary accommodation
analysis report for 2016/2017, visit
the board's website at
yourschools.ca.
healing continues, she said, she
could see a future in which she's
strong enough to stand with the help
of braces — all she needs is the core
strength she appears to be
developing thanks to nearly a year of
physiotherapy and muscle -building
exercises.
Sawchuk says she was surprised to
see what she could do with her
muscles and found it really
promising for what's in store for her
going forward if she keeps up the
hard work.
When Sawchuk first attended
Parkwood, she was told that people
with her type of injury only have an
11-15 per cent chance of any kind of
recovery. Her approach to that figure
has always been that she wouldn't
know if she was in that 11-15 per
cent or not if she didn't try her
hardest to get there.
She says that her physiotherapy
work, now that she's seeing results,
has been so important and staying
dedicated and disciplined has been
crucial to that success. Recovery, she
says, has been a full-time job and
like many jobs, there were
discouraging days and days where
she got up in the morning and
simply didn't want to go to work.
That hard work and perseverance
has now paid off and is spurring her
on to continue working in hope of
seeing further progress.
She feels as though her body is
continuing to heal in those areas,
which is a great sign that will allow
for muscle growth to occur. She also
feels that's why she's so tired all the
time, because her body is using up
its energy healing.
This wave of enthusiasm is great,
Sawchuk says, but it's a reminder
that not all days are like this.
Sawchuk says she recently felt as if
she had plateaued in her recovery
and wasn't making any progress.
Days like those made it hard to
continue the recovery process.
To now have firm evidence that the
process is working and that she's
getting stronger every day, however,
makes it all worthwhile, Sawchuk
says.
Thinking back to those early days
in the process at Parkwood makes
Sawchuk realize just how far she's
come. She says she doesn't do it
very often, because those were dark
days, but there are times where it's
nice to think back and mentally chart
the progress her body has made.
For instance, she says that in the
early days of using a standing frame
she would struggle to get to the
three-minute mark, whereas now
she's watching entire episodes of
Netflix shows before she decides to
have a seat.
Sawchuk says that at first she
needed a wheelchair equipped with a
e,
,�0 , G
�o�` Join
r MPP Lisa Thompson &
South Huron Mayor Maureen Cole
in a celebration of
Remarkable Huron County Women
MAUREEN COLE
South Huron Mayor
June 15th, 2017
Reception — 6:30 pm • Dinner — 7:00 pm
Tickets — $15
South Huron Recreation Centre
94 Victoria St. East, Exeter, ON
Please RSVP by June 9" to lisa.thompson@pc.ola.org
or call 519-523-4251 or 519-630-2891
special tilt function that laid her
down if her blood pressure dropped
too low. Now, she's driving herself
to London and back for her
Parkwood appointments.
She's continuing her work with
the electrical stimulus bicycle, as
well as her standing frame and the
exoskeleton, which is all part of the
ongoing recovery process.
Sawchuk is also remaining active
in a number of different physical
activities. She is currently working
on learning to kayak, which she
hopes will take the place of her
passion for hiking before she was
paralyzed.
Kayaking can easily be a way for
Sawchuk to be outdoors and move
through nature, given her current
status. In fact, she has been invited
to work with members of the
Canadian paralympic kayaking team
later this year, although a date has
yet to be determined for that training
and education session.
In addition, she recently
completed the Dave Mounsey five -
kilometre Run Around The Square,
propelling herself the entire way in
her wheelchair.
Sawchuk is also turning an eye to
swimming after making contact with
Vicki Keith a retired Canadian
marathon swimmer who currently
holds 16 world records. She was the
first swimmer to cross all five of the
Great Lakes.
Keith now lives in Kingston and
works with children with physical
disabilities and has become
somewhat of an expert on helping
those with physical challenges enjoy
swimming
She has agreed to help Sawchuk
with her goal of swimming, saying
that she feels Sawchuk should be
able to swim using all four strokes,
despite her challenges.
To follow Sawchuk's personal
blog and continued recovery, visit
j uliesawchuk.blogspot. ca.
Share the road
Julie Sawchuk, front, along with members of a newly -
formed cycling safety committee in Huron County, has been
instrumental in making cycling safer in Huron County. The
group is pictured here with one of its many "Share the
Road" signs that have been installed throughout Huron on
known cycling routes. (Photo submitted)
The Citizen
Wants to Near from You!
t'
' a r/ ''n. Y .
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Let us know what is happening in your area by
emailing a picture for possible inclusion
on our website's "Picture of the Day".
Please include a small caption about the picture ..
Visit our website at northhuron.on.ca
- maybe your picture will be the
PHOTO OF THE DAY!
Email submissions to:
reporter@ northhuron.on.ca