HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-05-11, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1988.
Lucky 13th marks anniversary of operation
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Celebrating the first anniversary of major surgery to control her
epileptic seizures, Kathy Bromley shows some of the display material
she uses in speaking of her experiences to local organizations and
individuals. “If I can help even one person, it will all be worth it,” she
says.
Sacrifice, Packer
tells pro-lifers
Don’t ever tell Kathy Bromley
that Friday the 13th means bad
luck.
The number has a world of
meaning to the young Blyth
woman, but all of it is so good that
she goes around looking for other
connections to the magic number,
and nothing will ever convince her
to do otherwise.
Friday, May 13, marks the first
anniversary of her major surgery at
London’s University Hospital in
which some of the best surgeons in
Canada cut away the part of her
brain that had been responsible for
causing the epileptic seizures
which had ruled every aspect of her
life from the time she was 11 years
old. The day al so marks the time
when her doctor promised her that
she could gradually withdraw from
the medication she has had to use
all of her adult life to control the
seizures.
If she didn’t have a seizure
within one year of surgery, the
doctors said that she could likely be
considered 100 per cent free of the
disorder that had forced her to live
a quiet, shy and withdrawn life for
28 years, fearful and embarrassed
that a new attack would occur in
public at any moment. Now, at the
age of 31, Mrs. Bromley feels her
whole life is ahead of her, at the end
of one of the most important years
ofherlife. (31, she notes, is just 13
backwards.)
Friday, November 13, 1987 also
marked the six-month anniversary
of her epic surgery, and yesterday
(May 10) marked the 13th wedding
anniversary of Kathy and her
husband, Bev, and the couple is
planning to mark the occasion in a
big way.
On Friday, they will leave for a
second honeymoon in Niagara
Falls, where Bev will take his wife
to all the places to see all the sights
they enjoyed on their first honey
moon - sights and places Kathy
now has absolutely no memory of,
since the portion of the brain her
surgeons removed was the portion
which controls part of her memory.
Some memories are gone forever,
but the Bromleys say it’snot too
late to start building a whole new
set to last them all the rest of their
lives.
On their actual wedding anni
versary, Kathy said, she and her
husband will toast each other using
the crystal wine glasses presented
to her by the Auburn Women’s
Institute on the occasion of her first
engagement to speak about her
surgery last June. The glasses
have never been used,she said-
they were saving them just for this
very special occasion.
Life has changed incredibly for
the motheroftwo sons since the
six-hour operation that was to mark
the first day of the rest of her life,
and she can’t believe how full and
good that life is. ‘ * I’m flying so high
these days that Bev is always
threatening to clip my wings, ’ ’ she
said. “He had never known me
except as a semi-invalid.”
She was home seven days after
her surgery, and out visiting
friends nine days after and pining
because she couldn’t get back to
work as the caretaker at Blyth’s
Queen Street Villa senior citizens’
apartmentfortwomonths. Shewas
ready to start back earlier, she
admits, but didn’t think it would
‘‘look good” to Town and Country
Homemaker Jetta Button of Blyth,
who had come in to her home to
help her in the first few weeks,
despite the fact that Kathy says she
always felt guilty about having
somebody else do her work. ‘‘I’d
rather we’d just sit and visit,” she
said.
From that time on Kathy has
never looked back, having got
involved in so many people-orient
ed things that she has no time to
worry about her health. As well as
caretaking Queen Street Villa,
Kathy runs a full recreation
program for the residents, and has
set up an “Adopt-a-Grandparenf ’•
program between “her” seniors
and Blyth Public School children in
Grades 2-3, a program which has
provided a lot of love on both sides.
In addition, she donates her time
as a parent volunteer in other
activiites at the school, and has
gone back to being a very active
member of the Blyth Legion
Ladies’ Auxiliary, doing every
thing from helping with the
organization’s catering to march
ing in their parades.
But most important of all, Kathy
has been going out to speak of her
experiences to local organizations,
and has also built up a network of
contacts with peoplefrom as far
away as Manitoba, people who are
contemplating the new epileptic
surgery for themselves, or for a
loved one.
‘‘I’m willing to go out and talk to
anyone who wants me to,’’ she
says. “If I can help even one person
toa new life, it will all be worth it.”
Wingham
meeting looks
at recreation
Recreation in the Wingham
area, including northern portions
of Morris, East Wawanosh and
West Wawanosh will come under
scrutiny when the first meeting
regarding the new Wingham area
Recreation Master Plan is held
May 26 at the Wingham Armour
ies.
The Master Plan project is to
guide the development of activi
ties. programs, facilities and parks
for the next five years. It will
recommend what new facilities are
required, which existing facilities
should be upgraded or improved,
which leisure activities should be
provided in the future, what new
parks should be developed and
how to improve or expand existing
parks as well as determining how
the municipality can help commun
ity recreational groups and resi
dents increase their enjoyment of
leisure and the quality of life in the
community.
Serious pro-life supporters must
be ready io make sacrifices in their
personal lives, Metro Toronto
police officer David Packer told the
annual meeting of the Wingham
and Area Voice for Life.
Mr. Packer gained notoriety last
year when he refused to guard Dr.
Henry Morgentaler’s Toronto
abortion clinic as a matter of
conscience. He currently is on desk
duty waiting for an appeal to be
reinstated in his old street job.
While Mr. Packer said he has no
illusions that he will win his appeal
to get his job back, he believes he
has become a far better person for
standing up for what he believes is
right.
Mr. Packer said his life changed
quite dramatically and unexpect
edly one year ago when he was
assigned duty guarding the Mor
gentaler clinic. “I hadto decide
quite suddenly to do what I was told
or stand up for what I knew was
right.”
As a supporter of the pro-life
cause, he could not condone what
he calls “the massive slaugther of
innocent people” at the abortion
clinic. Therefore, he asked for
some other detail.
As Mr. Packer suspected, the
staff sergeant and superintendent
ordered him to do the clinic detail.
He refused as a matter of
conscience, realizing his refusal
was a serious offence under the
Police Act.
He was given the choice of
resigning from the force or being
fired. He refused to resign and his
firing currently is under appeal,
although he said, “I have no
expectation of something good
coming from it.”
Until recently, the Morgentaler
clinic was guarded 24 hours a day.
To Mr. Packer that means, “A lot
of powerful people have to be on
this guy’s side.”
He also said it is unprecedented
to fire a police officer who had been
on the job for 10 years and had not
done anything wrong until he
disobeyed an order to guard the
clinic.
‘‘Thishashita sensitive nerve.”
A new abortion law currently is
being drafted for Canada as the
Supreme Court struck down a
Section of the Criminal Code
related to abortion in January.
“You can’t expect too much
fromthisnew law,’’ Mr. Packer
warned the approximately 200
people at the meeting. He even
predicted abortion clinics spring
ing up in the future called, ‘‘Mr.
Abortion, alongthelinesofMr.
Submarine”.
It will not be easy to be pro-life
supporters in the years to come, he
said. ‘‘You willhavetoriskgoing to
jail somewhere along the line and
that’s a horrible price.”
‘‘As my case shows, as soon as
you come up against abortion, you
come up against some incredibly
powerful and maligned interests. ’ ’
Although he probably will not
get back his Metro Police job, Mr.
Packer said, “I’ve won. I don’t
have to be involved in this
carnage.”
The 1988-89 board of directors
was elected at the meeting and
includes: Betty Emily Baird, Tees-
water; Jim and Hinka Bakelaar, RR
5, Brussels; Sally Campeau, Wing
ham; Wanda Damsma, RR 2,
Teeswater; Bonnie Falconer, RR 2
Teeswater; Eleanor Kuyven-
hoven, Wingham; Jean McDon
ald, Belgrave; Nancy McKeon,
Wingham and Joan and John Van
Den Assem, RR 4, Brussels; Rev.
John Vaudry,. Wingham.
Jeffrey Ferguson concentrates hard as Bev Blair paints his face during the annual Garage Sale sponsored
by the Blyth United Church Women in Blyth Friday night. Hundreds crowded Into the Blyth and District
Community Centre for what has become a major community event as people look for bargains and fun in
the games for children.