The Goderich Signal-Star, 1986-08-20, Page 22PAGE 6A —GODERICH SIG'NAL-STAR. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1986
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Community News
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The Ultimate in
Hair Design"
53 South Ste Goderich
524-4279
The Royal Air Force reunion held during the. Port Albert Ses-
quicentennial was a great success with approximately 30 ex -
airmen in attendance. The front row includes Bill Balkwell, of
Toronto, Sandy Rider, of Lucknow and Don Harrington, of London,
the centre row includes Al Beal, of Stratford, B. Turland, Harold
Ritz,' of Shelburne, Frank Wilcox, of Goderich, Doug Nurton, of
Kincardine, John Bourne, of Clinton, Dennis Fincher, of Goderich,
Len Brentwood, of Hamilton and Bill Collins, of London and the
back row includes Pat Cunningham, of. Brighton, Horace Stanley.
off London, Bert Kempster, of Goderich, Dick Buchanan, of
Goderich and Harry Kemble, of London. Also included in tin: pic-
ture but unidentified are T.A. Dutton, of Bayfield, Les Woodard,
of London, Jack Martland, of Windsor, Tom McllMurray, of
Thamesford and John Besch, of London. (Photo by Mac Campbell l
Flyers hold reunion at
Port .Albert
after 40 years
Hope for a dry night's sleep
By John TanasychuJ(
Star Staff Reporter
BY THE TIME Ted was six
years old, the Johnsons real-
ized their son had a problem.
He was a bedwetter who
would wake p in a dry bed just two
days a year.
Arid after taking hint() five doctors,
after countless tests, prescriptions, hos-
pital stays and even surgery, their son
was still wetting the bed.
"During his 15 years, we would be
fortunate if two days out of a year the
bed would be dry. One night would be
the first night he'd go to visit someone.
And he might have been staying awake
because he was embarrassed," says the
boy's father, a local man who asked
that their real names not be used.
UNTIL FEBRUARY, their last
attempt had been five years ago when
Ted was put through two days of tests.
And the conclusion from the so-called
medical experts? "Too bad. He'll have
to grow out of it."
But earlier this year they heard of
Dry Bed Training and its founder and
director Vincent Fowler, who for 14
years has successfully treated more
than 10,000 bedwetters.
The Johnsons sent away for free lit-
erature and saw their own story being
played out. "You never stop to think
. qt, that other people think like this," says
the father. What hit them hardest was
a news story that linked bedwetting to
•
'To offer a child a reward to
accomplish something when they're
sleeping, they can't win.
It sets them up for failure.'
arson. "My son tried to burn down our
shed. That's when 1 said, 'Who cares
how much it costs. People spend $3,000
on braces.' " "Bedwetting causes a tiny bladder
After 13 weeks on the program, Ted and so does waking or reducing liquids.
was dry and they started to notice You actually encourage them to bed -
other changes. "My son has always wet by waking them," he says.
been very quiet, very withdrawn. He Some parents will reward their
seldom talks to us. He was teased a lot children for a dry night or scold when
when someone who'd let him stay at bedwetting occurs. But Fowler says:
his home let the cat out of the bag," he "To offer a child a reward to accompl-
says, ish something when they're sleeping,
BUT TODAY, eight weeks without a they can't win. It sets them up for fail -
wet bed, the Johnsons are seeing ure," he says.
changes. Ted is now much calmer, SCOLDING ONLY makes the prob-
reaching out for affection from his lem worse because .the children end up
family in a way they've never known. denying the problen1 to their parents.
"I would have liked to see a 100. per And while Fowler says it isn't as
cent turn around in my son. There has prevalent as it once was, traditional
to be more time. I have only begun to medical intervention may worsen a
see a glimmer of hope that he may condition. The American Academy of
change, that he may mature." Pediatrics says less than one per cent
Ted follows many of the patterns of of bedwetters have a medical problem
the estimated 22 million children and and both the U.S. Food and Drug Admi-
adult bedwetters, or nocturnal enuret- nistration and. the American Medical
ics as the condition is medically known' Association say drugs are not the treat -
in North America. Unfortunately. says ment of choice.
Fowler, it's still a closely closeted Quite simply,. Fowler says drugs
problem few people are willing to seek dont work. Antidepressants,
help for or even discuss with their fam- under such names as Tofranirl, Presa= showed three of four institutionalized
ily physicians or friends. mine and Elavil, are Most often pre- juvenile delinquents were or had been
But bedwetting, he explains, can scribed. But according to the FDA's ber cent dwettethere s.is a higher ately, se of sui-
Fowl-
leave emotional scars on both children Poison Control Data Base,
8
and parents if the problem isn't treated of children who accidently overdosed Gide in children who are bedwetters.
quickly. And as a general rule, says on these drugs from 1971 to 1978 re- THE OTHER personality o e
typeo is
Fowler, children should be able to quired hospitalization compared to 4.6 over -achievers who try knock.make it through the night within six per cent with other drugs. they're OK. Fowler says they
' months of being toilet trained during THE SAME STUDY showed the themselves out to be successful.
day time hours. death rate for these drugs is 33 times
WHILE THE MAJORITY of inquir- greater than all other drugs. "Poison-
ies come from parents of four-year- ing of children by tricyclic antidepres-
olds looking for a solution prior to their sants is emerging as a significant
children starting school,m'�ny parents public health problem," says the FDA.
wait too long. Fowler says medical solutions have
eni-
tional remedies but Fowler says they tags, which can lead to sterility in
do more harm than good. males. A surgical procedure where the
Since bedwetting happens because, urethra, or urinary passage, is
the bladder isn't being controlled, wak- enlarged has also been popular but
ing children during the night or reduc- Fowler says the healing and scarring
ing liquids doesn't work. Fowler says to process only causes the urethra to be -
The Johnsons' son Ted
the only way to strengthen it is to hold underwent the operation and it didn't
liquids. work.
All of this can cause parents to suffer
guilt when family of friends start
blaming them for their children's
problem. And as a last straw, parents
sometimes resort to rather cruel meth-
ods of stopping their children from
bedwetting.
Fowler says . one family admitted
beating their child and making him
sleep in a wet bed; admittedly the first
time they'd; been abusive and contrary
to their love and desire for their son to
stop wetting the bed.
His method, -now copyrighted as The.
Fowler Method, was first developed in
Australia at Adelaide Children's Hospi-
tal. The difference is that Fowler's
method can be done outside of the hos-
pital, with parents or adult bedwetters
working on their own. An initial report
along with follow up reports every 10
days is all that is needed.
He first opened in Windsor and, be-
cause of growing requests from the
U.S., opened a clinic in Southfield,
Mich., where he founded the American
Enuresis Association. Fowler moved to
London in 1981 and has been back in
Windsor for a year.
Another popular solution Lias been
for parents to wait until children out-
grow the problem. But this so-called
solution, says Fowler, can be the worst.
Toilet training teaches children the
difference between right and wrong,
success and failure, clean and dirty. So
bedwetting only reinforces negative
feelings and can lead to a poor self-
image.
"IT'S NOT THAT they outgrow it.
It's that they stop talking about it. Most
bedwetters hide the feeling that they
have in shame. They try to hide from
the parents that it doesn't matter. So
parents don't think it affects the child,"
he says.
Bedwetters often develop one of two.
types of personalites.
"The majority don't work to their full
potential," he says. Active during the
day, they are deep sleepers with a
short attention span. Fowler says they
have difficulty communicating with
their parents because of the guilt asso-
ciated with bedwetting. One study
There are plenty of folk and tradi- also included X-raying children s g
think of the bladder as a muscle and come smatter
FOWLER HAS treated bedwetters
across Canada and the U.S. as well as
cases in Germany, Yugoslavia and Fiji.
There are several clinics in the U.S.
using the Fowler Method and he is cur-
rently working on a manual to assist
professionals irr treatment.
The literature says the method in-
volves learning a few new skills
`.`,.combining modern equipment,
modern conditioning and training
techniques •plus diet and nutrition."
VINCE FOWLER
Reprint from the Windsor Star
SEND FOR
WETITHE BED and HOW TO STOP TN WHY FtILDREN
Name.
•
Address.
City
P*aone
Postal Code
' Mail To: DRY BED TRAINING, 150 Park Street W.,
Suite 3003, Windsor, Ont. N9A 7A2
' Call 254.2511 15 1.800-265.5168
Prov,
Child's Age
The 30 Royal Air Force veterans who
came from as far away as Windsor, Toron-
to and London to join the Port Albert Ses-
quicentennial festivities for their first reu-
nion since they were stationed at 31 Air
Navigation School during the • Second •
World War had "a jolly good time," says
Frank Wilcox, of Goderich.
Wilcox, an engine mechanic at the Port
Albert RAF air force base for three years,
says the reunion gave the veterans a
chance to get re -acquainted again after 40
to 45 years in most cases.
"The joy of reunion was very much in
evidence ,as these men now in their 60s,
recalled happenings and events which took
place 40 years or more back when they
were in their late teens or early' 20s, the
prime of their lives, full of life and vitality.
and hopes for the future," he says.
The reunion, organized mostly by
Eugene McGee, of Port Albert, was adver-
tised in• the Legion magazine • across
Canada and Britain. The reunion was coor-
dinated with',Port Albert's Sesquicenten-
nial celebrations.
Wilcox, born in England, says he joined -
the RAF in 1936 at age 18 and was trained
as an engine mechanic. During the fall of
1940, the night after the Battle of Britain,
his unit was awakened in the middle of the
night and told to pack their bags for
Canada.
"We were sent to Port Albert where the
people treated us as their own," he says.
He returned to the British. Isles in 1943
and was sent to an air base in Scotland
where there were two Canadian squadrons
and two RAF squadrons,. •
From the base, air sea rescues were.car-
ried out when an airplane would drop a
parachute to downed pilots 'containing a
raft, enough fuel to get them 1500'miles, a
radio and enough food for two months so
they could make their way back to land.
"They usually got back okay and that
felt gond. It was an important part of the
war effort even if they weren't fighting,"
he says
After the war ended, he returned to
Canada to the wife he had married while
stationed in Port Albert and his daughter.
Wilcox says the reunion was a great suc-
cess with both RAF and RCAF veterans
joining in the festivities in Port Albert on
Aug. 2.
If -
you're
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IN
TOWN
and don't know
which way to turn, call the
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hostess at
524-2544
Twin City
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