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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2016-01-06, Page 3Wednesday, January 6, 2016 • Lucknow Sentinel 3 Wingham's Julie Sawchuk rehabilitating, mindful of her new reality Spencer Van Dyk Special to London Free Press Five months after she was struck by a car while cycling and lost the use of her legs, Julie Sawchuk wears a look of intense focus as a machine and her physiotherapists help her to stand. Every time the Wingham high school biology teacher uses the device the helps her move, called an exoskel- eton, at London's Parkwood Institute, she tries to beat her previous record — 772 steps, at an appointment in late December 2015. Sawchuk can't feel the powered exoskeleton strapped to her body, but it helps to hold her up and uses hydraulics to move her legs. She has to use poles to keep her balance. It's a dramatic and ardu- ous change for the once - athletic mother of two who, shortly before the crash that occurred while she was training for a triathlon, had warned drivers to be more careful around cyclists in a letter she wrote — but never got around to sending — to her local newspaper. Still, between her physio- therapy and her mechanical skeleton, Sawchuk hopes to work her way back this fall to the Wingham's F.E. Madill Secondary School where she taught until her world changed on July 29, 2015. "I feel tall," the 41 -year- old said, as she worked with physiotherapist Kristin Wanless and assistant Barry Lynam during a recent session. With her nine-year-old son, Oliver, by her side, Sawchuk focused on mak- ing slow laps around the clinic. "I'm thankful for my ski training, because the exo- skeleton applies a similar weight shift," she said. The exoskeleton is too new and too expensive for home use, but using it also helps Sawchuk's internal organs — keeping them secure and functioning as they should if she stood upright on her own. The session is exhausting, but Sawchuk — mindful of her new reality — is deter- mined to do all she can to recover from the collision that took place north of London, in Huron County. Her skull was fractured, her back and neck broken. She was paralyzed from the waist down, left with shat- tered vertebrae that caused the loss of the use of her legs. She also had six broken ribs. Sawchuk was doing a two-hour, 30 -kilometre H -K asks residents to work with snow removal personnel The Township of Huron -Kin- loss is asking the public to be mindful of parking and snow clearing this winter. Regarding the parking of cars and other vehicles, and the depositing of snow on munici- pal roads during the period in which snowclearing operations are necessary. Parking is not permitted on any street within the Township of Huron -Kinloss between the hours of 1 am. and 6 a.m., from Nov 1 to April 30. Violators will have their vehicles ticketed and/or towed. According to the Township of Huron -Kinloss By -Law 2011-36, it is a contravention should one deposit snow on the "highway" or part thereof; due to safety and monetary concerns for the Township. Violators may be fined accordingly. Please ensure that recycling and garbage are placed in a location so as not to interfere with snow removal efforts. Neither the Township, nor the "Snow Plow Operators" will be held financially responsible for any damages to a home- owner's property deemed to be on Township road allowance when performing their daily maintenance operations. This includes, but is not limited to, damages involving fences, mailboxes, entranceways, and entrance signage. } z.24 1.51 t MOVIE INFORMATION - mom. movieFink NFORMATION... Rit mor,movri&Eink:.CB ,,d.„01.8011-265.343. cycling loop that summer morning when she was hit from behind on Blyth Road and thrown from her bike. The driver was charged with failing to avoid a collision. She returned to her Blyth - area home Oct. 22, after nearly three months in the hospital. As an out-patient, Saw- chuk has physiotherapy in Wingham twice a week, swims with a therapist once a week and once a week goes to Parkwood. There, she also uses a special sta- tionary bike that charges her legs with electric cur- rents to contract her muscles. "Not a day goes by that something doesn't hit her," her husband, Theo, said, referencing her life before and after the crash — things like a past memory, or a pair of shoes she can no longer wear. Rehabilitation is part of her life now, he said. An advocate for road - sharing long before the crash, Sawchuk had written a letter for her local paper about the hazards for cyclists, describing her own close calls. Once, she wrote, "I was passed by a transport truck so closely it made me scream... it scared me so much I could hardly think straight." The crash has pushed communities and municipalities to take a closer look at cyclist safety. "The response from the region has been really big," said Jamie Stuckless, execu- tive director of the Share the Road Cycling Coalition, an Ontario advocacy group. Share the Road partners with government to sup- port policy changes, and audits communities on their road safety to suggest improvements. "We're really honoured that Julie has chosen to highlight our work and point people toward what we're doing," she said. "That really has been an honour to us." Theo Sawchuk said the next step is a new house. The family lives in a 100 -year-old farmhouse three kilometres from Blyth, with next to no accessibility for Julie. They're looking for a lot to likely build from scratch, he said. Julie Sawchuck maintains a blog (juliesawchuk.blogs- pot.ca) where she updates readers on her recovery and future plans, including her hope to return to teaching at F.E. Madill in the fall. "I will be back on the Madill team some day, have no doubt about that," she wrote in September. Mike Hensen/London Free Press Wingham high school teacher Julie Sawchuk, who was struck by a car during the summer and suffered horrific injuries, walks in an exoskeleton with her son Oliver, 9, at Parkwood Hospital in London. Helping her is Barry Lynam, a physiotherapist assistant, and physiotherapist Kristin Wanless. if it's local, it's here Iucknowsentinel.com nwmo NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION SOCIETE DE GESTION DES DECHETS NUCLEAIRES NWMO Learn More Centre The Township of Huron -Kinloss is one of nine communities involved in a process of learning about Adaptive Phased Management (APM), Canada's plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel. The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is working collaboratively with the community to advance preliminary assessment studies. Learn about APM, meet NWMO staff, ask questions and offer your thoughts. Drop in to the NWMO community office and Learn More Centre in Ripley. Everyone is welcome. NWMO Learn More Centre (Huron -Kinloss) 80 Huron Street, Ripley ON 519.386.6711 Wednesday Thursday Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.