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The Citizen, 1990-01-03, Page 1Near-pei Klaus Hens<. nearly pulled Farm meetings Winter busy time for farm meetings See page 16 —> I The year in review See page 5 Serving Brussels, Blyth, Auburn, Londesborough, Walton and surrounding townships. VOL. 6 NO. 1 WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1990.50 CENTS .OPP report quiet holiday Wingham OPP report only minor accidents throughout their area over the last weekend of the decade. Slippery road conditions resulted in a single vehicle mishap in Morris Township on December 29 at 2:20 p.m. Twenty-one-year-old David Wheeler of RR 1, Bluevale was westbound on Highway 86 just w’est of the Bluevale road at a stated speed of 60 kilometres when his 1978 Ford LTD started to slide. According to an OPP spokesper­ son, Mr. Wheeler was unable to correct the slide and crossed the road striking the guideposts. There were no injuries sustained as a result of the incident. Judge shows holiday spirit Judge R. G. E. Hunter showed a little Christmas spirit in provincial court in Wingham Dec. 20 when he ag.>ave a suspended sentence to a oman who pleaded guilty of buying groceries to feed her family from a Brussels store using a bad cheque. Sharon Skanes of Listowel and formerly of RR 1, Atwood pleaded guilty to buying $249.19 from the EMA store in Brussels on July 19, 1989 with a cheque for which she didn’t have funds in the bank to cover. Duty Counsel George Brophy explained to Judge Hunter that at the time Ms. Skanes was out of work and didn’t have money to buy groceries for her three young children. There was, however, some hope she would be able to find money by the time the cheque was cashed. Since that time, Mr. Brophy related, the family had moved to Listowel and had a disastrous house fire in which they had lost everything they owned. With help of the Salvation Army they have since been set up in a new home. There was no previous record of such offenses, he said. Mr. Brophy suggested under the circumstances that a suspended sentence would be in order. Judge Hunter agreed, suspending sen­ tence on the charge and putting Ms. Skanes on 12 months proba­ tion. She is to make restitution for the $249.19 worth of groceries within three months. Modern medical miracle saves hand BY BONNIE GROPP With so much progress left to be made in the area of medicine, we often forget how much ground has been broken in the medical field over the years. However, thanks to the skilled genius of one doctor and his team, one man will always remember the advances that have been made. Fifty years ago Fred Stephenson would have lost his right hand. There would have been no option or alternative. Yet, just two weeks after the accident that severed his hand from his arm occurred, Fred today is able to move his fingers slightly and feel warmth in their tips. Fred, who is employed by Mait­ land Valley Conservation Author­ ity, was working with a hydraulic wood splitter at Falls Reserve Conservation Area when the inci­ dent occurred. “I’m not sure what happened,’’ Fred says. “It all happened so quickly that by the time I realized what was going on it was too late. I could only stand 1:here and watch it (the wood splitter) lop my hand off.” Two other MVCA employees were with Fred at the time, Earl Fyfe of Blvth and Doug Clark of Lucknow. “They didn’t see it happen, but apparently I called out to them after.” Fred commended his co-workers on their quick action. “They were super. They had me in Goderich in less than 20 minutes from the time it all started.” When Fred arrived at Alexandra Marine and General Hospital his condition was first stabilized then they immediately notified Dr. Evans (a leading North American plastic surgeon) at University Hos­ pital in London. According to Fred the doctors at the Goderich hospital were uncertain whether they should remove the hand completely as there was so little left attached. “However, Dr. Evans explained that anything at all is a starting point so they packed my hand in ice and sent me immediately to Lon­ don,” Fred said. For 11 hours Dr. Evans and his surgical team worked to re-attach Fred’s severed hand. Tendons were removed from his leg to use as tendons in his arm and hand. The entire procedure was done with microscopes as Dr. Evans intricately re-attached the nerves and tendons. “When I woke up after the surgery 1 was amazed to see my hand back on,” Fred stated. “Dr. Evans had told me before he operated that he would give me no Medical miracle For Fred Stephenson of Brussels and his wife Sharon seeing his right hand is nothing short of a miracle. Fred’s hand was severed by a hydraulic wood splitter and doctors at University Hospital in London spent 11 hours re-attaching it. The intricate procedure required the use of microscopes to join the tendons and nerves that had been cut. guarantees. He said that if that hand looked like it would give me problems later he would not at­ tempt to re-attach it. When I came to I couldn’t believe it. I guess I underestimated what they can do.” Four days after the surgery Fred was informed that he would be home for Christmas and on Decern ber 28 he returned to have the stitches removed and undergo ther­ apy. “They are quite pleased so far with the progress. I have some movement and warmth and they say the circulation is good. But, Fred still has to take it one day at a time. There are still no guarantees that everything will take but Fred is optimistic. “I’m happy with what I have right now. I’m not thinking about what’s ahead of me.” For now Fred has to make trips to London two or three times a week for therapy in addition to practicing his exercises at home. He has a removable splint so that he can manipulate his hand and stimulate it but he must be careful not to overdo. At present there is a pin in Fred’s hand that holds everything together and wires in his wrist Therapy, additional surgery in months ahead inside that are acting as a wrist joint. Eventually, if all else goes well Fred can expect to undergo reconstructive surgery to rebuild his wrist. This will be followed by cosmetic surgery to try and make the hand look “more presentable” Fred says. “I am impressed by the fabulous work they have done so far,” Fred said of the University Hospital staff. “I can’t say enough good things about them.” Fred also commented on the support he has received from family and friends. “The concern and caring they have shown, the offers of help, everyone has just been great. I really appreciate it.” Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and the Ministry of Labour are presently looking into the incident. Ray Gowdy, Fred’s foreman said that while the MVCA felt there was nothing wrong with the wood splitter it has been labelled. “It is not being used and will not be used again until this situation is resolved,” Mr. Gowdy stated. “We are waiting for the safety report from the Ministry and will contact them if they don’t contact us soon.”