Community
GoFundMe campaign for family of Red Deer toddler recovering from near fatal accident
Submitted by Caitlin Stanley
About a month ago, on April 9th, 2020, in the midst of the chaos of a worldwide pandemic, our dear friends, Leslie and Astrel, lived through one of the biggest nightmares any parent could possibly experience. While Leslie was loading her dishwasher, Amélie suddenly collapsed and was rushed to the Red Deer Regional Hospital. Upon admission an X-ray revealed a foreign object was ingested and was wreaking havoc on her tiny body. An extensive cardiac surgery would confirm that it was a button battery.Doctors at Stollery Childrens Hospital save toddlerThe battery caused a rupture to her esophagus, trachea, aorta, carotid left artery, she flat lined twice, she suffered a stroke on the left side of her brain, and had sub dermal bleeding on the right side.
Mortified, friends and family stood helplessly by as social distancing measures and travel restrictions prevented us from providing that physical support and comfort in person. Mom and dad took turns staying by her side. Amélie’s two older brother’s couldn’t even visit their baby sister in hospital. For weeks this tiny angel truly battled for her life.
The team of doctors that cared for Amélie at the Stollery Children’s Hospital truly performed a miracle!
Amélie is not out of the woods just yet, but as you can see her beautiful smile has returned to her little face. Unfortunately, this disaster has placed a massive financial strain on the Adolphe family. Father, Astrel, is taking time off work. Mother, Leslie, was on maternity leave since October 2018 and was supposed to return to work April 15th 2020 but due to Covid-19 had to push back her return due to a lack of childcare for their two older children. Obviously given this crisis, a return to work for Leslie is out of the question for an undetermined amount of time.We have already received such a huge miracle in the life of a remarkable little girl. It is our prayer that anyone touched by this story donate a what they can to support this very special family in their time of need.We love and support you Adolphe family, and we got your back.Thanks to everyone who has reached out and shown so much love and support!
Updates (2)
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TODAY by Cynthia Pottinger, Organizer Our family is truly humbled by the show of support ❤ Our update is short and sweet! Amélie had a esophagram and the results showed that her esophagus is healing (YAY!) Still some things to figure out feeding wise (she is currently being fed via a gastrointestinal tube) but she was given the green light to enjoy clear fluids – specifically water, orange juice, and apple juice. We know water is the healthier option BUT look at this face as she enjoyed her 1st drink since April 9th ❤ -
YESTERDAY by Cynthia Pottinger, Organizer UPDATE FROM LESLIE 05.12.20
As you are all aware of our situation with Amélie one of my dear friends Cynthia Pottinger took the time to create a Gofundme Fundraiser for Amélie. I’ll be honest the pride in me didn’t want to recieve any help, but then I’m reminded of the village it has taken to help our baby girl get to where she is from where she was. I intend to use the funds to assist with the cost of creating awareness and advocating on the dangers of button batteries, and of course for the unknown day to day costs as we move forward. As some of you may know (or not) I was on maternity leave prior to this occurring and scheduled to return to work early fall but with the current incident that date is now unknown. A heart felt thank you to those who have already personally reached out to me with your contributions, please know they are greatly appreciated. #Ameliestrong #Buttonbatteryawareness
#RedDeerStrong – Tacoloft can’t wait to open for customers again on day 1 of phase 1 this Thursday
Community
SPARC Red Deer – Caring Adult Nominations open now!
Red Deer community let’s give a round of applause to the incredible adults shaping the future of our kids. Whether they’re a coach, neighbour, teacher, mentor, instructor, or someone special, we want to know about them!
Tell us the inspiring story of how your nominee is helping kids grow up great. We will honour the first 100 local nominees for their outstanding contributions to youth development. It’s time to highlight those who consistently go above and beyond!
To nominate, visit Events (sparcreddeer.ca)
Addictions
‘Harm Reduction’ is killing B.C.’s addicts. There’s got to be a better way
From the Frontier Centre for Public Policy
B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy
Fuelled by the deadly manufactured opioid fentanyl, Canada’s national drug overdose rate stood at 19.3 people per 100,000 in 2022, a shockingly high number when compared to the European Union’s rate of just 1.8. But national statistics hide considerable geographic variation. British Columbia and Alberta together account for only a quarter of Canada’s population yet nearly half of all opioid deaths. B.C.’s 2022 death rate of 45.2/100,000 is more than double the national average, with Alberta close behind at 33.3/100,00.
In response to the drug crisis, Canada’s two western-most provinces have taken markedly divergent approaches, and in doing so have created a natural experiment with national implications.
B.C. has emphasized harm reduction, which seeks to eliminate the damaging effects of illicit drugs without actually removing them from the equation. The strategy focuses on creating access to clean drugs and includes such measures as “safe” injection sites, needle exchange programs, crack-pipe giveaways and even drug-dispensing vending machines. The approach goes so far as to distribute drugs like heroin and cocaine free of charge in the hope addicts will no longer be tempted by potentially tainted street drugs and may eventually seek help.
But safe-supply policies create many unexpected consequences. A National Post investigation found, for example, that government-supplied hydromorphone pills handed out to addicts in Vancouver are often re-sold on the street to other addicts. The sellers then use the money to purchase a street drug that provides a better high — namely, fentanyl.
Doubling down on safe supply, B.C. recently decriminalized the possession of small amounts of illicit drugs. The resulting explosion of addicts using drugs in public spaces, including parks and playgrounds, recently led the province’s NDP government to attempt to backtrack on this policy — though for now that effort has been stymied by the courts.
According to Vancouver city councillor Brian Montague, “The stats tell us that harm reduction isn’t working.” In an interview, he calls decriminalization “a disaster” and proposes a policy shift that recognizes the connection between mental illness and addiction. The province, he says, needs “massive numbers of beds in treatment facilities that deal with both addictions and long-term mental health problems (plus) access to free counselling and housing.”
In fact, Montague’s wish is coming true — one province east, in Alberta. Since the United Conservative Party was elected in 2019, Alberta has been transforming its drug addiction policy away from harm reduction and towards publicly-funded treatment and recovery efforts.
Instead of offering safe-injection sites and free drugs, Alberta is building a network of 10 therapeutic communities across the province where patients can stay for up to a year, receiving therapy and medical treatment and developing skills that will enable them to build a life outside the drug culture. All for free. The province’s first two new recovery centres opened last year in Lethbridge and Red Deer. There are currently over 29,000 addiction treatment spaces in the province.
This treatment-based strategy is in large part the work of Marshall Smith, current chief of staff to Alberta’s premier and a former addict himself, whose life story is a testament to the importance of treatment and recovery.
The sharply contrasting policies of B.C. and Alberta allow a comparison of what works and what doesn’t. A first, tentative report card on this natural experiment was produced last year in a study from Stanford University’s network on addiction policy (SNAP). Noting “a lack of policy innovation in B.C.,” where harm reduction has become the dominant policy approach, the report argues that in fact “Alberta is currently experiencing a reduction in key addiction-related harms.” But it concludes that “Canada overall, and B.C. in particular, is not yet showing the progress that the public and those impacted by drug addiction deserve.”
The report is admittedly an early analysis of these two contrasting approaches. Most of Alberta’s recovery homes are still under construction, and B.C.’s decriminalization policy is only a year old. And since the report was published, opioid death rates have inched higher in both provinces.
Still, the early returns do seem to favour Alberta’s approach. That should be regarded as good news. Society certainly has an obligation to try to help drug users. But that duty must involve more than offering addicts free drugs. Addicted people need treatment so they can kick their potentially deadly habit and go on to live healthy, meaningful lives. Dignity comes from a life of purpose and self-control, not a government-funded fix.
Susan Martinuk is a senior fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and author of the 2021 book Patients at Risk: Exposing Canada’s Health Care Crisis. A longer version of this article recently appeared at C2CJournal.ca.
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