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Friday, January 24, 2014 X Volume 27 No. 9 — Kamloops, B.C., Canada X 30 cents at Newsstands
RIVER CITY’S VARIETY KID By Cam Fortems STAFF REPORTER
cam@kamloopsthisweek.com
Paul Gotro remembers the meeting eight years ago at B.C. Children’s Hospital with what he calls “the council of rocket scientists.” Lined up around the table was a row of specialist physicians with more than a century of education and experience among them. The message was grim: Three weeks earlier, Gotro’s grandson, Kai, was born at a Quesnel hospital. The delivery went horribly wrong and Kai was asphyxiated, suffering life-changing consequences. “We were told he’d be a vegetable, wouldn’t know us and would lie in bed and atrophy before he died,” said the retired high-school teacher. Gotro doesn’t blame medical experts for their blunt diagnoses; the family feels SATURDAY, JAN. 25 deep gratitude for the 7 P.M. help of countless doctors. GLOBAL BC But, armed with love and around-theclock attention, Paul, his wife Jean and Kai’s mother Sarah set out to prove them wrong. “We said, ‘That’s not happening.’” Kai’s medical problems are complex and even something as simple as breathing can be a labour. He has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and global-development delay, a condition that profoundly affects his ability to learn and move. His care requires “97 per cent of our time,” Gotro said of support from three family members who live together in Barnhartvale . Kai is one of the children featured in this weekend’s Variety’s 48th annual Show of Hearts Telethon, although a recent trip to B.C. Children’s Hospital to remove pins from hip surgery limited some of his airtime.
VARIETY’S SHOW OF HEARTS TELETHON
As his grandfather Paul Gotro notes, nine-year-old Kai is as tough as nails. Kamloops residents will have a chance to see Kai this weekend as he is among the children featured in the annual Variety Show of Hearts Telethon. Dave Eagles/KTW
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