The Jasper Local October 1, 2016 by The Jasper Local

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saturday, october 1, 2016 // ISSUE 82

LIGHTS, CAMERA, AURORA // JASPER PHOTOGRAPHY STAR VALERIE DOMAINE CAPTURED THE GOLDEN GLOW OF AURORA BOREALIS IN THE WEE HOURS OF SEPTEMBER 28. IT WAS HER FIRST TIME WITNESSING THE PHENOMENON. THE NORTHERN LIGHTS HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY ACTIVE AS SEEN FROM JASPER THIS FALL. // VALERIE DOMAINE

Parliamentarians ponder park problems Federal politicians visited Jasper recently to learn about the community’s challenges balancing nature with visitor impact. Six members of parliament’s federal environmental committee members met with local community leaders to help chart a course for improving visitor experiences without negatively impacting ecological integrity, said chair of the committee, MP Deb Schulte. “Specifically we came to understand the challenges of businesses, the municipality and Parks Canada,” Schulte said. Mayor Richard Ireland articulated some of those challenges. He reminded the committee that Jasper has a fixed footprint on which it can build, a commercial space cap, no jurisdiction on planning and development and high visitor use with no

direct access to visitor-generated revenues.

“I’m hopeful they will understand we’re not complaining about our challenges but recognize that operating in a national park comes with differences,” Ireland said. While the day’s discussions were generally broad, Schulte said that their fact-finding mission also included questions to local managers on the proposed $66 million Icefields Trail. “We wanted to ask questions such as Where did it come from? Who put it forward? What studies have been done? And Is this the best project for this area?” she said. The committee will report to parliament on its findings by November, Schulte said. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

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page A2 // the jasper local // issue 82 // saturday, october 1, 2016

editorial //

Local Vocal Two summers ago, The Jasper Local covered a story about a man who, to raise awareness of the environmental dangers of the Northern Gateway pipeline, pushed his wheelchair 1,400 km from Bruderheim, AB, to Kitimat, B.C. He came through Jasper in late July, his hands stained black from his chair’s wheels, his arms glistening with sweat. Although David Clow’s self-powered crusade was remarkable, something else stayed with me about my encounter with him. When I tried to arrange a place for him to stay, there were very few places that could take him in. This wasn’t necessarily because it was peak season and Jasper had no rooms available, this was because of the lack of wheelchair-accessible homes, businesses and accommodation units in this community in general. I was embarrassed that I was having such a difficult time finding him a place to crash, but I had little room to judge: my own home had nearly two dozen wooden impediments— otherwise known as stairs—to ascend before one I remember when we first met. My a digital age, do you know how could enter the front door. Access, denied. friend insisted I learn more about hard it is to source original This memory came flooding back in talking with you. It would help us all stay in content?); then you started Ryan Titchener, a Jasper mountain guide who, touch, he said. And you know horning in on the ads (OK we in July, was paralyzed from the waist down in an what? Those first couple of years, all saw that one coming, but it accident in the Bugaboos. Ryan, who is currently he was right. Sure I turned into still stings). Lately, though, even recovering in the Bow Valley, talked about wanting a bit of a show off and there was when I try to harness your power to move back home to Jasper at some point, but that whole giving up my privacy for good—sharing a crazy story mentioned the difficulties he was coming up thing, but overall, we got along. about an aggressive grizzly bear, against when trying to find a rental suite with We had some laughs, we made for example—you’re still hijacking wheelchair accessibility. some connections, we shared. all the racy comments. In the This challenge is not limited to Jasper residences. Truthfully, until everyone’s mom good old days, those could have Many businesses in town have barriers which are joined, it seemed like we were been a letter to the editor, and I all but impossible for someone in a wheelchair onto something kinda hip. wouldn’t have to fill this space to negotiate independently. Indeed, many of our talking to myself! Then a couple of years ago, you favourite coffee shops, pubs and restaurants fall really started mowing my lawn. Facebook, you’ve changed. I don’t into this category. First it was with the photo and think I like you anymore. Non-accessible steps, stairs and even poorly story scooping (as an editor in -Bob Covey, editor/publisher designed doorways have a double-negative effect. There are the social ramifications—accessibility The Jasper Local // Jasper’s independent alternative newspaper is about dignity and equality—but there are 780.852.9474 • thejasperlocal.com • po box 2046, jasper ab, t0e 1e0 also the economic affects: namely, people with Published on the 1st and 15th of each month disabilities have money to spend too. Being Editor / Publisher accessible is good for business. Bob Covey.................................................................................... bob@thejasperlocal.com Recognizing that this problem won’t be solved Art Director overnight, I think a good starting point is to Nicole Gaboury.................................................................. nicole@thejasperlocal.com simply get to know someone with different Advertising + sales abilities. The act of gaining insight on what life is sydnee makowichuk...................................................... sydnee@thejasperlocal.com like for someone else can be the basis for a shift cartoonist in our shared perspective. In my opinion, that’s Deke.................................................................................................deke@thejasperlocal.com how ideas to make community spaces accessible facebook.com/thejasperlocal @thejasperlocal for all begin to percolate.

Dear Facebook

bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

Local beer culture //

saturday, october 1, 2016 // issue 82 // the jasper local// page A3

S’up brew? // Folding Mountain Brewing, located just outside of Jasper National Park, will be the new kid on the craft beer scene in 2017. // Supplied

New brewery to tap into unique location Alberta beer makers will soon welcome a new brewery into the fold.

Folding Mountain Brewing has broken ground just outside of Jasper National Park. Owners Aric Johnson and Jason Griffiths hope to be pouring pints by summer, 2017.

“We’ve talked for a long time about how great it would be to open a brewery,” said Johnson. “It was now or never.” The two life-long friends grew up together in Hinton. Johnson is a public relations consultant in Red Deer while Griffiths helps run the family Ford business. Now they can add entrepreneurs and beer producers to their resume—well, the first one, anyway. The tanks don’t arrive until February, and there’s a lot of planning and work yet to do. “We would love to be open for the May long weekend,” Griffiths said. That’s certainly when the first trickle of summer tourists start to arrive in Jasper. Griffiths sees the location—30 seconds off Highway 16, 10 minutes west of Hinton— as having a great potential to capture visitors. The landscape will be a drawn in itself, he hopes, but the real allure will be the beer. “We want everyone from the beer geeks to the people who’ve never tried

craft beer,” he said. Griffiths and Johnson place themselves firmly in the former category. The excollege roommates were making home brew in their bathtub before it was trendy. Today, Johnson, for one, can’t begin to pin down his top beer styles. “That’s the great thing about beer, the ingredients stay relatively the same but there are so many possibilities in terms of what the ultimate outcome is,” he said. “I couldn’t begin to lock down even five favourites.” On the other hand, what the guys will try to lock down is a unique spot on Alberta’s beer map. For although a bevy of craft brewers shot up after the government changed its rules about production volume in 2013 , having found nothing but support for their endeavour from fellow beer makers, Griffiths and Johnson believe there’s plenty of room for them in the fold. “Of course there’s an element of competition because everyone’s trying to get their product out the door but the advice and help and stories shared about getting off the ground have been super helpful,” Johnson said. Tap into Folding Mountain Brewing at foldingmountain.com bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

page B1 // the jasper local // issue 82 // saturday, october 1, 2016

Local public safety //

Ambitious scrambler has close call on Cavell A Jasper woman is thankful to be alive after being caught in an avalanche on Mount Edith Cavell.

On September 13, Rikke Liisberg-Foss and her scrambling partner, Norris Yeung, began what was supposed to be a terrific cap to a summer of scrambling. What the trip ended up being was a long, harrowing day after the duo failed to heed their own better judgement. “I told myself to respect the conditions, but I didn’t,” Liisberg-Foss said. “I knew all the risks and I ignored them.” All summer long, Liisberg-Foss was itching to get up Mount Edith Cavell. She had scrambled up more than a dozen mountains when she decided that she was ready for Cavell’s west ridge. “I had an idea the whole summer to train to go up Athabasca or Cavell,” she said. When she and Yeung met at 2 a.m., they were both aware that they had never climbed a mountain together, but they felt confident in their own abilities. The going wasn’t easy, but it was engaging and fun. However, they could see the upper mountain had accumulated snow. “It was two feet deep in some places, but in other places it was firm,” Liisberg-Foss said. Eventually, the pair used that firm snow to gain the summit ridge, traversing

a steep, southwest feature that supported their bootsteps early in the day. By noon, Liisberg-Foss and Yeung were nearing the top, but the intensity of their objective was becoming more and more apparent. As they moved along near the top of the mountain, evidence of avalanches gave them pause. “Avalanches were banging all around us,” she said. “Every minute a big slab or debris would fall off a rock.” Despite their trepidations, they pushed on in the exposed terrain. By 2 p.m., they were on the summit. However, instead of taking celebratory selfies, Liisberg-Foss and Yeung debated calling SAFE AND SOUND // RIKKE LIISBERG-FOSS SAID AFTER SHE GOT CAUGHT IN AN AVALANCHE ON MOUNT EDITH for a rescue. Because CAVELL HER FIRST THOUGHTS WENT TO HER THEN-FIANCÉ, WHO WAS WAITING FOR HER SAFE RETURN. SHE AND BRAD FOSS MARRIED JUST TWO WEEKS LATER. // BOB COVEY the weather was warming, Liisberg-Foss snow slope having slid away, they convinced themselves they’d be OK, didn’t want to traverse continued their descent, eventually and started down the south ridge, down the steep snow slope they came gaining the west ridge and a which led back the way they came. up. Yeung, on the other hand, didn’t modicum of safety. want to down-climb an exposed rock Soon they were knee-deep in snow band. Thinking they’d be on the But her foot was getting worse. As and looking down at the slope they hook for the price of a rescue, they they picked their way down the had ascended. Evidence of avalanches decided not to dial 911. They were also scree slope that led to the base of increased, but they felt they were out embarrassed that they put themselves the mountain, each step was more of options. Liisberg-Foss led, but their in the situation in the first place. They agonizing than the last. progress was slow. Very slowly, they descended towards “It took us forever to traverse,” the Verdant Pass trail, Liisberg-Foss she said. “It was very steep.” using her Nearing hiking the end of poles as the gully, crutches and “Avalanches were banging the snow eventually, got deeper all around us. Every Yeung and softer. minute a big slab or debris carrying her Just as part of the would fall off a rock.” Liisbergway on his Foss back. started to “Norris was a find firmer champ, he was like a sherpa,” Liisbergfoot placements and turned Foss said. to watch Yeung, she heard a loud crack. Four metres A full moon guided their path, but soon above her, a fracture in the it was midnight and they were still a snow opened up. It was an long way from the Astoria Trail. Finally, avalanche. at 2 a.m., Liisberg-Foss got cell service. She called her fiancé, who immediately “I thought ‘shit,’” she said. gathered an emergency kit and struck “Then I thought ‘get your out to meet them. When he arrived on ice axe.’” the trail, at nearly 4 a.m., he put her in a A 15 metre-wide avalanche sleeping bag and gave her food. Parks plowed into and over her, Canada public safety members would shaking her loose from her be along at first light. perch and momentarily “I felt the happiest I had been in so dragging her under the snow. long,” Liisberg-Foss said. “I was really At first she slid with the embarrassed, but really happy.” avalanche, feet first, paralyzed with fear. Then something Liisberg-Foss admits she was careless clicked inside her and she in her risk management, but less started to swim. forgivable, for her, was ignoring her inner voice that said the route they “I used my legs to kick,” she said. “And I jammed my ice axe were on was too dangerous. She feels not calling for a rescue was a mistake, into the rocks.” The slope flattened out, but not too, but the bigger issue was letting her ambitions get in the way of her safety. until Liisberg-Foss had been “I like to get things done,” the 26-yeardragged 75 metres down the old said. “But it’s just not worth it when gully. As she arrested herself it’s not the right time for it.” on the rocks, she watched the avalanche cascade below her. On September 26, she and Foss got “It was the most scary moment married. Her family flew from Denmark of my life,” Liisberg-Foss said. to join in the celebration. Liisberg-Foss “I feel so lucky that I got out of knows how close she came to missing that it alive.” occasion, all for a moment on the mountain. Liisberg-Foss had injured her “That avalanche is something that will foot in the accident, but she always stick with me,” she said. “When righted herself and made her I look back I see I was taking a lot of way back up to where Yeung risks. I’m not willing to do that again.” had been. With most of the bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

saturday, october 1, 2016 // issue 82 // the jasper local// page B2

Local environment//

Waterways under troubled bridges Jasper National Park motorists may be tired of the construction on Highway 16 bridges, but it’s what’s underneath those bridges that has Jasper paddler Reed Eady foaming mad. Eady is an avid kayaker. Since this spring, the 17-year-old has been finding construction waste in many of his favourite waterways. “I see this stuff when I’m paddling and it really makes me mad,” the Grade 12 student said. Eady and his friends have found large pieces of steel, rebar, pylons and other debris just downstream of where construction crews are working on bridges. In June, while stepping out of his boat after a trip on the Miette River he nearly impaled himself on a jagged piece of steel, then a month later, he found plastic construction pylons

wedged into the riverbank downstream of workers on the west highway.

the environmental stipulations set out in the contracts they sign with construction firms.

“My friends and I were angered by seeing garbage as these rivers are our place of recreation,” he said.

“I think we have enough evidence to show this is actually happening, and it’s not from other people, it’s from them,” he said.

“I see this stuff when I’m paddling...it makes me mad”

As part of his high school english class, Eady is working on an essay to officially document his findings. It’s part of a strategy, including going public with his concerns, to hopefully see a change in practices by contractors and Parks Canada.

Finally, while travelling down the Athabasca River downstream of construction on 12 Mile bridge later in the summer, Eady came across a large tarp. So tangled around deadfall was the tarp that the group couldn’t free it. “It seems like the bridge construction crews aren’t keeping track of what goes in the river,” he said. Eady wants the construction crews to be held to a higher standard. He wants Parks Canada to enforce

“They should be held accountable,” he said. In the meantime, he’ll continue his mission of searching for, documenting and clearing out garbage left in Jasper National Park waterways. “I’m sure I’ve only been able to see a small amount,” he said. “There’s more to find.” bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

THAT DESERVES A PADDLIN’ // JASPER HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT AND KAYAKER, REED EADY, HAS BEEN FINDING CONSTRUCTION WASTE IN JASPER RIVERS ALL SUMMER. HE HOPES BY BRINGING THE ISSUE TO PARKS CANADA’S ATTENTION, CONTRACTORS’ ECOLOGICAL OBLIGATIONS WILL BE BETTER ADHERED TO. // BOB COVEY

Jasper photographer up for Banff award A book featuring the work of a Jasper photographer has been shortlisted for a Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival award. Heart Waters: Sources of the Bow River has been selected as a finalist for BMFF’s Mountain and Literature prize. The project is a collaborative effort between father and son team, Kevin and Brian Van Tighem. It debuted in September, 2015. Brian Van Tighem is a photographer based in Jasper. His father, Kevin, is the former superintendent of Banff National Park. Both have deep connections to the river they document in Heart Waters. “We need to know the landscape better,” Kevin told The Jasper Local last year. “We would treat the headwaters a lot better if we could incorporate them more into a sense of who we are.” Brian took two years creating the images for the hardcover volume. He said viewing the sources of the Bow River with the lens

though which his dad looks gave him a new appreciation for the intrinsic relationship between water and land. “A gravel bar to me was just a part of the creek. He would explain how a flood would hit the corner, or how the water was being

soaked up by the forest and caught by the willows.” Heart Waters: Sources of the Bow River is available through Rocky Mountain Books. The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival takes place October 29 to November 6.

page b3+B4 // the jasper local // issue 82 // saturday, october 1, 2016

LOCAL FEATURE // STORY AND PHOTOS BY BOB COVEY

Lightning does

As fisherman reel in another s Jasper Local recalls a fish ta

For Hinton’s David Robson, the year of the trout was 1984.

That was the year the self-described fishing fanatic landed what still stands as the second biggest brook trout ever caught in Alberta—a whopping 12 pounds, 13 ounces. Robson is a die-hard outdoorsman, his aluminum boat is a regular presence on Jasper National Park waters and the silhouette of his feather-adorned, wide brimmed hat bobbing in Maligne Lake’s glacial bays can practically be seen from Curly’s boathouse. If you still weren’t sure who it was that caught the biggest brookie in Maligne, saddle up ‘round the campfire at Fisherman’s Bay—Robson still carts around the photographic evidence. “My quest started in 1979,” he begins. “An old guy who had fished Maligne for more than 40 years told me there were fish over 10 pounds in that lake.” At that time, a 24-year-old Robson’s curiosity was piqued, but he wondered if what that old timer said was true. Every time Robson let out line in Jasper National Park’s largest body of water, he imagined what he’d do if he hooked into a double-digit lunker. “The old guy said you would only get one or two chances in your life, but most people wouldn’t land them,” he recalled. “But they were there.” Five years later, in June, 1984, the ice had just come off of Maligne Lake. It was Robson’s 29th birthday. Robson, his fiancé and his nephew had taken advantage of the “Fisherman’s Special”—a service offered by Maligne Tours in those days that would ferry the fisherman, along with their watercraft, to Spirit Island—and were settling in for a few nights out on the lake. On their last evening, as they trolled back to camp with supper on the stringer and reflecting on a special trip, his fiancé’s rod bowed deeply.

“I looked over and saw and heard what I had been hoping for the last five years,” he said. “The line was peeling out and the rod was bent right over and not coming up.” The reel sang as the fish plunged deep into the water, taking run after run. As it slowly relented to his fiancé’s rod pressure and came to the surface, Robson’s nephew spotted it. In the clear water the fish looked three times bigger than any other fish they’d ever landed. “I knew then that we had a fish of a lifetime on,” Robson said. Fifteen minutes later, the beast came to the surface. Robson will never forget the feeling of seeing that fish for the first time. “Wow, what a sight. A 28-inch-plus male brook trout in full spawning colours. The kype nose and jaw, then boom! Back to the bottom and another run.”

“An old Maligne told me pou

Forty five minutes into the fight, his fiancé’s arms were burning. She passed the rod to Robson but the line was slack. “I was praying that it was still on, as I reeled in I could see the line start to tighten up. I was ecstatic.” Robson continued to work the fish closer to the boat. Finally, he got it within reach of his net. But as he bent down to scoop the massive trout, he let the rod tip dip. The line slackened and the hook came loose. Robson felt sick as he saw the green Doc Spratley fly float away from the fish. “He didn’t even know he was off!” Robson recalled. The giant fish floated there for a moment,

MALIGNE DREAM // THE SAMSON NARROW

FISH ON! // UNLIKE THESE ANGLERS, FISHERMAN DAVID ROBSON INSISTED ON NETTING HIS BEHEMOTH BROOKIE BY HIMSELF. “IF I LOSE IT, IT’S MY FAULT,” HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS IN 1984.//

SPECKLED SPECIMEN // THOUGH NOT ABOVE), THIS BEAUTIFUL FISHERMAN’S

feature //

oes strike twice

her season on Maligne Lake, The sh tale of record proportions just out of reach, before a slow wag of its tail moved it down into the water column. The fish of a lifetime was gone. Robson was heartbroken, not to mention furious with himself. “It’s still a nightmare to me,” he said. Eleven days and 10 sleepless nights later, Robson was again on the Fisherman’s Special. This time it was him and two buddies, and as they putted along near the

“An old guy who had fished Maligne for more than 40 years old me there were fish over 10 pounds in that lake.” lakeshore his friends chided him. They each had landed their share of fish and poked fun at Robson for getting shook off multiple times. Suddenly, as they neared Fisherman’s Bay, his friend got a hit. Instinctively, Robson grabbed his own rod. His friend missed the fish but now Robson had a bite. Another take and Robson set the hook. The fight was on.

MSON NARROWS OFFER PLENTY OF STRUCTURE FOR BIG BROOK TROUT // BC

HOUGH NOT A 14 POUNDER LIKE DAVID ROBSON’S 1984 FISH (SHOWN FISHERMAN’S BAY BROOKIE WAS PLENTY FIESTY. // BOB COVEY

“The line was peeling out like it did for the male 11 days earlier,” he said. His friends joked that he had hooked bottom, but Robson knew this was no snag. Twenty minutes later, he had visual proof. This fish was as least as long as the male that got away. It was a hen of legendary proportions. Lightning apparently did strike twice. “I had to lead her out from shore three times into 120 feet of water,” Robson said. With his heart racing, what seemed like an eternity passed. Finally Robson got the fish close enough to the boat that he could net it. Although his friend offered to help, Robson declined. “If I lose her it’ll be my fault,” he stated. Learning from his mistake 11 days earlier, Robson kept the line tight. As the brook trout turned on her side, he carefully slipped the net under her. His trophy trout was landed. “I let out a primal yell that could be heard in Jasper,” he laughed. Speeding to Spirit Island to record what Robson hoped might be a record fish, they were greeted by the Dean of Maligne himself—Jasper’s Bill Ruddy. The legendary Jasper entrepreneur and former owner of Maligne Tours took one look at Robson’s fish and rushed to get his camera. “Keep it wet,” he told Robson. “You’re losing weight.” The fish was indeed bleeding out; Robson’s initial weighing of 14 pounds was eventually downgraded to just under 13. She measured 29.5 inches long and is recorded in the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a world record for line class and the second heaviest brook trout caught in Alberta. These days, Robson is the old timer telling young fisherman that the fish of a lifetime is out there. “Are there bigger brook trout in Maligne?” he asks. “I would have to say yes.” Bob Covey// bob@thejasperlocal.com

page B5 // the jasper local // issue 82 // saturday, october 1, 2016

Local determination//

LIFE SUPPORT // INJURED MOUNTAIN GUIDE RYAN TITCHENER’S PROGRESS AND POSITIVITY HAS MADE HIM A CANDIDATE FOR A CUTTING EDGE ALTERNATE MOBILITY PROGRAM // BOB COVEY // SUPPLIED

Paralyzed climber making leaps & bounds Most years, come October, Jasper’s Ryan Titchener would be squeaking in the last climbs of the summer. With the rock taking a little longer to warm up every morning, Tichener might sleep in a little longer than he would in the heat of July. At the same time, October’s cold nights offer opportunities for bagging big peaks, so most years, Titchener would want to leave some days open for a big push up one of Jasper’s 3,000 metre mountains.

daring rescue, Titchener was flown off the mountain. He was badly injured—14 broken ribs and a punctured lung besides the shattered lumbar—but he was alive. Since then, Titchener has been in recovery mode. Post-surgery, it took all his effort to simply hoist himself up in bed. He had an ice pick’s length of staples in his back and the pain from his broken ribs was so severe, despite the morphine, he couldn’t have a proper bath for more than a month. “Dirt bag for life,” he joked at the time.

That positive spirit has helped Titchener—and his loved ones—through the darkest days. It also helped Since river crossings are easier— convince his albeit colder—most years at this time, physiotherapy Titchener would likely be getting after to some of those classic Jasper objectives “I look at it like I have to wake team recommend that require a ford or two: Ashlars’ up everyday and go to work.” Titchener to a Ridge, off the Miette Road, for example. cutting-edge And although it’s a bit early yet, most alternate years, come October, Tichener would mobility have an eye on ice formations in the Columbia program. As such, last week, Titchener took his first Icefields area. Rain in the Athabasca Valley could robot-assisted steps in a wearable exoskeleton device. mean snow up high and he’d be keen to get in a mixed The technology provides powered hip and knee climb, if the opportunity presented itself. The ice axes motion to enable individuals with spinal cory injuries would be in the car, at any rate. to stand upright and walk. Titchener is the program’s earliest entrant, meaning no other patient has tried But October of this year isn’t like most for the technology this soon after their accident. Titchener. This year, Titchener has his sights set on other objectives. “It’s another piece of the puzzle,” Titchener said. This year, Titchener is relearning how to walk. The main piece, however, is Titchener’s own personal motivation. Every morning when he wakes up, the “You would think you would know how to walk, first thing he does is grab his legs and stretch them having done it your whole life,” the 32-yearout. After he gets the blood moving it’s straight old said. “But when your brain can’t send those to the gym, where he goes through a strenuous, messages to your legs through your spinal cord, self-supported work out. Once he gets a sweat on, you have to relearn.” Titchener is joined by his occupational therapists. Two months ago, on July 16, while practicing for The OT and physiotherapy programs take him until his Alpine Guide’s exam, Titchener knocked loose lunch, after which he works more deliberately on a granite boulder that hadn’t moved from its perch walking and standing—using a variety of assisted in the Bugaboo Mountains for 11,000 years. Gravity walking systems including parallel bars, walkers and pulled the 400 kg rock straight down the mountain; now, the exoskeleton device. It’s a full day, every day. in the process it rolled right over Titchener. In an Titchener said he looks at his recovery like it’s a job instant, the rock snapped Titchener’s spine and he has to do. paralyzed him from the waist down. Thanks to his “I look at it like I have to wake up everyday and go to girlfriend, Tereza Turecka, who kept a cool head, and work,” he said. “I treat it like this is a job I love and I thanks to nearby search technicians, who executed a

don’t want to get fired.” You might say Titchener is making a run for employee of the year; others are certainly noticing his dedication. Besides the exoskeleton team, Titchener was introduced to the coach of Canada’s Paralympic hand cycling team, and even had an opportunity to go for a ride on one of the team’s bikes. Powering the low-riding machine with his arms and feeling the G-force while cornering down hills, Titchener said after an hour and a half of zipping around Calgary he was smiling so broadly he could feel his lips on his ears. “I got to see and absorb more terrain than I have in two months, I was stoked,” he said. He wasn’t the only one excited. After witnessing Titchener’s athletic potential, the coach sent him a follow-up email, suggesting that if he wanted to train for the Paralympics, he was a prime candidate. “He said ‘Toyko’s only four years away,’” Titchener laughed. More top of mind, however, is the immediate future. Every day Titchener gets a little more feeling in his lower body. Whereas in the first weeks he could only wiggle his right big toe, today he has movement in his feet and ankles—albeit limited. Although he has little feeling in his hamstrings, he can use his quads to lift his legs up. Similarly, his internal bodily functions—those details folks on the outside often forget about—are coming back to him. “Everybody thinks it’s just the limbs that are paralyzed but you lose your defecation, your bladder, your sexual organs too,” he said. As he moves forward in his recovery, Titchener and Turecka will uproot from their temporary home in Calgary to a more permanent residence in Canmore, where he’ll have good access to sports medicine teams, top-level physiotherapists, massage therapists and the Foothills Medical Centre. Eventually, however, he wants to return home. At that point, Titchener hopes his focus will no longer be on how to walk, but how far. bob covey // bob@thejasperlocal.com

saturday, october 1, 2016 // issue 82 // the jasper local// page B6

Local health //

On October 18, Edmonton will honour Breast Reconstruction Awareness (BRA) Day. This is an annual event, held in numerous cities across the globe to shed light on the options that should, and can, be available to women who have had or who are undergoing the removal of her breasts from cancer or a predisposition to the disease. The notion of a women awakening from any mastectomy surgery with breasts, let alone breasts designed specifically for her body, is a remarkable medical feat. Yet it is becoming more and more commonplace for women in Canada to have access to immediate or delayed reconstruction that reflects individual preferences and choice, within a streamlined, systematic health care framework. However, particularly in Alberta, there is still a long way to go. As it stands, one in nine women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime and shockingly, Alberta is the most under-serviced province for breast reconstruction in the country. Breast cancer patients, survivors or those with an unenviable family history wishing to rebuild their bodies, face many obstacles including lack of information, timely access to reconstruction and lack of facilities designed specifically for this type of comprehensive breast care. Instead, women who have received a cancer diagnosis or who are at high-risk are dependent upon the supply of operating rooms, surgical staff and funding through limited hospital budgets for their reconstruction and are bounced from place to place seeking the care they need. I know. I am one of those patients. When a genetic blood test informed me that I had inherited the BRCA1 gene, I ignored the recommendations of surgery and a life without breasts for years. Then, in the midst of being a

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young mother and after countless mammogram scares, ultrasounds, biopsies, frantic call-backs, blood tests, false negatives and MRI’s, I realized I needed to face the facts. I knew that the best method of helping me prevent cancer in my breasts was to remove them. With so much talk about mastectomies and reconstruction, prophylactic or otherwise, the entire process has been made to sound so extremely easy. I can assure you, it’s not. Assisted by surgeons, whose talents and whose precious time should have been spent in the operating room as opposed to spending the countless hours needed to inform me of my options, I began navigating a twisted path to proactively remove and reconstruct my breasts. Although I was, and still am, very aware I had the privilege of choice as opposed to being consumed with worry over an illness or frightening diagnosis, this journey has not been easy and this procedure is not for the fainthearted. I’ve spent years in various stages of recovery. Five to be exact. Operation day has been seared on my mind—I’ve not forgotten the days of

“... this journey has not been easy and this procedure is not for the fainthearted.”

excruciating pain. I’ve also not forgotten the feeling of being pressured to leave my hospital bed while lying incapacitated from the waist up. During this time, I exposed myself to endless rosters of different health care staff and spent hours driving to innumerable appointments in different locations across Edmonton. I’ve run the metaphoric gauntlet through general hospital clinics and sketchy waiting rooms, all in an effor t to see my specialized surgeon and use preventative health measures, as opposed to treating the sickness down the road. I have also incurred considerable financial costs incumbent of

living far away from a major city to attend to my health needs. This is a fragmented and disjointed method of care that has the potential to be so much better. A collaborative care centre, where breast patients could receive all their care under one roof—from diagnosis to reconstruction— is the ultimate goal. It makes sense. This framework; a centralized team approach, where health advisors could impart knowledge, where medical services would be coordinated, where surgeons would be left to do what they do best, and where patients in Alberta could interact with others going through the same experience, in one building, is the ideal cost-effective model that has been outlined and recommended time and again through numerous health committees, articles, news reports and is in practice throughout many other parts of the country—just not yet in Alberta. In my case, the reconstructed end result that has been created externally has made possible the peace I now feel on the inside. It has allowed me to embrace the quality of life I now enjoy. Although I will be eternally grateful for my unique journey, the road ahead does not need to be as long and winding for others as it was for me. All women in Alberta undergoing the removal of her breasts from cancer or a hereditary gene should have timely access and availability to all reconstruction options in a much simpler way than I encountered. It is my hope, after Edmonton’s second BRA Day, that we can make significant and much needed progress for future generations of women needing breast care in this province. It will allow them, like me, an opportunity to define and improve the rest of their lives. Edmonton’s second BRA day is scheduled for Oct.18, 2016. www.bradayedmonton.com renee WILLIs // info@thejasperlocal.com