Meeting Highlights - 2018

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November - General Meeting Highlights

Winter Celebration Luncheon:  The luncheon was well attended.  Sorrento’s on Ellice Avenue provided the food and service at the Caboto Centre.   The food was well liked and enjoyed by all.  Everyone received a small sample of chocolate at the table settings.

Donations from Mr. & Mrs. Hazlitt, Donna Remillard, Cheryl Currie, Marion Howard and companies approached by Merv Woodward for donations were put together for draw prizes and door prizes.   Thanks for taking part in the draw prizes; tickets were $1.00 each and the draw was very successful.

Vaccination Surveys were placed on the tables for input from those in attendance.   Thank you for your responses.

Announcements were made:

  • Kathy Grabowecky, Executive Assistant at SMD Clearinghouse, will be retiring as of February 28th, 2019.  Kathy has been a great friend and an indispensible asset for the Post Polio Network.   Thanks Kathy for all your assistance and help over the years. 
  • PPN needs volunteers for the board as a succession plan must be put in place.
  • Annual General Meeting will be held on March 26th, 2019

October - General Meeting Highlights

Meetinig Speaker, Ms. M. courage, Director, Enabling Access : Ms. Courage spoke on ensuring the safety of your home for now and in the future.  What are the things that one should consider when purchasing a home or condo?  The presentation was excellent and well received.

September - General Meeting Highlights

Unfortunately the guest speaker went to our office area at the SMD Clearinghouse and therefore wasn’t able to make it to the general meeting at the Caboto Centre. Post Polio Network will try to have the Independent Living Resource Centre speak to the members at the May 2019 meeting. 

Therefore, we had round table discussions:

  • As October is Polio Awareness month; and October 24th is Polio Awareness Day worldwide, Wesley Hazlett has volunteered to be interviewed on CBC, CJOB and CJNU
  • PPN’s presence on Facebook; 
  • Polio breakout in Papua New Guinea was announced. This led to the discussion that there is a “vaccination” survey in the September newsletter. Along the same lines, in the USA there has been a widespread breakout of Polio “like” disease in children in 16 states this year. As of September 30, 2018 there were 38 cases. This illness has been linked to enterovirus A71 and D68, both of which are particular strains of the Polio’s virus family. The illness has been named “AFM” or Acute Flaccid Myelitis.
  • Discussion around having our meetings at the Caboto Centre. The consensus was that facility was acceptable. There was some discussion regarding transportation to the meeting. Handi-Transit, Volunteer Driving Services were mentioned.
  • Easy Street is still operational and the programs are free. Easy street is a multidisciplinary health facility/program.
  • PPN should approach MoDC with respect to next year’s “Open Door for Accessibility” even to having a speaker on PPS. Cheryl Currie will approach MoDC.

June 2018 - June Summer Celebration Luncheon

PPN celebrated the upcoming summer season with a luncheon at the Caboto Centre. Although the turnout was smaller than expected; those in attendance

enjoyed the food, the camaraderie and the door prizes. Many thanks to those who contributed prizes for the draws, the door prizes and the $1 draw. Thanks to Amanda at the Caboto Centre for the special attention to our members with food allergies/issues. See you in September. 

May 2018 - General Meeting Highlights

The May General Meeting was held on the 29th at the Caboto Centre.  The speaker for the meeting was Dr. Andrew Byrk, ND.  Dr Bryk is a naturopathic doctor who practices at this clinic in Winnipeg at 301 1200 Pembina Highway.  Dr. Bryk graduated from the four year Doctoral program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Toronto, Ontario.  Prior to his medical training Dr. Bryk obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba.

Dr. Bryk presented a slide presentation called:  A Naturopathic Perspective on Nutritional Interventions for Post Polio Syndrome.  The presentation was very well received by the members present at the meeting. 

A raffle was held after the presentation.

April 2018 - General Meeting Highlights

Post Polio Network (MB)’s April General meeting was held on April 24th 2018 at the Caboto Centre.  The speaker for the meeting was Allison Baird, president of SpeechWorks Inc. located in Winnipeg.   As a speech therapist Ms Baird often works with clients that have swallowing difficulties.  One of the after-effects of Polio can be swallowing difficulties.  After the presentation a raffle was held.  Thank you to those who donated to the raffle.

The following excerpts are taken from Ms Baird’s presentation to the group.  Ms. Allison Baird, SpeechWorks Inc. can be contacted at 204 231 2165.

In Allison Baird’s private practice she sees adults and children and deals with communication and swallowing difficulties.  She works a lot with the Northern Communities and works on camera so she can see the client and they can see her.  After receiving a request to consult with a client with swallowing problem she will talk with the person, watch them each different foods and drink liquids and by watching and listening to them she can figure out what is going on with their swallowing,

Post-polio syndrome is a cluster of disabling signs and symptoms that affect some people years after having polio.  Common signs and symptoms in the group at the meeting were:  progressive muscle or joint weakness and pain, fatigue, muscle wasting (atrophy), breathing of swallowing problems, and decreased tolerance of cold temperatures. 

In a study the people who participated had some weakness in the muscles of the mouth and throat that are responsible for speech and swallowing. These are the bulbar muscles and this suggested a deterioration of the bulbar neurons. (As in post polio syndrome).  Another study found that the presence and severity of the swallowing disorder was often grossly underestimated.  Swallowing difficulties may lead to airway obstruction and aspiration pneumonia.  Problems range from annoying to life threatening.

The three stages of swallowing include:  Oral Phase. During the oral phase, food is chewed and mixed with saliva to form a soft consistency called a bolus.  Pharyngeal Phase. During the pharyngeal phase, the vocal folds close to keep food and liquids from entering the airway. Esophageal Stage, the swallowing stage. With polio the muscles are weak and therefore cause the swallowing difficulties.  Studies recommend periodic moving x-ray studies to investigate changes in bulbar muscle function. 

When asked “What do the members here do to help themselves with their swallowing difficulties?”  The following answers were given:  chewing a lot, stretching throat, always liquid at the meal, eat slowly and small bites, take time and there are some issues with phlegm.

March 2018 - General Meeting Highlights

The Annual General Meeting was held on March 27, 2018 at the Caboto Centre. Guests included Mr. D. Day, Manager, SMD Clearinghouse; Mrs K. Grabowecky, Executive Assistant, SMD Clearinghouse; Mr. A. Sharma, Manager of Regional Development, Manitoba (March of Dimes). Cheryl Currie, President PPN Board of Directors and Donna Remillard, Treasurer PPN Board of Directors were re-elected for another term. The Executive and the Program directotrs presented a report on the past year's events.