u Remembering my dad Continued from page 1


tion camps, helped build grain elevators, army bas- es and houses from North Western Ontario to the West Coast. He had many favourite stories from his earlier days. One was leaving Fort William with a friend and riding all the way to Winnipeg in an open Ford through a driving rainstorm. And, after a night on the town, he recalled the night he danced across the old Salter Street bridge with a “drinking partner” called Polish Pete. He still laughed telling the tale of a huge Swede he worked with somewhere in B.C. The man had size 14 feet and he ordered a pair of rubber boots from the Eaton’s catalogue. Weeks later he was excited when the package arrived. In it were two pair of rubber boots. Both size 7. Eventually, the now 40-year-old carpenter met a 41-year-old divor- cee with three grown children. One thing led to another and in May of 1950, they had a son. Ten


days later all three were packed up and on a train to Wainwright, Alberta where he found work building military housing. For the next twelve years the family would live in Alberta twice, Vancouver twice or Winnipeg and never more than a year in one place, finally settling here around 1962. The father still left for months at a time to go wherever there was work. The money was always bet- ter out west he said. But, eventually age caught up to the carpenter and his tool boxes were getting too heavy and he knew he couldn’t quite keep up. The boy was now working and


Jim Ingebrigtsen Is It Just Me...


through an estate sale, bought the house they had rented for many years. The old man now had a permanent place to live and never had to pay rent again. He had a little bit of money tucked away and would turn 65 and


be able to collect his pension in just a matter of a few months. He even talked about saving up and


Like a thorn in the paw of a lion


“Aargh, the painful ingrown toenail.” - Gillian Aldous


“The greatest evil is physical pain.” - Saint Augustine


“The only antidote to mental suffering is physical pain.”


- Karl Marx “Of pain you could wish only one


thing: that it should stop. Nothing in the world was so bad as physical pain. In the face of pain there are no heroes.” - George Orwell


that makes people seek out a podiatrist. In my experience this prob- lem affects younger people more than older. However, this can be a chronic situation, oc- curring


T several times


annually, and continu- ing through youth, to middle age, and older. An ingrown toenail happens when the nail is too wide for the digit,


Dr. Gillian Aldous Foot Notes


and it begins to push into the flesh at the side of the nail. This can be mildly irritating: causing redness and irrita- tion, or it can be really painful. At worst the nail will push into the flesh causing a wound, swelling, and infec-


he ingrown toe- nail is a com- mon problem


tion. These can be very nasty. Ingrown toenails can happen to any age group. They aren’t common with smaller children, unless there are other issues: any underlying health concern can make infections more common. Some other issues can be factors, for example, if we walk with our feet pointing inwards, or if we are clumsy (injury or trauma can cause an ingrown nail). As we age, the conditions that can cause ingrown toenail are often foot- wear: the “toe box” area of the shoe is too short, or not wide enough, or not deep enough. Sometimes tighter hosiery can make this worse.


compression stock- ings


can


Unfortunately make


this


problem worse, but as compression stockings are VITAL in helping lower limb circulatory conditions,(i.e. if you’re feet and ankles swell up more through the day), I


ALWAYS encour-


age everyone to try to continue wearing their prescribed compression hosiery. So, what can you ex-


pect for treatment for this? Well, this depends on the severity of the condi- tion. Some people with mild condi- tions can be helped in one session. Other people with mild conditions may need several treatments, and


Battered and bruised but not broken S


omeone posted that 2020 came in like a warm chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven and it turned into a stale oatmeal rai- sin cookie. I think this is a reasonably accurate analogy. I don’t want to talk disparagingly about oatmeal as it was my mother's “go-to” cookie, but we have had a tough spring. Now, as the sun rises higher in the sky each day, so do my spirits. There is nothing better for us “dirt players” than an afternoon in the gar- den. My ongoing battle


with the weeds, bunnies, and deer seem somehow more friendly this year. The songbirds are back, and their cheery chatter is music to my ears. In the summer, I live in a ru-


June 2020


ral area with few neighbors, but the chainsaws cleaning up the aftermath from last October’s storm compete with the birds. Everything is a sign of life, and that is precisely what we all need right now.


This spring is going to be hashed and rehashed again


and again for Helen Harper


what we did right, what was overkill, and which politician stood up and which ones failed us. I, for one, will not dwell on all that but will shake off the negativity, square my shoulders, and march on. I’m going to


take that stale oatmeal cookie and dip into a glass of cold milk. I urge you all to do the same. Helen Harper is a volunteer at CJNU 93.7 FM Nostalgia Radio.


then can manage the nails by them- selves. Sometimes a practical treat- ment plan is to have the nails dealt with regularly.


If the condition is very acute, podia- trists are trained to do a small surgery to remove a portion of the toenail. We would do this after listening to how this has been a problem, how often it occurs, and how painful it is. The surgery is done in the clinic. There is some recovery time, and most people will return for follow up visits. My hope from this article is that if this condition has bothered you, I want to say that this is a situation that can be resolved, so please seek help.


One other thing: as this COVID-19 situation is changing, I want to say a thank you to everyone, but especially to two groups. I think older people who have self isolated, or people in seniors’ homes who have had little contact with family, have been pa- tient, and sacrificing. The other group are the kids. It seems that older kids are doing ok with online schoolwork online, but a lot of the younger ones really struggle and miss their friends. To everyone: it will change. Well done Manitoba.


Gillian Aldous is a podiatrist work- ing at the Madison Square Orthorehab Clinic.


going back to the “old country” for a visit. The mother was now in a health-care facility and father and son would, for the first time in their lives, spend evenings renovating the house and talk- ing about the future. Coming home one Sunday evening, after visiting his wife, the old man fell to the floor and died of a stroke. Two and half months short of turning 65. And so, it’s June. And with it comes Father’s Day. Almost 50 years after my father passed on, I still tell a story or two to my son about his grandfather. I tell him my father was a good father and a good man. I can only hope one day my boy thinks the same of me. So, when Father’s Day rolls around, I think about that young, wide-eyed lad stepping off a ship into a brand new world. I think about him working in dust storms, snow storms and alone in cold bunkhouses in the middle of nowhere dream- ing for a better life. I can’t help but feel sad. But then, I see him dancing across the Salter Street bridge with Polish Pete and well, then it’s a happy Father’s Day.


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Will


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Power of Attorney A power of attorney is a document which appoints an individual to handle your affairs in the event you become mentally incapable of making your own decisions. Nothing prevents you from continuing to make your own decisions while you are still competent. A power of attorney is an extremely valuable document to have in place in case anything happens to you which affects your mental ability, such as a stroke, coma or dementia.


Health Care Directive (Living Will) A health care directive, commonly called a living will, is a document which appoints an individual to make decisions with regard to your health care only, while you are alive but unable to express your decisions yourself. This document is distinct from a power of attorney and deals only with health care decisions such as whether life sustaining treat- ments, such as CPR or blood transfusion, should be continued or withdrawn.


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