Page 5 - Sep 21

A better life at home

The first Natuashish resident to use the machinery purchased with Rotary Foundation
global grants was able to live at home while getting treatment nearby. He previously had
moved away for his frequent dialysis sessions but had the chance to return while using the
new equipment for several months near the end of his life.

It also was a special accomplishment for the Rotarians and others who worked on the
endeavour, says Mike Spurrell, past president of the Rotary Club of Happy Valley-Goose
Bay Labrador, a grant applicant and one of many clubs that contributed funding. Patients
"are not away from their families and are able to stay in their communities," says Spurrell,
now a member of the Rotary Club of Clarenville in another part of the province. That goes a
long way in bringing comfort to a person receiving exhausting treatments several times a
week.

"When you think about coastal Labrador, when you think of the cultural sensitivities that we
were working with, when you think of the supply chain - if this could be established in
Natuashish, what could stop us from doing it absolutely anywhere?" Rowsell asks.

The international partner for the grants was the Rotary Club of Port Angeles, Washington, an
area that is also home to Indigenous groups, member Ann Murakami says. Members' work to
implement the grants stretched into early last year.
A model for remote areas

The project's early success is promising for isolated locations. "It's being watched on a whole
bunch of levels for its potential benefits, but also its potential spread.it underlines the word
'global' in global grant when what we do here could have an effect on other parts of the
world."

Meeting this challenge proved to everyone involved that dialysis in remote places could be
accomplished, with the potential to one day help people in other areas.

(Edited)Donate today

Program for the weeks ahead

Date Sep 21 Sep 28 Oct 12

Mooloolaba
Venue Mooloolaba Bowls Club Mooloolaba Bowls Club
Bowls Club
Lift the Lid Launch & Sponsor
Subject Road safety Fellowship event
Appreciation Evening

A/Sgt Sarah Brough from the Sunshine
Speaker
Coast District Crime Prevention Unit

Chairperson Vicki STEWART Paul WARREN

Speaker David WRIGHT David WRIGHT
Host

Front Desk Alison YOUNG John OATES