The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday June 3, 2006 - 3 By Wilma Blokhuis OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It's hard to believe that Catherine Mulvale was almost eaten alive ­ by her own body. Ten years ago, flesh-eating disease and toxic shock were turning the muscles of her right arm and shoulder into mush. "On June 10, 1996, I was given a 10 per cent chance of survival," said the energetic and vivacious 40-year-old mother of two. "I went to bed feeling great and woke up the next morning with a horrible flu and a terrible pain in my back," said Mulvale, remembering the nightmare that was attacking her body. Two-and-a-half days later, she found herself in Emergency at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital where they stabilized her and controlled the swelling in her upper body. She spent five weeks at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. "I had eight surgeries in 23 days. I lost 11 muscles in my back and shoulder and half of my shoulder blade. Three surgeries were needed just to clear up the infection." Dr. Donald Low of Mount Sinai, a world expert on microbiology and infectious diseases, was in charge of her medication. Dr. Jay Wunder was her surgeon. It is believed bacteria found its way into Mulvale's arm and shoulder muscles through a skin crack in her baby finger. Today, Mulvale is the picture of health ­ physically fit, positive, upbeat and emotionally strong ­ all attributes which no doubt aided her recovery. The scarring is minimal, considering the ordeal she underwent a decade ago, and her arm movement is almost fully restored. But perhaps Mulvale's greatest motivation for her recovery was her family. "I have a very supportive husband. At one time the doctors thought I was going to die. Tom called the family." Her daughter Jordanne, 10, "was only eight months old when I was sick and I wanted to be able to pick her up." Her son Zach, now 12, was two years old. She was able to pick him up too. The children reflect her energy. In a house filled with bright colours, artwork and music, Jordanne and Zach `jam' in the living room ­ on electric guitar and drums set up in the front of her living room. Mulvale is right-handed. At the time, she was focusing on building her own computer graphics company, Dynamite Designs. Surviving her illness has prompted a career change to creating awareness about infectious diseases and fundraising for research. "I can throw a football," she said, demonstrating a full range of movement. "I didn't need a lot of physiotherapy ­ just three to four weeks. I used everyday motions to regain my arm movement, lifting plates instead of weights, each time adding more plates. My brain has taught the remaining muscles to do new tricks, to take over from Taking a hike KEVIN HILL / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER SURVIVOR: Catherine Mulvale is the organizer of LIFE Hike and ROAR Up Kilimanjaro to raise funds to research infectious diseases. This year is the 10th anniversary of Mulvale surviving her brush with flesh-eating disease. the muscles that I lost. "I play hockey and soccer. I used to play and teach tennis, but I had to give that up. I also played competitive volleyball." She also coaches. Her doctors are amazed at her recovery. "I have a lot of willpower," she said. "If somebody tells me I can't do something, I say yes I can." Her illness came two years after Québec politician Lucien Bouchard lost a leg to flesh-eating disease. "He was given an experimental drug for flesh-eating disease and toxic shock ­ he's the reason I still have my arm." Mulvale holds a degree from the University of Western Ontario in physical education and English ­ the two are lifelong passions to which she's added the burning desire to raise funds to fight infectious diseases. "Did you know seven out of every 10 people test positive ­ have a predisposition to invasive Group A Strep infections?" Her son has been hospitalized twice for cellulitis, "which is one degree below flesheating disease." The first time, he got infected after stepping on a nail, and the second time was after he cut his elbow during a family drive through the Rockies near Vancouver. "Chicken pox is a huge risk factor. Flesh- eating disease gets into open sores, and with chicken pox you're covered in open pores. Zach's chicken pox was three times more serious than Jordanne's. Flesh-eating occurs when the body overreacts and the swelling kills healthy cells." Eight years ago she launched Surviving Strep ­ Strategies for LIFE and LIFE Hike to raise funds for the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases (CFID). "LIFE Hike will go over $400,000 this year," she said. This year's goal is $75,000. Hundreds participate in this annual event held on Oakville's Heritage Trails along Sixteen Mile Creek, starting and finishing at Lions Valley Park. At this year's LIFE Hike on June 10, Donovan Bailey, five-time world and Olympic champion will speak with participants and sign autographs. Children will be invited to race against Bailey's best 100metre time. There will also be a barbecue lunch, children's activities, entertainment and a silent auction. Registration is at 8 a.m., the opening ceremony follows at 9 a.m., and the 5K race begins at 9:15 a.m., followed by the walkers. For more details, see www.lifehike.ca. Surviving flesh-eating disease may have been Mulvale's Mount Everest, but Kilimanjaro beckons. She and Tom will be leading 37 climbers to `the roof of Africa' in ROAR Up Kilimanjaro in July to raise at least $500,000 for CFID to fight infectious diseases. (ROAR stands for Realize Opportunities to Advance Research.) "This is just phenomenal," she said. "I would have been happy with 20." Each climber is challenged to raise $5,000 in pledges, plus pay their own way to Africa and their cost of the climbing expedition. "It costs about $8,000 to participate so this is a pretty serious undertaking," said Mulvale, adding the climbers range in age from 15 to 73. "They are incredible people and I feel very privileged to know them. The response to this challenge has been beyond my expectations. "None of these people have ever done it before, and they're making a huge financial and personal commitment." Participants have trained and hiked regularly on the Heritage Trails near Lions Valley Park. "A lot of them are going beyond their $5,000 goal," she continued. "One couple are already over $15,000 and they expect to go above $20,000." The Mulvales plan to raise $19,344, $1 for every foot they'll be climbing to Kilimanjaro's summit. Two years ago, Mulvale was hired as CFID's director of development ­ she works at home. CFID forwards money to the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases ­ AMMI Canada, the world's largest association of medical See Best page 5 MAZDA3 DA3 2006 6 1291 SPEERS ROAD 905.827.4242 (North side between 3rd & 4th Line) · www.oakvillemazda.com email: info@oakvillemazda.com MAZDA6 MAZDA6 2006 2006 MAZDA X8 MAZDA RX8 MAZ MAZDA RX