OAKVILLE BEAVER Saturday, March 28, 2009 · 6 The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate.The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Commentary Letter to the Editor NEIL OLIVER Vice-president and Group Publisher, Metroland West DAVID HARVEY General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Metroland Media Group Ltd. includes: Ajax/Pickering News Advertiser, Alliston Herald/Courier, Arthur Enterprise News, Barrie Advance, Caledon Enterprise, Brampton Guardian, Burlington Post, Burlington Shopping News, City Parent, Collingwood/Wasaga Connection, East York Mirror, Erin Advocate/Country Routes, Etobicoke Guardian, Flamborough Review, Georgetown Independent/Acton Free Press, Harriston Review, Huronia Business Times, Lindsay This Week, Markham Economist & Sun, Midland/Penetanguishine Mirror, Milton SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager WEBSITE oakvillebeaver.com Canadian Champion, Milton Shopping News, Mississauga Business Times, Mississauga News, Napanee Guide, Newmarket/Aurora EraBanner, Northumberland News, North York Mirror, Oakville Beaver, Oakville Shopping News, Oldtimers Hockey News, Orillia Today, Oshawa/Whitby/Clarington Port Perry This Week, Owen Sound Tribune, Palmerston Observer, Peterborough This Week, Picton County Guide, Richmond Hill/Thornhill/Vaughan Liberal, Scarborough Mirror, Stouffville/Uxbridge Tribune, Forever Young, City of York Guardian OTMH is a lifesaver I RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville TV AUCTION Helping out FERN HILL DONATION: Fern Hill students recently made a donation to the Pajama program, a nonprofit organization that collects and provides new pajamas and books to needy children. On hand for the presentation were (l-r) Zoe Alikakos, , Ashley Hoath,Pajama Program, Niagara chapter, Sarah Strasler and Ben Randell. Strasler organized a slipper day fundraiser in support of the program and collected 180 pajamas, four robes, two pairs of slippers, 197 books and $650 in cash donations for the program. write to you today to share my story and give thanks for the wonderful care I have received at the Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH). In the beginning, I had no idea how dramatically my life was about to change. In October 2006, I was admitted to a Toronto-area hospital with a blood infection and `flesh eating disease.' I was given a 20 per cent chance of surviving. In March 2007, I was released from that hospital with arrangements for daily home care. At this time, I had multiple open wounds on my body. After one day at home I realized that I could not manage the pain, so my daughter brought me, by ambulance, to OTMH. I couldn't walk or stand, I had lost a lot of weight and there didn't seem to be an end in sight to the pain. But the team at OTMH wouldn't let me lose hope. When one type of treatment didn't work, they found something else to try. Their thoughtfulness and kind treatment lifted my spirits. Even the cleaning staff would stop in and give me words of encouragement that were so desperately needed. How lucky I was to be put in such capable hands. It is now two years later and I am pain free and have only one wound left, which is on its way to healing. I can stand and am beginning to learn to walk again. Now that I have reached this point, I want to take a moment to make sure that the OTMH staff receives the recognition deserved. In particular, I would like to thank: 1E and 3E nurses, Dr. G. Sibbald, Dr. Massoud, Dr. Skazacs, Dr. James Clark, Yolanda Vanderlaan, Libby Morris, Wendy Schmidt, Sandy Graham, Sian Surridge, all of the PALS and the volunteers in the gift shop, the library ladies and those who visit on a daily basis. They have shown me compassion, understanding, patience, friendship, humour and have always been truthful and honest, even when it was sometimes painful to hear. It's not just the individual caregivers. It is everyone working together, nurses, physicians, therapists, PALs and volunteers, which has brought me from a very tortured, painful existence to where I am today. I can now see the light at the end of the tunnel. I would also like to thank all of the community members for their financial support of OTMH. Without those donations the hospital would not have the equipment on hand to help me be one step closer to full recovery. Many days have gone by when my family and I thought that my story would end very differently, but OTMH changed that for us. A hospital is not a place anyone wants to be, but OTMH has given me everything I need to recover and I will be eternally grateful. SUSAN ARNOLD When you open up your wallet for the sake of your heart E ver since the economy tanked, my wife and I have found ourselves not tightening our belts as one would imagine -- as our accountant and the ubiquitous and insufferable Suze Orman would advise -- but, rather, spending like drunks. We're spending, I believe, out of equal parts empathy and compassion, with a pinch of survivor's guilt tossed in for flavor. And, apparently we're not alone. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story under the headline, The Guilted Age: Spending To Keep Others Afloat. It was the tale of a Denver woman who confessed to restocking her already-packed pantry each week out of concern for the struggling couple who run the ethnic-food grocer near her home. The woman labelled her spending, "the guilt economy" -- that is, when you feel guilty because you have the good fortune to have a lifeboat in the economic storm, and where you subsequently try tossing lifelines to help keep other less-fortunates afloat. It is the contention of many `behavioral economists' -- an area of study that is growing about as fast as the economy is shrinking -- that "people don't always weigh costs and benefits rationally, and don't always act in their (best) financial self-interest." Tell me about it. While my wife and I aren't single-handedly trying to spend the global economy out of its misery, we aren't exactly pinching pennies. While we haven't run out, secured large loans and bone-headedly purchased ourselves into massive debt by buying yachts, Andy Juniper villas in Tuscany, or even much-needed new carpets in the bedrooms --rugs ruined by our pooch in the infamous Scooching Incident of '07 -- we have been opening up our wallets for none-essentials more than we like to admit. Back before the crash, my wife and I could occasionally be found on Friday nights in a local bistro, hashing over the week, sipping Chardonnay and slowly slipping into weekend-mode after another hectic week. Also prior to the crash, my wife and I occasionally indulged in Sunday breakfast at a cozy place in town. Bacon. Eggs. Home fries. Your basic heart attack on a plate. But we fell in love with this restaurant, just like we fell in love with the bistro, and in both cases we eventually came to know the owners, the staff and other patrons, to the point where if either closed it would weigh on us. Subsequently, since the crash, we've become regulars at both restaurants. Real regulars. Despite what our heads tell us, each weekend we open up our wallets and say a little prayer that customers will continue to spend so these people we've come to fondly know can continue to eek out a living until more profitable times return. It's called having a personal connection (obviously it's far easier to stop spending money when that bond is missing). This connection means that when a handyman friend loses his job, my first reaction is to invite him to come over and go all handy on our house in return for a little appreciated cash to hold him over. There are a lot of experts saying that this is the time to curtail all spending. But in the name of empathy and compassion admittedly, with a little survivor's guilt tossed in for flavor I seriously think it's time to spend it, if you've got it. Andy Juniper can be visited at his Web site, www.strangledeggs.com, or contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com.