Alzheimer's disease & Dementia

Last Sunday, I joined two long-time Saanich South residents - Lorraine and Wayne Brewster - on CFAX radio. Wayne has dementia and my community office recently helped him gain access to an appropriate care-home.

Journalist Stephen Andrews spoke to us about Alzheimer's disease, dementia and the challenges of getting good care, especially when you are relatively young like Wayne.

It was a real act of courage for Wayne and his wife to speak about their experiences on air. I know they did it because they want to see improvements in the system for other people.

Link to audio of CFAX interview

This is a very personal issue for me as my grandmother has dementia and Alzheimer's ...and it was a great struggle to get her the help she needs. I know what families with loved ones in this situation go through.


There are simply not enough complex care beds on the Island for those who need them. In fact, there are approximately 200 people waiting right now just in the VIHA region. This is an issue I will continue to work on with my colleagues in the Legislature.

Click here and you can listen to the audio clip.

Best, Lana

Art Show & Open House: Fri. Nov 23

Dear Saanich South,

2012 was an amazing year of Saanich South art on display at my constituency office. Each time a new talent is showcased, I host an evening open house so that all of my constituents can appreciate their creations.

And now, to close out this year, my office is proud to present the works of award-winning print maker, Jenn Whitford-Robins.

Jenn’s works have been shown in galleries and fine art shows since 1992 - and her prints can be found in collections around the world.

The art on exhibition in my office includes many pieces from Jenn’s Arctic Series. They demonstrate Jenn’s mastery of many techniques including monotype, photo etching, embossing, collograph and watercolours. There are also several pieces using a technique developed by Jenn, that she calls ‘metal monotype’.

There are also pieces from her West Wind, West Coast and Fragility collections.

These pieces ranges from muted shades of white and grey depicting frozen expanses to textures and shapes that shift with the light to rich shimmering patterns that ‘whisper’ when you pass them.

To offer my constituents the opportunity to browse these amazing works of art and to thank Jenn for sharing her art with Saanich South, I am hosting an Art Show and Year-End Open House at my office.

Friday, November 23, 2012

5:00pm – 8:00pm

4085 Quadra Street (corner of Nicholson, north of McKenzie)

I hope you will join us for light refreshments and good company.

Also, starting on November 23 and running until my office breaks for the holidays, I will be hosting a food drive for the Mustard Seed Food Bank. Feel free to drop-off non-perishable food items Monday – Thursday, 9:30am – 5:00pm.

For more information on Jenn Whitford-Robins, please see her website at http://www.jennrobins.com/ or, better yet, come to the show and meet the artist in person!

See you then.

Lana

Victorian Lt. Andrew Nuttall's ultimate sacrifice was in aid of the greater good for Afghans

Soldier felt democracy for Afghans was a goal that was worth the risks

BY LANA POPHAM, TIMES COLONISTNOVEMBER 11, 2012

On Dec. 23, 2009, Lt. Andrew Nuttall was on a joint foot patrol with members of the Afghan National Army in the Panjwai district of Afghanistan.

Just after 4 p.m., the soldiers stopped for a quick water break and then turned back to head home, back to base.

A few hundred metres away, members of the Taliban were lying in wait. They activated a trip wire, arming a buried improvised explosive device.

Nuttall was the leader of 12 Platoon, 1st Battalion Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. 

He was at the front of the patrol. The explosion ended his life. He was just 30 years old.

Nuttall had been a resident of Saanich South, and his parents continue to live here. Although I didn't know him or his family, I went to the funeral to offer my condolences as the MLA of their constituency.

But it was a very private affair and so I stood at a distance. More and more friends and family kept arriving and the cemetery seemed to fill with terrible sadness. Daylight faded away and a cold rain poured down.

That day changed Remembrance Day for me. I attend Remembrance Day ceremonies every year; I was taught what it represented, and I appreciated the meaning.

But not until I met the Nuttall family did I feel Remembrance Day inside my heart. A strong mother and father weeping openly for their son who would never return, a man born in the same generation as myself giving his life.

Remembrance Day has a face for me now, and that is the face of Andrew Nuttall.

I've gotten to know Nuttall's parents, Rick and Jane Nuttall, a little over the last few years. His father told me that his son was willing to fight and risk his life as a soldier because he wanted to protect vulnerable people. He wanted to make a positive change in our global village. And because he believed that giving human rights and democracy a chance to take hold in Afghanistan was a noble goal.

Nov. 11 is a day to remember remarkable people like Nuttall and feel gratitude for how much they have given to make Canada and the world a safer place.

Nuttall kept a blog during his time in Afghanistan. (It is still on the web - www.nuttman.info - and recent entries by family detail ongoing tributes to him.) A few weeks before his death, he posted his last entry. Here is a paragraph from it:

On one side, the people are frightened, impoverished, and seek nothing but safety and prosperity for their families. On the other side is a very small subset of a combination of extreme Salafist muslims (a.k.a. seeking to impose an extremist version of Islam on the entire world), anti-western mercenaries and misguided brainwashed (generally) youths that utilize cowardice hit-and-run and IED tactics in order to sway the civilian population of Afghanistan and North America to pull their troops out. Then there is us in the middle, an array of nations trying to combine our traditionally conventional forces and conduct combined operations with the young but capable ANA (and young but immature Afghan National Police, ANP), in a barren country with many more needs than just militaristic. Complicated, yes; confusing, only a bit; frustrating, unfortunately too much.

Last December, Lt. Nut-tall was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. This is a significant and fitting honour for someone with such a big heart who gave everything he had in the service of his country.

Lana Popham is the MLA for Saanich South.

© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist. Original article here.