4 - Sunday. May 30, 1999 — North Shore News This teen Katharine Hamer Contributing Writer WARNING teens about the dangers of drinking and driving is a subject “near and dear” to Bruce Wallace’s heart. The West Vancou Wallace was a prom ev player with a sch the University of Wisconsin until the summer day 17 years ago when a serious car acci- dent left him with permanent brain damage. Now working for the Lower Mainland Brain Injury Association, Wallace is the local co-ordinator of | PARTY (Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth). The day-long workshop in a hospital setting is communi- y-based and designed to illus- trate to students the “con to bad choices,” Wallace sa PARTY started at Sunnyhill Hospital in Toronto in. the carly 90s and has since spread across the country. The pro- gram is already running in Cranbrook and Kamloops, and a pilot for the first program in the Lower Mainland was launched rsday at Lions Gate Hospital. Financing for the pilot has been drawn from the provin- cial brain injury program ~~ though additional funds will be needed if the program is to become a regular fixture at Lower Mainland hospitals. Already, Wallace says, there is a §,000-strong waiting list for the program in Calgary. Fighteen Grade 10. stu- dents from Carson Graham secondary attended a day-long workshop at the hospital, with emergency and intensive care physicians, therapists, and trau- ma survivors — including Wallace — among the speak- crs. r-raised ny hock- : students also toured LGH’s emergency room, intensive care unit and special care unit, where ICU nurse and PARTY volunteer Michelle House explained, using dummies as paticnts, what happens to trauma vic- tims when they arrive at the hospital. “If this makes one kid stop and think before getting behind the wheel of a car and doing something stupid, then it’s worth it,” said House. Wallace approached a num- ber of regional hospitals about the pilot scheme. LGH was the first to respond. LGH’s Clay Adams said the. fe. NEWS photo Julie Iverson SLIGHTLY squeamish Carson Graham students watch ICU nurse Michelle House attach a catheter to “Bob” the dummy during the PARTY conference at Lions Gate. hospital was “delighted to be involved. It’s a great opportu- nity for us. Pve seen it in Alberta and it really sends th message home through first- “ve seen it in Alberta and it really sends the message home through first-hand experience.” — Clay Adams, Lions Gate Hospital hand experience.” Adams said thar PARTY focuses on) physical trauma, though it’s “not necessarily vehicl lated ... it could be kids getting drunk and jump- ing off a cliff. Alcohol is a great builder of mucho confidence.” Genuine accidents and avoidable accidents — were debated, as ER physician Dr. ‘ADVERTISING CORRECTION: In our Eaton's ‘Surprise Sata’ newspaper ad on May 26 or 28, 1999 PLEASE NOTE: 50% off all men’s regular-priced’ spring sweaters & long sleeve sport shirts - was incorrectly described. Cupy should read to include: “Excludes Designer Brands.” We sincerely apologize to our valued customers and regret any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused. EATON’S _FOR SALE BY PUBLIC TENDER 13 Unique Building Lots nders are invited for the purchase of any one or more of the RSK zoned Single Family Lots situated in the KILIMER CREST subdivision, Lots 1 to 13, 1000 Biock, Kilmer Road, North Vancouver. Minimum Acceptable Prices: $185,000 - $210,000 Sealed offers must reach the District of North Vancouver Municipal Halt not later than 11:00 a.m., Thursday, June 24, 1999. Tender packages are available for pick-up at Municipal Hall, 355 West Queens Road, North Vancouver or phone the Properties Department, 990-2256 Ross Geddes pointed out to the teens that speeding, or get- ting in a car with a drunk dri- ver, or riding a bike without a helmet, meant risking OUS injury — and thar teenagers weren't the only victims. “It’s a parent's worst night- Mare to get a phone call at 3 a.m. saying your son or you daughter has been in an acci- dent and they didn’t make it,” said Gedde Sports safety was also emphasized by LGH head of neurosurgery Dr. Brian Hunt, who encouraged the students to always wear protective hel- mets for biking, snowboard- ing, hockey, and other poten- tially risky activities. “We used to have mice that we ran through a maze and then hit them on the head to watch how slowly they moved afterwards,” said Hunt. “We don’t need to do that anymore — we've got football players.” ~ Afford PARTY has met with wide spread support from) related organizations, including school boards and the RCMP. Said Wallace: *So far, every: one Pve approached is behind the program 100% “foam fike johnny said = Wallace, in students” y have to make a decision, they chink back ta PARTY and hopefully ma sater choice. You can still have fun without putting yourself or anybody seat risk.” rar that the pro- gram ve approach, with ample opportunities for ask questions, had a greater impact on them than apy lecture on safety they might have had at schoo}. Fitting “Bob” the dummy patient with a breathing appa- ratus in the emergency room and seeing the machinery (defibrillators, heart moniters) and tubes that surround a tra ma victim really hit home. “L think the guys with d bo-vear-old Ss “We do this whether the patient is awake or not,” said Michelle House, to grimaces trom the students. Eating Junch with mock . i) Wheelchairs and aces and eve patches, underlined the permanency of serious brain or spinal cord d hand, said that being p! a wheelchair really opened his ¢ “Ive seen friends get in their cars drunk. Now that Pm in (the wheelchair), Cd never get ina car with someone who was drinking. I like being tree — being able to drink and cat. This really helps know what it’s like.” Another “patient,” Maddy ane, 16, was trying fo spoon yogurt into her mouth with limited use of her fett hand. “J think the program is very effective,” she said. “PT have a second cousin who was in a car crash and had a brain injury. Its really weird to be in her shoes. This is y hands-on, TC's not just statistiz actually live it.” Wallace said he believes that 2 program like PARTY is * much needed in the commun ty. It saves human misery for ms and their fam sce every hospital having a pro- gram like this: for Grade 10s when they get their licence; and tor Grade 12s at gradus- tion time.” “We're not making judy- ments about drinking alcohol st telling kids, * think before you act; look before you leap.” It’s a message that has to get out: young people are not indestructible.” How far will you walk in your life? eC eb +f wb ae £# iP A ie ort . Raf? teal? THE AVERAGE PERSON WALKS 184,000 KM IN THEIR LIFETIME We welcome you to a clinic near you fora ten minute computerized ygtit and pressure measures the weight distibutior your foot while you are ¥ nalysis fest. This tent ang the bution of tking Digital information and our doctors clinical exam cin then be used to make prescription orthenti foot functions W you have pain in your fect, ankles, kaees of lower back, please on near you for a suit and Come walk with us www.footmaxx.com Orthotics . 987-7100 - Priceless Resort