The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 97

The Ottawa Citizen, Thursday, October 14, 1993 17 LOEB Food People very important "'Dream of a Lifetime" Campaign since its inception." commented Norman Lesh, LOEB Senior Vice-President, Community Affairs. "One of the reasons LOEB and LOEB Retailers are so involved with CHEO is that many of our employees have had to utilize the services of this caring hospital. We are very fortunate to have CHEO ith its advanced technology and highly trained medical staff always ready and able to provide the required services for our children." Snowsuit Fund, food banks, sports and business associations. Each year, over and above the donations from LOEB Corporate and the LOEB operating divisions, LOEB Retailers and staff expect to raise over I million for charities and other worthwhile organizations through barbeques. special events and appearances by the LOEB Pizzamobile and the LOEB BQ Express, together with the LOEB mascots, Koo-Kie and Handy and Dandy.

Locally. LOEB and the 48 LOEB Food Stores serve the same area as the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. LOEB Retailers and staff annually participate in the Teddy Bear Picnic, CHEO Telethon, Tour des Quickie, the Duck Race and so on. helping to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the children. LOEB.

LOEB Retailers and employees are very much a part, both financially and personally, of the community in hich they are located. This is in keeping with the LOEB tradition of community service through personal involvement. "LOEB has participated in this located in London, Sudbury and Ottawa; and Amos in Quebec. Today LOEB employs more than 1800 people, while its more than 1 30 fran-chised and affiliated food stores employ a further 1 2,000 across the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. LOEB and LOEB Retailers are great believers in supporting the communities in which they operate and have been very active over the years in supporting many charitable organizations, hospitals, universities, Easter Seals, the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Kidney Foundation, LOEB began operations in 19 1 2 from a 160 square loot warehouse in Ottawa and is now celebrating its 81st year of operations in the food business. A leading retail food marketer. LOEB operates fourdivisions. VIA Rail The Romance of Train Travel IP I Registered Irademar of VIA Rail Canada Inc. Erin Iversen also active in their support of CHEO and many are involved in several service groups, including the Lions Club, Knights of Columbus and the Optimist Club.

VIA Rail is also active in their support of United Way, the Diabetes Foundation, Riverside Hospital and Civic Hospital. Passenger service has been a part of Eastern Ontario's history for well over a century and both corporately and through the individual efforts of their very caring staff, VIA Rail is still an important part of the community's lifeblood. "I think it's important that we do it," says Santoni. "We try to contribute whenever possible because the community supports us and we, in turn, want to give something back. After frequent visits to CHEO with his daughter, Santoni is struck by how much me st iff truly cares about their tin patients.

"From the cleaners to the TitdicY. staff, the kids are their focus. It pi ts everything else into perspec ive when you see that degree of car ing and expertise. There is obvious'y a hnge need for this hospital." "Trains and kids jus seem to go together," continues Santoni. "Trains have been a-oimd for 125 years and hopefully, fundraising efforts like "Dream so will CHEO." from the brain to the lungs, and the patient would have stopped breathing.

"The main problem lies in trying to move a person with this injury without breaking the delicate spinal cord, says Dr. D'Astous. "Credit has to go to that ambulance team they knew what they were doing." In order to protect the spinal cord, Erin was placed in a halo, a device that immobilizes the head. "Injuries of this type don't heal well, so the neck had to be fused," says D'Astous. In a gruelling eight hour operation, Erin underwent spinal fusion, the doctors taking a piece of her pelvis to reconnect her neck and spinal column.

There was no room for error; the surgery was five millimetres from her spinal cord and any false moves could have damaged the spinal cord irreparably. In June of this year, Erin astounded everyone by walking onto the set of the Telethon on CJOH TV. Erin is truly one of CHEO's miracle children. These days, Erin is attending grade three at Beckwith School. She takes the bus each day and uses a walker to get to and from class.

Her walking and overall coordination has improved dramatically. "For me, the biggest changes are the fact she can ride her bicycle with training wheels and has learned to use her left hand now before the accident she was right-handed. Her voice is much stronger now too," says her mother. "After the accident, she whispered where now she can raise her voice." Her courage, her spirit and her determination are an inspiration to all of us and a reminder of what CHEO is all about helping to make miracles happen. Last November, eight-year-old Erin Iversen was walking across the street near her Carleton Place home when she was hit by a pick up truck.

One hour later, barely alive, she arrived by air ambulance at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) Dr. Pierre Soucy, Head of General Surgery at CHEO, says he had never seen injuries like Erin's. "She was injured from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. "I had grave doubts if she would survive her injuries." It was the worst surviving case of multiple injuries doctors at CHEO had ever seen. Erin had three skull fractures, facial fractures, dental damage, a broken neck, a broken shoulder, a broken arm, a broken pelvis and hip, a broken leg, and deep cuts and scrapes that would require plastic surgery.

In addition Erin's head was dislocated from her spine. Doctors were not quite sure where to begin. Dr. Soucy started by repairing internal damage. The impact had ruptured her diaphragm and pushed her stomach into her chest cavity.

At this point, however, it was waiting game, to see how much of a recovery Erin could make on her own overnight. Her parents, Rod and Heather Iversen, spent the first of many long nights at her bedside. The next day, orthopaedic surgeon Jacques D'Astous took over. "Her most life-threatening injury was her neck," he explained. "Her head had been knocked off her spine.

In the literature there are very few cases of anybody surviving this injury." Her spinal cord was stretched, but not broken. A break that high would have cut off the signal The romance of train travel is back. The train still runs coast to coast and wherever you travel, VIA offers an atmosphere that allows you to stretch out and enjoy the trip. 1993 is the year VIA Rail has relaunched their Easterly Class with a fresh new look aboard the which travels through Maine, and the which rides the rails along the St. Lawrence for the overnight journey between Montreal and Halifax.

"Whether you book a section, roomette or explains Pierre Santoni of VIA Rail Marketing, "you are entitled to those special touches you might find in a cozy bed and breakfast. You can relax with other Easterly Class travellers and enjoy the view from the Dome, Mural or Bullet Lounge of the Park Cars and linger over home-style meals in the dining car. Shower facilities in each sleeping car is a new he adds. 8th Prize is a Dream Trip for 4 to Halifax and one week's accommodation at the Chateau Halifax courtesy of VIA Rail Canada and Canadian Pacific Hotels Resorts with an approximate retail value of $4,700. VIA Rail is a repeat contributor to "Dream of a Lifetime" and has been very active in several CHEO endeavours including White Water Rafting and many golf tournaments.

Pierre Santoni himself worked on the phones for the entire 24 hours of CHEO's telethon. Staff at VIA are.