Be. Terrace Review — Wednesday, January 24, 1990 - Kinsmen help gives Knute new shoes — M others’ March money. - Knute Olson of Terrace is seven and one half years old and he .just got his first pair of regular running shoes. Knute was born with severe club feet, an affliction which is thought to be hereditary. But Knute’s great grandmother, who is. 103 years old, says she’s never heard of it in their family. by Betty Barton Knute’s mother Patti Ander- son explains that club feet are caused by the muscles and ten- dons being too short and too tight to allow the foot to extend fully so that the person can walk, They look ‘“‘scrunched up’’, Knute says. Even ‘“‘pigeon feet’? are a mild form of club feet. At Knute’s birth, Terrace’s Dr. Strangway recommended that the family take him to a specialist in Vancouver. Knute was one month old when he and his mother, made their first visit to an orthopedic specialist at Vancouver’s Childrens’ Hospi- He was immediately put into casts. on both feet and legs to reshape the feet. At four mon- ths, they did surgery to lengthen Knute’s tendons. He then had casting until eight months. Knute went through progressive pairs of ‘‘boots and bars’’ — or- thopedic boots connected with an adjustable bar to gradually turn the feet and, at the same time, give them support. At age five, Knute had further surgery to shave bone off the outside of his heels and re-graft it to the insides of his heels. Four to six times each year, Knute and his mother had to fly to Van- couver for check-ups, to have casts put on or removed or to have braces and shoes adjusted. Patti Anderson calculates that they have spent over $35,000 in the past seven and one half years in airfare alone. Patti is an employee of the Canada Post Corporation and her husband, Ken Olson is self- employed as an owner/operator of a gravel truck. Knute’s medical expenses, including surgery and doctors’ visits, were covered’ under their medical plans. But if the Kinsmen Re- habilitation Foundation, funded by the Kinsmens’ Mothers’ March, hadn’t been able to help with the airfares, the family would probably have had to move,to Vancouver. Patti says they’d always con- tributed to Mothers’ March, but had never really thought about the purpose of the drive until - Knute needed it. And their fami- ly doctor made her aware of the assistance they might provide. _. Patti Anderson canvasses. for . the Mothers’ March every year, to thank them for their in- valuable service to her son and ‘to help others who need finan- — Why is Knute: ‘Olson smiling? It’s because he no longer who have been helped by financial aid from the Kinsmen Rehabilitation Foundation. The Kinsmen Mothers’ March, needs these orthopedic shoes as a corrective for club feet. Knute, flanked here by friends Dustin (left) and Martin (right), is one of numerous Terrace area children and adults one of the group's biggest sources of funds, continues through Jan. 31. i cial assistance with medical pro- blems. The Kinsmen Rehabilita- tion Foundation paid all airfare expenses, helped with a few pairs of shoes (which cost up to $750 a pair) and paid a percent- age of two years of braces for Knute. After the initial application to Terrace Mothers’ March Chair- man Robert Finlayson, Patti says the Kinsmen Foundation. head office makes all the ar- rangements and mails them the tickets and itinerary. Patti and ~ Knute try to plan their trips to stay a Saturday night and reduce the cost of the airfare. They don’t want to waste the money. They usually stay with friends if Knute is being treated as an out- patient. When he’s in hospital for surgery, Patti has stayed there with him, She says the staff at Childrens’ Hospital is super. Patti says enthusiastically that their last trip to Vancouver just before Christmas was the best: Knute had his last casts remov- Local restaurants ready to dish up Mothers’ March Meals More than 20 restaurants in the Terrace area will be donating part of their sales receipts from Jan. 27 and 28 to the Kinsmen Mothers’ March. The Mothers’ March Meals is part of the annual January drive by the Kinettes and Kinsmen to raise money for the Kinsmen Rehabilitation Foundation. The. foundation provides aid and sup- port to British Columbians of all ages who have disabilities. Their services include purchases of special equipment, public educa- tion, rehabilitation aid, the operation of the most compre- hensive information center on disabilities in Canada, and par- “ticularly in Terrace, financial aid for people who have to travel to obtain specialized medical treat- ment. ‘Restaurants involved in the Mothers’ March Meals cam- paign donate to the March under a variety of formulas, some a percentage of gross receipts, others a fixed sum on one in- dividual menu item. Posters in the restaurants will tell customers what they can buy. to contribute. Last year Mothers’ March Meals raised $228 from 21 par- ticipating local restaurants. This - year’s participants are:- Yip Chi, Bavarian Inn, Sand- . man, Quarterdeck, Bushy's Beef & Buns, Sonbadas, Slumber Lodge, Tim Horton, worth, Northern Motor Inn, Polly’s Cafe, Nikos, Terrace Hotel, Dairy Queen, Thornhill Pub, Savalas, the West, A& W, Delaney’s s and ‘Pizza Hut, ed; he doesn’t have to wear braces anymore; and he’s finally got flat feet! Knute is now in Grade 2 at Kiti’K’shan school. ‘*The other kids have been pretty good. They’re ‘amused by it.”” And Knute is proud. The other day, laughs Patti, during Show and Tell, *‘Knute showed everyone where they’d cut him up.” Wool- — Lazelle Cafe, ~ Shan Yan, Don Diegos, Inn of . at # To Serve You Beiter Burnaby Saw Service Ltd. has moved to 2390 Douglas Road, Burnaby, B.C., V5C 5B2 PHONE: 299. 3120 “Ask Hans Oelmaier about.their Saw Blade Super Sale and Special Sharpening Service” fraud) CARBIDE SAW BLADES Metal Cutting Circular - Saw Blades ‘Metal Cutting Band Saws For Sales & Service contact the Friendly People at Burnaby Saw Service Ltd. 2390 Douglas Road, Burnaby, B.C. Phone: 299- 3120. yee mee ae Pron aie paeais ake Mea SN Mata nce ee ee) Se gee