Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
In October of 2018, rescue phenom Sandi D. set her sights on a super shy guy who had been running around Ionia St. in downtown Grand Rapids since the spring. Ever elusive, it took a large carrier loaded with canned food and the quick reflexes of our fiery little redhead to trap him so that she could get him neutered; at that time it was clear he was far too weary of humans, so she released him in his neighborhood and kept feeding and looking after him.
By December he had grown much friendlier and was allowing her to pet him, so when he fell ill with an upper respiratory infection right around Christmas she told him he had no choice—he was going home with her. Antibiotics, a warm environment and as much TLC as he would allow helped Rochester recover fully. We have a strong feeling that this timid tabby and white guy had been living on the streets for most of his life (he was born in late 2015 we guesstimate), so it was quite a culture shock to now have a pint-sized servant who doted on him.
We welcomed him into our program at Crash’s on Jan. 7th, and since then, Rochester has been slowly acclimating to his new and improved indoor life. At the writing of his bio a month later, our impressions of him show a cat possessing a lot of promise, with patience and perseverance being paramount to his reaching his full potential.
He’s still extremely shy and doesn’t interact much with the other cats, but he loves people’s attention. He’s always up high looking down with those timid eyes until he sees someone climb the stepladder and then he’s all about some belly rubs. He’s curious about what is going on, but he’s still not quite ready to join the others.
He’d make a great buddy for older kids because he’s still a bit unsure and is working on having more courage. We don’t think he’d have any problem living with one other cat, but no dogs as he’s fearful of loud noises and commotion.
Although there are a lot of blanks about Rochester’s life that will never get filled in, one thing we do know for sure is that from here on out he is guaranteed to want for nothing in his life, will be surrounded by the most dedicated and caring individuals we know, and ultimately will find the home he was always meant to have.
More about Rochester:
Large
Domestic Short Hair — Tabby (Tiger Striped), White
Adult
Male
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Neutered
Not declawed
Prefers a home without dogs or children
Want to adopt Rochester? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To
take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids
area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming,
no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be
found.
Bob Bustance enjoys life in his hometown of Hastings, Michigan.
Depending on the season, he tends to his vegetable garden, hunts deer or goes snowmobiling.
But in September of 2017, as he harvested the last of his crops, he seemingly lost control of his bladder.
“I had to urinate frequently,” said Bustance, 58. “I had no control. It came out of nowhere.”
Bustance made an appointment with his family doctor. Her concern led to a referral to Christopher Brede, MD, a Spectrum Health Medical Group urologist.
“He went ahead and did his testing,” Bustance said. “Three days later, he called and told me I had prostate cancer. I was astonished.”
Dr. Brede said the routine screening showed Bustance had a rising PSA level, leading to a biopsy.
“The cancer was found to be localized at diagnosis,” Dr. Brede said.
After considering options presented by Dr. Brede, Bustance chose to have the cancer surgically removed. Dr. Brede performed a robotic prostatectomy.
But that wasn’t the end of Bustance’s cancer story.
Doctors discovered cancer lurking in his thyroid during a total body scan.
“It all hit at one time,” he said. “They took my prostate. Six weeks later they went in and took my thyroid.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Bustance sensed the cancer double whammy could only mean one thing. His time was up. He visited a local funeral home and planned for what he thought to be his future.
“I thought I was going to die,” Bustance said. “I went ahead and made my funeral arrangements and bought a cemetery plot. It was like a tidal wave hitting you.”
Dr. Brede said he doesn’t think the two cancers were related.
“Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer solid tumor in men, so it would not be that rare for an individual to have prostate cancer with another cancer,” he said. “His happened to be discovered concurrently. They ended up not being related.”
Bustance said a Spectrum Health nurse navigator helped answer questions and schedule appointments throughout the ordeal.
“He called me every week,” Bustance said. “He was a positive person. Everyone was so positive… Without those people at Spectrum, I would have never made it.”
In June, Bustance was able to return to his position as a supervisor for a metal stamping company.
“The company I work for has been awesome,” he said. “There’s no company in the world that will hold a man’s job for 10 months to make sure I had health insurance. A lot of people stepped up. It’s just amazing.”
Bustance continued to see Dr. Brede weekly after his surgery, then every three months and now, every six months. His PSA tests have been normal.
“I am so ecstatically happy,” he said at the time.
He and his partner of 35 years, Betty Negus, are resuming life.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
“Robotic surgery is one of the most awesome experiences you could ever have,” he said. “They didn’t do an incision at all—just little holes with a couple of stitches. The recovery time to me was just remarkable. I got it done, went home and laid around for three or four days. The soreness just went away. By the time I went to see him a couple of weeks later, everything was healed up. No red marks. No nothing.”
Bustance said he’s still not 100 percent energy wise, but he can only imagine how he would feel if he had large incisions to contend with.
“Of all the surgeries a man could have, that’s the way to go because of the recovery time and not being split wide open,” he said. “Dr. Brede gave me options (treatment or removal). Cancer has been in my family for years. Being as young as I was, I looked at him and said, ‘I want it gone.’ Betty and I talked about it. I pretty much made up my mind I wanted it out.”
“It was very trying,” he said. “I had to stay positive. I had to surround myself with positive people. I live each day trying to be better than I was yesterday and it works. My eating habits have changed. Everything has changed.”
Bustance said he’s happy with his decision to have the prostate and thyroid cancer removed.
“I think I made a wise choice,” he said. “It’s a good feeling. I wake up every day very thankful. I wasn’t a religious person, but it really makes you think. It really does. It all came out for the best for me.”
When he was a kid growing up in Saigon City, Vietnam, Fr. Peter Vu’s parents strove to provide him and his two sisters the semblance of a normal, middle-class life — a stay-at-home mom, a dad with gainful employment at a government job working in national security. Consequently, Vu didn’t feel the pain of war, at least not until the very end.
“I remember a lot of family time, touring places in Saigon like the cathedral and Independence Palace, driving the roundabout — those are the memories I have before the war ended,” said Vu.
Then, reality reared its ugly head.
“The last day of the war was like the apocalypse — the end is here,” he said. “My home was not too far from the airport, and I saw a lot of airplanes being bombed.”
Vu was only five years old.
The communists got right to work, gathering up people they perceived to be threats, particularly government workers.
“The communists tricked them, told them that they were going to re-education camp,” said Vu. “‘Oh, you’ll come back in about a week.'”
So, when his father was taken away, the family thought it would be for only a short time. Vu would not see him again for 12 years.
“The communists evaluated the prisoners based on rank and seriousness of your job with the South Vietnamese government and they either shipped you to ‘Hanoi Hilton’ where Senator John McCain was held, or they sent you to the Gulag in Russia, never to be seen again,” he said.
From 750,000 to over 1 million people were removed from their homes and forcibly relocated to uninhabited mountainous forested areas.
“When the communists took over, we didn’t have any of the rights or freedom that we used to have,” Vu said. “We had to ask for permission to go from one town to the next. They could enter our homes and search any time they wanted, in the middle of the night. There wasn’t enough food. We had to live very resourcefully.”
As Vu grew up, he thought that maybe he could stay in Saigon and be the head of the household, but as the son of a former regime official, he was already on the blacklist. He knew that they would not allow him to go to college, even though he was at the top of his class in high school.
“When dad was released from the camp, he had to leave Vietnam because he was still being oppressed and persecuted by the communists,” said Vu. “He said that if he left, maybe they would leave our family alone. Wrong. Because after my dad left successfully — he had to try several times by boat — they knew my dad was in the U.S., so they watched our family even closer because there ‘had’ to be some connection with the western government.”
He began to think about leaving Vietnam and emigrating to the U.S. to join his father and pursue his calling of the priesthood.
“My dad had told me that if I wanted to become a priest, I might be able to come to the U.S. So, I had to make that tough decision about leaving. I knew that I might die. I knew that I might not see some of my family and friends again. Those are the reasons I took the risk to come over here by boat.”
First, he had to raise the money to get on a boat, and even then there would be no assurances. He didn’t make it on the first try.
“But with God’s help and my family’s savings, I was able to make it in the end. I was stranded at sea for quite a few days and ran into the perfect storm — like that movie Perfect Storm — and thought that I might never make it.”
His boat encountered pirates, and the refugees suffered gravely. In the end, he and his fellow refugees were rescued by a South Korean tanker that took them to Singapore, where Vu spent the summer before he was able to get in touch with his dad.
“I was a minor, and I didn’t know if I would ever see my family again,” he said. “I see what is going on now with minors being separated from their parents at the southern border — I shared the same fate and had to deal with that. I know what those minors had to go through.”
He didn’t have his father’s address or phone number, so he risked writing back to his family when he was in the Singapore refugee camp. All the mail that goes through a communist country gets opened and censored at any time. For some reason, his mail got through — he says it was God’s will — and his mother was able to give him the address to contact his dad, who sponsored his passage to the U.S.
It was always Vu’s goal and focus to serve God and help others, especially the poor and unfortunate. After acclimating to his new life in the U.S., he entered the seminary. He credits the hardships he experienced in Vietnam with instilling the deeply ingrained values he preaches, including kindness and generosity.
“Like many of the figures in the Bible, I bargained with God: If you save me, I will make sure I serve you,” said Vu. “And I kept my end of it. Some people might say, you know what, I have a good life here, so God, thank you but I’m going the other way. But I try to keep my end of the bargain.”
Vu has been a Catholic priest for over 21 years and currently is pastor at Saint Mary Magdalen Parish in Kentwood. He is also the author of the book, Living for a Higher Purpose:Story of a City Boy Who Survived the Vietnam War by Living for Jesus and Others, which is being adapted into a movie.
Story and photos by Alan Neushwander, Spectrum HealthBeat
Rhonda Reilly trained for months to run her first half-marathon.
The 59-year-old from Athens, Ohio, was at her summer cottage in Ludington, Michigan, on Aug. 7, 2018 when she decided to continue training with a 4-mile run along Hamlin Lake. The picturesque setting on a warm summer afternoon seemed to present a perfect opportunity to take a break from preparing for a visitor.
Paula Milligan, a nurse at Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital, drove home from work that day along the same route. While driving on a road atop a bluff overlooking the lake, she noticed two bicyclists standing over a woman lying in the roadway.
The woman happened to be Rhonda. Face down, blood oozed from her head. At first, it appeared she may have been hit by a car. Milligan used her nursing skills to assess what may have happened.
“She was blue, which gave me an idea she had either a heart or lung issue,” Milligan recalled. “Once I rolled her over, I noticed there were no injuries to her hands or wrists. She also had sores on her knees which gave me an indication she had flopped down on the pavement.”
Rhonda suffered cardiac arrest. Milligan immediately began CPR.
“When I started compressions, her color started to come back and I’d get an occasional agonal breath,” Milligan recalled. “I just kept pumping hard to keep her color good and to protect brain function. I had no idea how long she’d been there.”
Milligan performed CPR for about 18 minutes before first responders arrived with an automated external defibrillator. They shocked Rhonda twice with the AED before rushing her to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital.
Jane Doe
When Rhonda arrived in the emergency room, she had no form of identification on her. She went running that afternoon without her phone or any belongings.
Back at their cottage, Rhonda’s husband, Steve, began to worry. His wife’s run was taking longer than expected.
“I drove around for two hours looking for her,” Steve said. “I thought she may have taken a wrong turn and got lost. Finally, I called the hospital to see if anyone matching her description had come in. That’s when they told me what had happened and that she had been airlifted to Grand Rapids. I found out later that I had driven by where they had already rescued her.”
A superhero nurse
Rhonda credits Milligan with saving her life.
“I was very close to being dead,” Rhonda said. “I was blue when she found me. Less than 10 percent of people who have cardiac arrest outside of the home survive. Had she not found me and started CPR right away, I wouldn’t be here.”
Milligan, however, is modest about her lifesaving efforts.
“I don’t feel I did anything different than any other nurse would’ve done,” she said. “It just happened to be that I was the one who came across this person and responded to her.”
After being released from the hospital, the two reunited with a surprise visit Milligan made to Rhonda and Steve’s cottage.
“Paula is amazing,” Rhonda said with a smile. “She’s such a fun and happy person. We now have a special bond that will last a lifetime. This just goes to show that one person can really make a difference.”
Don’t take good health for granted
Rhonda appeared to be the model of good health. She didn’t take medication, had great blood pressure and maintained her physical fitness.
She spent nine days in the hospital, including four days in the intensive care unit. A defibrillator was placed in her chest to help protect against future cardiac arrests.
“You can be the perfect picture of good health and still have something like this happen,” Steve said. “Don’t think you’re immune just because you’re fit and a runner.”
Everyone should be prepared to do CPR
There are two lessons the couple wants people to learn from Rhonda’s incident.
First, always carry identification if you are exercising alone.
“Steve didn’t know what was happening or where I was,” Rhonda said. “I didn’t have any ID on me. It would’ve been so much easier for my husband if someone could’ve called him to let him know what was happening.”
There are several different types of wearable identification items runners can wear such as a wristband ID, shoe tag, pocket card and necklaces.
More importantly, Rhonda knows CPR saved her life and urges everyone to learn basic CPR skills.
“It’s really not that hard to learn CPR and the difference you can make is incredible,” she said.
By Drew Dargavell, WKTV Sports Intern ken@wktv.org
The Wyoming Lee Rebels this season were wrestling district champions for the first time in their program’s history.
While some may see this as a true underdog story — and it was for a very small program which had to resort to practicing in the basement of a church, to which the kids had to walk three quarters of a mile, because the school did not have any extra facilities for them to practice at. But, for the wrestlers, it was all hard work and determination.
To win the district title, the Rebels took out Hudsonville Unity Christian in the first round, 50-29. Then in the district final, it seemed like all hope was lost when they were trailing 36-12 against Wyoming Kelloggsville with five matches to go.
The Rebels were then able to win their next four matches to tie it up at 36, with senior Enrique Moreno-Martinez up in the final match. And he was in the right frame of mind for the task.
“What I was thinking in my head was ‘This is it, this could finally be the district title we need and that we want’,” Moreno-Martinez said to WKTV. And he won the match.
Mike Beasley. (WKTV)
Another big factor in the Rebel’s title was junior Mike Beasley, who scored for his team in both matches and eventually finished in third place in individual districts.
“I put the work in and I know my team has,” Beasley said. “But I am just going to have to work harder and harder.”
Lee head coach James Maxim was, understandably, very proud of his team’s dedication this season.
“They wrestle for the team more than anything else,” he said. “Win, lose, or draw, they’re always on the corner, supporting each other, that’s what’s so cool about these kids.”
Assistant coach Flavio Gomez. (WKTV)
Maxim said they couldn’t have done this without assistant coach Flavio Gomez, who realized the history of the Rebels winning the district title.
“Knowing that we had managed to make history happen, I was so happy,” Gomez said. “I had never felt any happier in my whole wrestling career.”
Wyoming Lee ended up losing in the first round of regional play to Comstock Park, but they still walked away from the season with their heads held high and history made.
This video story and all sports news segments are available on the WKTV YouTube channel. All featured games covered by WKTV’s sports coverage crew, as well as other community events covered, are available on-demand at wktvondemand.com .
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and feature stories on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports.
Things were different back when Donna Troost was a kid in the 1930s. She walked two miles to school everyday (yes, really), and in the 1940s, her dad had to get permission from the government to allow Donna to carry her sister, Mary to school on a bicycle. Sounds strange until you realize that there was a rubber shortage during World War II.
Troost was born at home in Wyoming, Michigan, and from little on always wanted to live on a farm. As a young girl, she relished spending a couple of weeks each summer at her grandparents’ farm in Irving Township, between Hastings and Middleville.
“When I first went there in the summer to visit, there was a hotel and a grocery store in the town of Irving, but they were all boarded up,” she recalled. “The only things left were the church and a gas station. When Middleville took over, Irving became a ghost town.”
It was a simpler time. Troost walked everywhere she needed to go with friends, or her sister, or cousins. She met her future husband at a roller rink one evening; their first date was a hayride on a farm on Kalamazoo Ave. and 60th Street.
“He gave me an engagement ring, and his father gave me two calves to raise on our farm,” said Troost. “We bought a farm on Patterson and 36th in 1949.”
They got married on a Thursday night and honeymooned in Niagara Falls that weekend but had to be back by Monday because they had to “hay”. Troost and her husband lived on that farm until 1962, when the airport bought the land around it. They then moved to a farm in Allegan County.
“Moving everything was just awful because it had to be done in one day,” Troost said. “We milked the cows in the morning, then loaded them up with all the equipment. And we milked them again that night at the new farm.”
At its best, America is a place of welcome for the oppressed and homeless of the world. A great example of this welcome is the vocational English program for Bhutanese refugees in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Krishna Bista, a Bhutanese volunteer educator, joins Minnie Morey, President of the West Michigan Asian American Association, to share the details.
Before Jimmy King was diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (a developmental disorder on the Autism spectrum), his parents knew only that he was different from other kids.
“I was a bit shy and didn’t interact with others much,” said King. “I always had my head in a book and didn’t pick up on social or nonverbal cues.”
If King’s parents wanted him to go to his room, they would point, and he’d think, “Yeah, that’s my room,” but didn’t realize that he was actually supposed to go there.
Idioms were beyond his comprehension.
“Someone would say, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs,’ and I’d sit by the window and watch for the cats and dogs.”
When the animals failed to appear, King became very disappointed and depressed. Embarrassed, too. A small embarrassment may mean very little to most people, but it can cause someone with Asperger’s to cry uncontrollably and turn inward.
Before King was diagnosed, his parents didn’t treat him any differently than his two brothers. And that would frustrate them because of his lack of social cues.
“Looking people in the eye was always a struggle for me,” said King. “It was nerve-wracking. Talking in public was difficult; I would talk in hushed tones.”
It took a lot of work with para-educators as well as speech therapy and IEPs (Individualized Education Programs) to get him to where he is today — a confident young man who works as a dietary aide at a nursing home and who is pursuing a second career in acting.
“Once in a while, I’ll go back to being unsociable,” said King. “Mostly I’ve overcome those obstacles. I look people in the eye now, talk to people calmly. I’m a happier person. I feel like I’m just a regular person.
“But no matter how normal I might feel, Asperger’s will always be a part of me.”
By Drew Dargavell, WKTV Sports Intern ken@wktv.org
Competitive Cheer, a growing sport in the state of Michigan, requires great stamina, physical strength, and athletic ability. And unlike some other states, the Michigan High School Athletic Association recognizes the female participants in Girls Competitive Cheer as athletes.
For those unfamiliar with competitive cheer, it consists of three rounds of competition. Each team is scored for each particular round and it’s requirements. The different rounds serve to highlight the strengths of a team in different aspects of cheer.
To get a more inside look into West Michigan cheer, WKTV caught up with cheer coaches from two local teams with different goals and outlooks. Chris Hudson coaches Division 1 East Kentwood, which not only won their conference last year, but also districts, regionals, and went to the state championships. Viktoria Lissner, from Division 3 Godwin Heights, coaches a team that finished last in their division last year but still has plenty of heart.
The common theme for both of these teams, however, is that cheer is more than just a sport to these athletes.
“Cheer for us is about the team bonding and being a part of something here at Godwin,” Lissner said to WKTV.
At Kentwood, they are in it to win it.
“For a lot of these girls, it’s the only sport that they do, they’ve been doing it since they were little kids and it means everything (to them),” Hudson said to WKTV.
This video story and all sports news segments are available on the WKTV YouTube channel. All featured games covered by WKTV’s sports coverage crew, as well as other community events covered, are available on-demand at wktvondemand.com .
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and feature stories on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports .
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
We certainly have a lot of gorgeous guys here at our sanctuary, but magnificent Marcellus (born in late 2015) is by far one of THE CUTEST cats around! We were fortunate enough to have been contacted by Dr. Paula Sauer from Schoolcraft Veterinary Clinic in December of 2018, when a client of hers brought this adorable stray cat that turned out to be FIV+. So she and her team took him in and gave him all of the necessary veterinary care (including neutering him) and contacted Dr. Jen to see if we perhaps had a space for this fantastic feline. On December 11th she drove him on up to the clinic, where he and Dr. Jen spent a few days getting to know each other.
Marcellus is an absolute doll, as darling as they come and as sweet as pie. More than likely he was the victim of unfortunate circumstance while he was out fending for himself and got bit by an infected cat; he is a faint positive for the virus. Although initially he was on the timid side, it didn’t take long for this magnificent specimen of a cat to find his brave side once down at Big Sid’s.
More about Marcellus:
Large
Medium coat length; Orange & white
Adult
Male
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Neutered
FIV+
Not declawed
Prefers a home without dogs, children
Want to adopt Marcellus? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
Amer Ahmed grew up in the United States in the awkward brown immigrant space between black and white. Hear how one Muslim boy’s diverse upbringing influenced a career of bridging differences and teaching others to work more inclusively.
Car seats and boosters can save lives. Just ask this family – The Smith kids, Olivia (4), Blake and Evan (1) get ready for a road trip. The Smith family, Ben and Janna, and kids Olivia, Blake and Evan, 1. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
In 2011, Janna Smith was riding in the back seat of the car with 4-month-old daughter, Olivia. Her husband, Ben, was driving when they were hit broadside by another car. The impact took place on Olivia’s side.
“I could see the base and carrier of Olivia’s car seat move slightly with the impact but then return to its original position, which was exactly what it was designed to do in an accident,” Janna explained.
While Janna suffered some painful injuries, Olivia was unharmed. And it was her car seat that saved her. While that’s a happy ending, the story doesn’t end there.
Always count on change
Fast forward to 2014.
After many struggles to become pregnant with Olivia, Janna and Ben decided to try for a sibling. They focused on their appreciation of Olivia, no matter what the future held.
When they found out they were having twins, they couldn’t have been happier. Nearly as surprising was how complicated it became to find a new car that would fit all three kids across one bench seat.
The Smiths knew from their scary accident how important it would be to have that row of car seats lined up in rock-solid, life-saving perfection.
“We looked at so many cars,” Janna said. “Will three car seats fit? No kids in the way back. Is there enough cargo room? Scratch that one, it’s got a console in the middle. Can it tow our trailer?”
Finally, they found a used Lincoln Navigator that fit the bill.
Brothers Evan and Blake, were born five weeks early on April 24, 2014. They spent their early weeks in the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Did Janna and Ben assume the knowledge they already had was up to snuff when it was time to take the new babies home?
“No way,” Janna said. “You can’t leave anything to chance. We knew all too well from our accident with Olivia how important it is to have everything snapped and perfectly adjusted. She was safe from the direct hit because the straps were adjusted for her body. You can’t underestimate the value of that, which is why we still have our seats checked as the kids grow. How do you know they are buckled right? You go to the pros. We’re on a first-name basis.”
What you might not know
While awareness of proper child restraint use in cars has increased, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration still estimates that about 75 percent of child seats and boosters are improperly installed in family vehicles.
The Smiths considered themselves lucky to be part of the positive 25 percent.
In the Smiths’ case, and for all families whose babies are going home after a NICU stay, there is extra assurance that all is well. NICU babies must pass a car seat test with monitors attached, before they can be discharged from the hospital. This automatically ensures that NICU parents receive expert guidance from the first ride home. But every healthy baby going home is just as precious, and help is easy to find.
So, before Evan and Blake got to check out of the hospital, the Smiths consulted the experts at Helen DeVos Injury Prevention program, with Olivia and the two new car seats. They learned how to get all three seats properly secured on the bench seat and confirm how to assess strap and buckle placement for each child.
“It’s not just about the car seat user manual, either,” Janna added. “Look in your car’s owner’s manual to confirm how your vehicle is designed to work with infant/child safety seats. At the Safe Kids car seat safety check events, they thoroughly install your seat in your car with your kids. They installed an additional convertible car seat in my mom’s conversion van, too. If grandparents or babysitters will be transporting your kids, their vehicles are just as important.” To get started, watch our video on how to properly secure your baby in the car seat.
If possible, plan for each car to have its own car seats. If that’s not an option, make sure everyone who is moving the seats from one car to the next is completely educated on the details. If in doubt, stop in at a local fire department to have the seats checked or to be installed in the other vehicle before transporting. Having little ones safe at every trip, in every vehicle is critical.
Today, Olivia Smith is a charming, precocious 4-year-old. She loves her role as big sister of her equally adorable twin brothers, who just turned 1 year. And Ben and Janna Smith enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing their kids are as safe as can be, every trip, every car, every time.
Nigel Tau, right, working with Grand Rapids Ballet dancers on his new work, part of MOVEMEDIA: Handmade. (WKTV/K.D. Norris)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
James Sofranko, the artistic director of the Grand Rapids Ballet and a growing talent as a choreographer himself, is clearly an advocate of new contemporary dance by new artistic voices.
So it is only natural that, as an advocate for the team of dancers at the ballet, he would seek to include their voices in the upcoming MOVEMEDIA: Handmade program set to have its run Friday to Sunday, Feb. 8-10 at the Peter Martin Wege Theatre.
The headliner of the program is likely to be a powerful, searing work of “Testimony”, a work by the ballet’s continuing choreographer-in-residence, Penny Saunders, inspired by the U.S. Senate hearings for now-Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh and his accuser Christine Blasey Ford. Although another new work by the Joffrey Ballet’s Nicolas Blanc — whom Sofranko worked with at the San Francisco Ballet — will undoubtedly be equally unique and impressive.
But the five other works on the program will be original choreographic efforts by members of the dance company, including Nigel Tau, who apprenticed with the Grand Rapids Ballet in 2015 before joining the company in 2016.
(WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“I think it is wonderful to give an opportunity to the dancers … you do not necessarily have a lot of opportunities given to you,” Sofranko said to WKTV. “This is a program that is about creating new works … you are experimenting and this is a program where it is meant to be an exploration.”
Tau, according to his supplied biography, began dancing at age 10 with The Academy of Dance in his home town of Savannah, Georgia. In 2013, he became a trainee with Next Generation Ballet, and performed in the school’s own productions as well as with Opera Tampa and the Florida Orchestra. He went on to train with BalletMet on a full scholarship, where he performed and rehearsed alongside the company.
Tau’s work, titled “Errant Thoughts”, will not only be the dancer’s first dance creation but will continue his artistic journey — the journey of all artists, really — where excitement and frustration often exist side-by-side.
(WKTV/K.D. Norris)
“This piece is about two different things,” Tau said to WKTV. “It is the story of someone who has had a passion project, or a work they have really be invested in … that feeling of inspiration and excitement … (but also) that continuing cycle of excitement and frustration — is it good enough?”
Bottomline: Handmade is usually pretty good, and Tau’s work, as with the others on the program, are handmade.
MOVEMEDIA: Handmade will be on stage Friday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m.
For tickets visit GRballet.com or call 616-454-4771 x10. The Peter Martin Wege Theatre is located at 341 Elllsworth Avenue SW, Grand Rapids.
In 1994, Rwandan native Angelique Mugabekazi’s life was upended when the Hutu majority government ordered the mass slaughter of Tutsis. Only five years old, Mugabekazi fled along with her family, but everywhere they went, conflict followed. The young girl saw people raped and killed in front of her, as well as starvation and disease outbreaks. She lost many family members, including her parents, uncles, and siblings, also neighbors.
“Before the genocide happened, my family was well off,” said Mugabekazi, a graduate of University of Massachusetts School of Law. “My dad was a civil engineer; we came from an upper-middle class country. And then we experienced poverty on a level that we had never seen before.”
Civil war conflict met the family when they reached the Congo. By that time, Mugabekazi’s mother and uncle were gone. The little girl and her family moved on to a refugee camp in Burundi, where they lived from 1994 to 1996.
“When you first come to a refugee camp, you get basic things like a tent and food,” Mugabekazi said. “When you have the means, you can make your own house. As a civil engineer, my dad built a really good mud house out of bricks.”
But her father lost his life in Burundi, and the remainder of the family had to move on when civil war broke out there, too.
“You see a lot of rapes and killings when you are a refugee in another country,” said Mugabekazi. “When you are in a camp, you don’t have laws that protect you.”
Mugabekazi said that the UN tried to protect them, but there were conflicts within the camps, and women and children were the most vulnerable.
“You are seeking shelter to keep yourself alive — shelter like a tent or mud hut. Basic, basic medical attention. It was hard. We starved a lot.”
The next move brought Mugabekazi to Tanzania in 1996 where she and her family stayed until 1998, when their house burned down. Next, she and four siblings made their way to a city in Zambia where they lived the next two years
“Then we had the opportunity to apply to come to U.S.,” she said. “We went through rigorous questioning, blood work, medical exams. It’s not an easy thing to come to this country. They interview family members separately, it’s a very invasive process.”
Mugabekazi and remaining family members settled in Boston, in the less-than-desirable Dorchester neighborhood, where gunshots were heard during the day. Culture shock added insult to injury. She was bullied in school because she looked and smelled different.
“It was not safe for us to keep living [in Dorchester], so we moved to a more Hispanic neighborhood, but it was still not safe. So we moved to Lowell, Massachusetts, where it was more predominately Caucasian but still had a diverse population. For the first time, I had friends who were white. That’s first time I enjoyed my experience in the states.
“It’s hard because I feel like I don’t have a home really. Although I know I’m from Rwanda, I feel that has been ripped from me. And moving from one place to another, even here in America, it just caused more trauma.”
Mugabekazi said that surviving all those tragedies has made her strong.
“Africa is a huge continent, so when I moved from each country, I learned a new culture and language — that was the benefit,” she said. “When I lived in more under-resourced communities, it opened my eyes to the poverty in this country. Before, I had this Disney picture of what America was. People of color don’t have wealth in this country.”
Mugabekazi has lived in Grand Rapids since 2013 and is a Community Health Worker with Health Net of West Michigan. She works with the African community; folks that come from same region she did, single mothers who are trying to navigate this culture, working, taking care of their homes.
“We work with them to connect with resources,” she said. “I get excited about social work and am passionate about injustice to women and children, especially because of my experience. I feel like my calling is international work. I feel there is more of a need there; they lack basic human rights.”
The Grand Rapids Ballet and Spectrum Health have enjoyed a harmonious relationship for the past five years, with sports medicine professionals and athletic trainers helping dancers achieve ultimate health and conditioning.
“Spectrum sent someone right over,” Houser said. “She really helped me out a lot because I had an important rehearsal that day.”
‘Piece me back together’
Houser said he’s grateful for the quick response, and grateful he could continue his love of “expressing emotion, physically.”
He’s on the mend.
“There was a bunch of stuff out of alignment,” he said. “It sent everything into spasm. It took a couple of weeks to get to a normal place. I think without that quick response, it would have taken much longer to heal.”
Even when there aren’t unexpected injuries, Spectrum Health athletic trainers Emilee Van Hoven and Allie Hoyt visit the ballet twice a week; Heather Pietrzak and Paige Bachelor visit the ballet three times a week. They work with dancers who are recovering from injury.
“It’s a bit reoccurring, so they all help piece me back together,” Houser said.
After six hours a day of dancing—for six, sometimes seven days a week—even the strongest and most fit bodies tire.
“They keep an eye on things that could turn into something major,” Houser said. “My hip hurts a little bit today. My ankle feels a bit jammed. Those little things can become chronic if you can’t be seen quickly. Them being here so frequently is incredibly helpful.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Houser said Fridays are typically the hardest day because the aches and pains compound over the week.
“Even if you’re just getting your calves to relax a little, it helps,” he said.
Depending on the nature of the injury, the sports medicine team will sometimes do soft tissue work, sometimes mobilization.
“Sometimes they’ll give you exercises and tools we can use on our own to maintain certain things, like stretches,” Houser said. “Or they’ll tape us up to help keep things in place.”
Hand in hand
Phillip Adler, manager of the Spectrum Health Medical Group Sports Medicine program, approached the ballet about a partnership in 2011. Dr. Axtman had previously worked with the Atlanta Ballet and other dance groups.
“The expertise he had really made the ballet believe we had the experience to manage this unique area of sports and performing arts medicine,” Adler said. “I was the primary athletic trainer that would go down whenever the ballet needed anything.”
And so began Spectrum Health’s performing arts medicine partnership with the Grand Rapids Ballet.
By the second year of the collaboration, Adler brought on additional sports medicine staff to help in the endeavor. They covered not only rehearsals, but performances.
“I have worked with a lot of high-level athletes and NFL players, but I’ll be honest, ballet dancers are not nice to their bodies,” Adler said. “They have to go on point balanced on one leg, with the hip bent at 90 degrees for 15 or 20 seconds with maybe a partner. They’re working eight or more hours a day.”
Ballet companies typically don’t have injury prevention or strength and conditioning programs like many other professional sports teams do.
“I don’t think the vast majority of people realize what goes into putting on a ballet performance,” Adler said.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Adler said the partnership can help extend dancers’ careers.
“They have such a finite time to be a professional ballet performer,” Adler said. “How can we help them prevent injury or manage injury so that it prolongs their career? Not so long ago a surgery for a ballet dancer was career-ending. We’re making sure if those things come up, how do we maintain careers?”
Ferraro said he has noticed a huge decline in injuries since partnering with Spectrum Health.
“It’s been a huge benefit to us,” the ballet manager said. “The dancers have absolutely loved it.”
The athletic trainers often spot and prevent things before they become serious injuries.
“If somebody starts to feel an issue or something isn’t feeling right, they can let us know and the athletic trainers will come pretty much any day they’re needed,” Ferraro said, noting he’s grateful for the assistance.
“A lot of bigger ballet companies don’t even have this benefit,” he said. “It’s just a phenomenal relationship for us.”
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
Pretty as a picture and as quiet as mouse is how Patrice came to us in mid-November of 2018, after having been rescued off of Putnam St. SW in downtown Grand Rapids. Born in late 2016, this stunning but shy tabby and white girl was one of many homeless cats that had been taking advantage of a feral cat feeding station; although she would enjoy meal time on a regular basis, her timid nature kept her tucked away from the humans that tried diligently to live-trap her to get her off of the streets.
Finally, persistence paid off and she was rescued, fixed and sheltered in her rescuer’s home. After a little over two weeks of R and R with a multitude of critters affectionately called ‘The Barnyard’, Patrice was ready to come to see Dr. Jen at the clinic. Initially she tested a very faint FIV+, which was fine as the plan was to eventually house her at our sanctuary. As luck would have it when she came back in a month later for her retest, she had cleared the virus from her system. Although still a bashful beauty, we felt it was time that Patrice head on down to our place for more socialization and schmoozing with our cats and crew.
It took this darling little lady quite a bit of time to settle comfortably in her new surroundings, but the patient, gentle hands of our doting volunteers won her over. As she comes out of her shell more and more, we get to see a sweet side of her that relishes attention; she won’t actively seek it out, but if you approach her while she is napping peacefully in her favorite teepee, she is all about head scratches and pets. In fact, once you start stroking her fur, she can’t get enough and practically begs you not to stop.
Patrice also likes to laze the day away in the comfort of a cozy cubby, where she can observe all of the activity and partake in the more mellow activities as she pleases. She really doesn’t seem to mind the other kitties, but it isn’t necessary she be placed into a home with another cat. We do know that small, rambunctious children would frighten her, so if a family with older, calmer kids falls in love with her, we feel that type of dynamic would better suit her needs. As long as her space is granted and respected and she isn’t forced to become a lap cat (that is going to take time and trust), she and her new family members will get along famously well; she simply needs time to feel safe, secure, accepted and adored for who she is.
More about Patrice:
Medium
Domestic Short Hair
Adult
Female
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Spayed
Not declawed
Prefers a home without children
Want to adopt Patrice? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
In his native Congo, Kyezie Bwanangela found himself running for his life ahead of armed militias. Luckily, the young man found safety and eventual refugee status in the United States. The criminal justice major joins us to talk about corruption, leadership, and what is needed to regain democracy.
Meet Pamela Benjamin, who shared her experiences with VOICES back in November of 2017. Benjamin’s animated personality made an already interesting saga that much richer.
Always an independent soul, Benjamin had traveled by ship from New Zealand to Australia on her way to Canada when she was 25 years old. She never got further than Sydney, where she met future husband Craig, who had stopped by Benjamin’s group house to give her friend, Tina, a flute lesson. Benjamin was in the kitchen baking a cake at the time.
“I gave him a piece of cake and he asked us to the movies,” said Benjamin. Tina and another man joined them.
That night, the course of Benjamin’s history changed. During dinner, the second man read her palm and asked Benjamin if he could speak to her privately.
“He told me that Craig and I would be happily married for a long time and have two children,” she said. “I told him, ‘Don’t be stupid, we just met at lunchtime.'”
The Benjamins have now been married over 40 years and have three children. (Nobody’s perfect, not even palm readers.)
The Benjamins emigrated to the United States — and Grand Rapids, specifically — in 2003 so that Craig (affectionately called “CB”) could accept a job offer at Grand Valley State University teaching Big History, an academic discipline which examines history from the Big Bang to the present.
“We came here because there were no jobs for professors in Australia,” Benjamin said. “Craig went from being a professional musician and high school band director to teaching Big History at GVSU.”
Benjamin found the move challenging in several respects, the most drastic of which was the threat to her independence. Although Craig had an H-1B visa, Pamela was dismayed to discover that her status as his spouse was essentially that of a ‘nonperson’. She couldn’t check out library books. She couldn’t get a driver’s license. Everything was different, including the grocery store; nothing looked familiar.
She felt isolated. Making art helped. So, too, did writing. But something more was needed. Something warm and fuzzy.
“I got a puppy,” said Benjamin. “It was a lifesaver.”
Today, Benjamin holds citizenship in three countries — New Zealand, Australia and the United States. She and Craig travel the world; she continues to make art; and she chronicles her life, family and their journeys on her blog.
Wilmer and Orvid Lawson (seated left), Rep. Bill Huizenga and Col. Rajesh Kothari (standing right) and others at a ceremony at the Roger Chaffee American Legion in Wyoming. (Supplied/Rep. Bill Huizenga’s office)
By K.D. Norris ken@wktv.org
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, who represents both Wyoming and Kentwood, was at the Roger Chaffee American Legion in Wyoming on Saturday, Jan. 19, as part of a ceremony to present Congressional Gold Medals to father and son Irwin and Orvid Lawson for their service in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II.
Rep. Huizenga (R-2nd District) presented the award to 92-year-old Wyoming resident Orvid Lawson, while Col. Rajesh Kothari, Commander of the Michigan Wing of Civil Air Patrol (CAP), presented Wilmer Lawson, son of Irwin and brother of Orvid, with Irwin’s Congressional Gold Medal.
After Rep. Billl Huizenga presented the Congressional Gold Medal to Wilmer Lawson, Commander of the Michigan Wing of Civil Air Patrol, Col. Rajesh Kothari, congratulates him. (Civil Air Patrol photo by Maj. Bill Carson, CAP)
“I had the honor of presenting 92-year-old Orvid Lawson of Wyoming with a Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II,” Rep. Huizenga said in material supplied to WKTV. “We also posthumously presented Irwin Lawson, Orvid’s father, with a Congressional Gold Medal for his service in the CAP. Irwin was one of 65 CAP volunteers who lost their lives during World War II.”
Since the American Revolution, Congress has commissioned gold medals “as its highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions. Each medal honors a particular individual, institution, or event,” according to supplied material.
Father and son Irwin and Orvid Lawson served in the Civil Air Patrol during World War II. (Supplied office of Rep. Bill Huizenga)
Orvid served in the Sault Ste. Marie CAP Squadron until joining the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1945. His father, Irwin was one of 65 CAP members to lose their life while serving as a volunteer in the CAP. Irwin died August 10, 1945.
“Irwin was the head of the Civil Air Patrol in the Soo and Orvid was right by his side,” according to a statement from the congressman’s office. “In addition to some surveillance work, the Soo Civil Air Patrol was used for positioning barrage balloons and for identifying locations for anti-aircraft installations. The Soo was one of the most heavily defended inland sites in the United States during World War II because of the vital importance of the Locks. At its peak, approximately 12,000 troops were stationed there.
“During the early days of American involvement in World War II, the threats CAP faced were in the form of Nazi U-boats threatening U.S. shipping – especially oil tankers – off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts,” the statement continues. “CAP’s founders flew patrols that discouraged and eventually stopped the U-boat attacks saving hundreds of American lives. They also patrolled the country’s borders by air, towed targets for military trainees, spotted forest fires, conducted search and rescue missions, provided disaster relief and emergency transport of people and parts, and conducted orientation flights for future pilots.”
The ceremony at the Roger Chaffee American Legion included National Commander of the American Legion, Brett P. Reistad, as well as the Commander of the Roger Chaffee American Legion post, Bill Charon.
For Ollie, timing and technology came together to make possible the operation, and its happy outcome.
Ultrasound reveals a problem
Kimberly and her husband, Anthony, had no clues of the drama ahead as they prepared for the birth of their second child. They looked forward to welcoming a younger sibling for their 5-year-old son, Elliott.
At 20 weeks, Kimberly had a routine ultrasound near her home in Holland, Michigan. Because the baby’s kidneys and bladder were enlarged, Kimberly’s doctor referred her to the maternal fetal medicine specialists at Spectrum Health.
A few days later, the Lotts visited Dr. Romero and she performed another ultrasound. It, too, revealed enlargement of the bladder, kidneys and the ducts that connect the two.
“It looked like the baby had an obstruction, most likely below the bladder,” she said.
That tiny piece of plastic saved his life.
Kimberly Lott Ollie’s mother
It was hard to get a detailed picture. A developing baby generally floats in amniotic fluid, which aids visualization of the anatomy. But in Ollie’s case, there was essentially no amniotic fluid. Dr. Romero could not even see if the baby was a boy or girl.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum HealthBeat
The lack of fluid can lead to damage of the urinary tract, kidneys and lungs.
“The baby releases urine to the amniotic cavity, and then the baby swallows and breathes the fluid, allowing the lungs to develop,” Dr. Romero explained. “Low amniotic fluid can result in underdevelopment of the lungs—pulmonary hypoplasia, a life-threatening condition.”
In the early stages of pregnancy, the placenta creates the amniotic fluid. The kidneys take over the job after week 17.
By retaining urine, the blockage in Ollie’s bladder disrupted that cycle. Later tests showed he had posterior urethral valves, which means he had extra flaps of tissue in the tube through which urine leaves the body.
Depending on the degree of the obstruction, the condition can be fatal.
‘We will try it’
The Lotts, reeling from the news of their baby’s prognosis, struggled to comprehend the options laid out for them. They could wait and let nature take its course, loving their child for his brief life on earth.
Or they could see if a shunt could be placed in utero in the bladder.
“It sounded kind of far-off,” Kimberly said. “I didn’t know if that was going to work. It seemed weird. But we said we will try it.”
First, they had to see if Ollie was a candidate for surgery. The maternal fetal medicine team had to make sure Ollie’s kidneys still worked and could produce urine. The surgery would not benefit him if the kidneys were so damaged they could not function.
I was so scared. I didn’t want to get my hopes up.
Kimberly Lott Ollie’s mother
Dr. Romero performed a bladder tap, using ultrasound to guide her as she placed a long needle through Kimberly’s uterus and into Ollie’s bladder.
From that tiny sac, she withdrew about a teaspoon of urine.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum HealthBeat
“I felt it. It wasn’t good,” Kimberly said. “That first bladder tap was the worst. My whole uterus contracted. I was crying. I was upset. I was swearing.”
And most difficult of all: She had to repeat the bladder tap the next day. The second test would show if the bladder filled with urine again, indicating Ollie still had functioning kidneys.
Kimberly didn’t hesitate.
“I wanted to do everything I could do,” she said.
Daring to hope
The tests showed good renal function, so Dr. Romero performed the surgery. Kimberly was 23 weeks pregnant.
Using a larger, hollow needle, Dr. Romero placed the shunt into Ollie’s grape-sized bladder.
The tube, called a pigtail catheter, curled into a loop on each end. She placed one end coiled up inside his bladder. The other end looped in a circle outside his body, along his belly.
Urine flowed through the catheter from the bladder to the amniotic sac, bypassing the blockage.
For the rest of the pregnancy, Kimberly returned for repeated follow-up tests to make sure the catheter remained in place. Babies often manage to pull them out.
With each visit, Kimberly worried about whether the shunt still worked, whether her baby was growing.
“I was so scared,” she said. “I didn’t want to get my hopes up.”
As the weeks progressed without problems, she began to be hopeful. She stopped researching palliative care options and started reading about kidney issues. A few weeks before the delivery date, she finally allowed herself to buy a few baby outfits for him.
Throughout the pregnancy, the maternal fetal medicine team also monitored the growth of Ollie’s chest.
“We were all worried about how his lungs were working,” Dr. Romero said. “We noticed his chest was growing, so we hoped his lungs were growing, too. But we wouldn’t know until the baby was born.”
They planned to induce labor at 37 weeks. But three days before the delivery date, an ultrasound showed a drop in fluid levels. The catheter was not visible on the scan. The maternal fetal medicine specialists decided to deliver him that day.
That night, Dr. Romero performed a C-section, and Anthony Oliver Lott was born. He weighed 6 pounds, 15 ounces.
“He came out and just started wailing,” Kimberly said. “It was such a relief to us.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum HealthBeat
On his belly lay the coiled catheter that had been so elusive on the last ultrasound.
“Everyone was pointing at it and saying, ‘There it is! It’s in there,’” she said.
It didn’t take long to see it was still doing its job.
Ollie’s lungs managed to avoid major damage. In the children’s hospital neonatal intensive care unit, he didn’t need to be on oxygen.
His kidneys sustained major damage, but that had been expected.
‘We can deal with that’
Kimberly gave Ollie a bottle as her son Elliott played a computer game nearby. She talked about the challenges her infant son has already faced in his short life.
Five days after birth, he underwent surgery to remove the valves that blocked his urethra. Tubes were placed in his kidneys to drain urine from them. And he had a port placed so he can have dialysis in the future.
He will need a kidney transplant eventually. Kimberly hopes she will be able to give him one of hers.
He also has a feeding tube to make sure he gets enough nutrition. Children with kidney disease often have poor appetites, Kimberly explained.
Ollie’s health challenges don’t faze her. She just marvels at her son’s bright eyes and alert gaze, his wiggly arms and legs, his sweet smile.
“When he came out and all that was really damaged was his kidneys and urinary tract system, I said, ‘This is manageable. We can deal with that.’ There’s lots of kids in the world who have kidney disease and they are fine.”
She looks to his future with hope.
“He’s a little fighter,” she said. “He has been since the beginning.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum HealthBeat
She opened a small bottle and tapped out a plastic tube, curled at both ends: the catheter that had been implanted in utero.
“It saved his life,” she marveled. “That tiny piece of plastic saved his life.”
Ollie’s progress is also deeply rewarding to his physicians.
“This is why you go into medicine, because you want to save lives,” Dr. Romero said. “You want to do good for people.”
She credited Kimberly and her doctor with seeking specialized care as soon as the problem with his bladder appeared. The timing was crucial to the success of the shunt surgery.
Dr. Quiroga praised the Lotts and their vigilance in managing Ollie’s complex health issues, during pregnancy and after birth.
“The family is awesome,” he said.
As for Ollie, he said, “He’s doing great. He’s surprising us. He’s keeping us busy but he’s doing well.”
Reprinted with permission from Spectrum Health Beat.
By Drew Dargavell, WKTV Sports Intern ken@wktv.org
After an illustrious career that spanned 38 seasons over 43 years, Jock Ambrose, head swim coach for the East Kentwood Falcons boys swim team, is stepping down from his position.
Ambrose accomplished a lot in his 38 seasons as head swim coach including 17 league titles, three state runner-ups, two state championships, and five Coach of the Year honors.
In his 43 years in the East Kentwood community, Ambrose not only served as the boys head swim coach but also as the boys water polo coach from 1977-1992, girls swim coach from 1994-1997, and athletic director from 1997-2001. He also served as Michigan Interscholastic Swim Coaches Association (MISCA) area vice president for seven years, and MISCA water polo chair for five years. He was the founder of the West Michigan Water Polo League, and a founding member of the West Michigan Swim League.
But it wasn’t any of the awards, honors or positions that Ambrose said he will miss most.
“It’s the people around here, in this community that have made it as special as it is and will make it tough for me to walk away,” Ambrose said to WKTV.
Ambrose had a lot of praise for his final team as head coach, currently in its winter swim season, and its group of seniors — “This senior class is a tremendous group of young men, and a great group of leaders.”
The coach went on to give praise to his three senior captains — Nick Cohey, Theo Duong, and Max Henderson — who have stuck with the program all four years.
Ambrose has hopes of finishing his final season in the top half of the team’s state swim division and “to make a nice showing at the state meet. It’s been a few years since we’ve done that and I think this senior class is ready to.”
Ambrose also had a very optimistic outlook on the future of this program once he’s done as head coach. “We’ve got a wonderful freshman class, they’re going to be very, very good, four of them have senior brothers on the team so that’s very exciting.”
This video story and all sports news segments are available on the WKTV YouTube channel . All featured games covered by WKTV’s sports coverage crew, as well as other community events covered, are available on-demand at wktvondemand.com .
For a complete schedule of all local high school sports action each week, any changes to the WKTV feature sports schedule, and feature stories on local sports, visit wktvjournal.org/sports .
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW)
On Sept. 17, 2018, a super nice gal on the northwest side of Grand Rapids contacted Dr. Jen for help in placing a kitty she had rescued a week prior that turned up Feline Leukemia-positive. Although the rescuer was totally in love with the beautiful and bubbly teenager (born in February of 2018), she wasn’t comfortable adding a cat with this virus into her furry household; FELV+ can be transmitted through saliva (grooming, shared dishes) and blood (fighting), so unless a resident cat is fully vaccinated against the virus, it isn’t smart to intermingle the two.
Dr. Jen was more than thrilled to open our sanctuary doors to this little lass, and thankfully she did at that point in time as Juanita was terribly anemic; both antibiotics and steroids were started for a blood parasite that is common in stray cats who have either been flea infested or are immuno-compromised
Ten days later, Dr. Jen’s treatment was deemed a smashing success, and she was able to spay kitty, but another 10 days after that, Juanita came down with a highly transmissible respiratory infection (calicivirus) and was quarantined until her oral ulcers healed—poor girl could not catch a break! But no worries, as jovial Juanita is a sturdy, saucy kitty who is bound and determined to take what comes her way and kick it to the curb.
Ten days later, Dr. Jen’s treatment was deemed a smashing success, and she was able to spay kitty, but another 10 days after that, Juanita came down with a highly transmissible respiratory infection (calicivirus) and was quarantined until her oral ulcers healed—poor girl could not catch a break! But no worries, as jovial Juanita is a sturdy, saucy kitty who is bound and determined to take what comes her way and kick it to the curb.
Ten days later, Dr. Jen’s treatment was deemed a smashing success, and she was able to spay kitty, but another 10 days after that, Juanita came down with a highly transmissible respiratory infection (calicivirus) and was quarantined until her oral ulcers healed—poor girl could not catch a break! But no worries, as jovial Juanita is a sturdy, saucy kitty who is bound and determined to take what comes her way and kick it to the curb.
Since her arrival at Big Sid’s, it is safe to say that she has taken the place by storm, and that everyone (human and feline) is quite enamored by her:
“Juanita — what a little doll! She is such an outgoing little girl. She quickly made friends with just about everyone, and she and Eros have been seen chasing each other around the last few days, that is when she isn’t snuggled up napping with Gordo. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her pint-sized body. She loves to hang out up high on her favorite cat walk either looking down at everything going on when she isn’t directly involved in the activity.”
“If anyone is looking for a playful kitten-like cat, she would be perfect. She will require LOTS of feather toys as they are her absolute favorite.”
In all honesty, Juanita would be just about the perfect cat companion if it weren’t for the darned virus that could hold back her chances of being adopted. Cats with FELV can and often do live healthy, happy lives, and we have known dozens upon dozens over the years who have thrived, living well into late adulthood, so her viral status isn’t an immediate threat. Yes, certain living circumstances are required to house cats like Juanita, and education is key to understanding what the virus is all about and what to watch for as she ages, but she and all of our resident Sid’s Kids are some of the most loving, agreeable and affectionate cats around, and each of them deserves to end up in a home of their very own.
We know for a fact that Little Miss Sunshine here is going to add so much joy to her adopter’s life because she is simply so easy to fall hopelessly in love with and a hoot to engage, interact and play with!
More about Juanita:
Small
Domestic Short Hair, Black
Young
Female
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Spayed
FELV+
Not declawed
Good in a home with other cats, children
Want to adopt Juanita? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
Animals. Music. Nature. The river. These are just four things that Grand Rapids resident, Bruce Ling holds dear.
During his lifetime, the Chicago native has lived in many locales, always near water — from the Calumet River, the Pacific to Cape Cod — currently on the Grand River with wife and musical partner, Becca.
Bruce and Becca sat down with VOICES recently to talk about Bruce’s musical background, his affinity for animals and nature, and life on the river. According to Becca, Bruce is considered a kind of Michigan treasure when it comes to old-time music, being a collector of tunes, and teaching them to younger generations.
“Music has always been a big part of my life,” said Ling, who began playing slide guitar when he was 4 years old and whose father and uncle are both professional musicians. “When I was 8, my band made $5 playing in a basement for a birthday party. I’ve been playing ever since.”
After injuring a finger in an industrial accident, Ling turned from guitar to mandolin and fiddle out of necessity, mastering those instruments in very little time. Ling founded the ‘Hawks & Owls’ band in 1997, so named as a tribute to the many birds of prey that have crossed his path over the years.
In addition to music, Ling has enjoyed stints as a self-employed electrician and volunteer animal caretaker at Blandford Nature Center.
“I was the kid on the block with a menagerie in the basement,” he said. “People would bring me animals and birds that were injured. I could feel bones for a break and crafted popsicle stick splints with some paper medical tape a number of times on wings and legs and whatnot.”
He holds a reverence for all creatures, and it was an encounter with a red-tailed hawk years ago that led Ling to volunteering at Blandford Nature Center back when it had an animal hospital on site; he focused on the care and healing of raptors.
“I learned a long time ago that sometimes if you’re very quiet, a creature will tell you what needs to be done,” said Ling. “Whether it needs to go away and be euthanized with a quick crack and it’s done, or if it needs the energy of healing.”
Living on the river can be rejuvenating, exciting, challenging; the Lings and their neighbors always help each other out. The flood of 2013 wrecked the Lings’ house, and making matters worse, a vandal came in and destroyed the interior; Bruce and Becca were homeless for five months. Then out of the blue, an older couple with a house the Lings had coveted for years made it possible for them to obtain the title to that property.
“It was a karmic thing,” said Ling. “We try to help out where we can and now live just three doors down from the old house, but on higher ground.”
Listen to Bruce and Becca’s VOICES conversation here.
Share your story with VOICES. It’s easy — just go here to reserve a time!
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
When Dr. Jen first laid eyes on the strikingly stunning Leonard, she was impressed with how composed and sure of himself he was considering we were the third facility he had been in since June of 2018. Initially, he was transferred from Calhoun County to Focus on Ferals where it was discovered that he was FIV+. Having a bigger heart than space for these viral-bound cats, Gina committed to keeping him in her program with the hopes that someday soon there would be an opening for him at our sanctuary; luckily for them both, we were able to open our doors to the debonair Leonard Purrnstein in early August.
This muscular, 14-lb. lug (born in early 2014) was hungry for affection and couldn’t wait to repay our attention in kind with head butts and cuddle sessions. We’ve discovered that his favorite thing in the whole, wide world is wet food, wet food and more wet food—even more than people! In fact, he has become our little garbage disposal, cleaning up every single plate and bowl that the others leave behind. When he isn’t hanging out in the food prep area in our free-roaming shelter begging for handouts, he can be found snoozing away high upon a cat tree as, after all, a food coma is secondary to a full tummy.
Leonard really doesn’t care for the other cats, and at times he gets a bit too big for his britches and causes commotion, but he is surrounded by 49 other cats, so who can blame him. However, he has also has shown us his mellow, softer side so we feel that placing him in a home with a laid-back cat would be acceptable to him. Since FIV+ is transmitted through bite wounds, it is no wonder that being in close quarters with so many of the feline kind gets him a bit rattled, but food is an easy way to diffuse any tense situation with him.
Hopefully, he won’t leave our place much heavier than he arrived, but we figure he deserves a little spoiling given all that it took to get him here to us! We feel he would thrive in a home with kids and lots of things to climb; he may be part monkey, as the higher up he can get the happier he is. Overall, we adore Leonard, are enthralled by his intense good looks, and are thoroughly enjoying having him as an official Sid’s Kid until we find him his fur-ever home.
More about Leonard Purrnstein:
Medium
Domestic Short-haired Tabby (Tiger-striped), White
Adult
Male
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Neutered
Not declawed
Good in a home with other cats, children
Want to adopt Leonard Purrnstein? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
From Grand Rapids to Sundance. A young man finds his passion in digital storymaking. In the process, Shane McSauby discovers his Native American roots and a drive to empower others.
Photos (except where noted) by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
With the wind in her face and the reins in her hands, Shanna Ruffner guides Jag, her quarter horse, through corkscrew-like barrel racing drills at a farm near her Otsego, Michigan, home.
Ruffner, 39, has been steering horses through barrels since age 2.
She’s always felt freedom and exhilaration aboard a horse’s back. Until last year.
After many repetitive motions at work, she felt pain.
The pain in her hands started like a slow walk, waking her up at night about this time last year. By November, the sensation had galloped into her daily life, affecting just about everything she attempted to do.
Taking a toll
Ruffner has worked for years for General Motors in the Lansing Delta plant, assembling Traverse and Enclave vehicles.
“I do a lot with the main wiring harness for the motor, plugging in different things and bolting things to it,” Ruffner said. “I also torque down the strut, tie bar and hub on the front end and attach radiators to the undercarriage before it gets married to the body.”
It’s important work, but repetitive work. And it eventually took a toll on her.
“I started experiencing numbness in my fingers about a year ago,” she said. “It finally got to the point in November that I could no longer sleep because it was waking me up. My hands would completely go numb in the middle of the night. They would go numb and they would burn. It was just unbearable.”
It became increasingly more difficult to work, and also risky to ride.
“It made it difficult to ride a strong, powerful horse because my hands would go numb while I was riding,” Ruffner said. “I ride a very powerful gelding. It’s a good thing we have a good bond because if it were any other horse, I don’t think I’d be able to ride.”
Still, the pain sometimes outweighed the fun. It was a crushing blow for Ruffner, who followed in her dad’s hoofprints so many years ago.
Her dad, George, who died in 1996, rode competitively and taught his daughter all he knew about barrel racing.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
As a child, Ruffner competed in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Texas.
But in the last year, she felt like her condition was holding her over the barrels.
“It made it hard to pull and made it hard to hang on,” she said. “It just didn’t feel quite right. I didn’t have as much control as I would have liked to have.”
A horse wasn’t the only thing that became difficult to steer. She experienced trouble driving a car.
Ruffner’s commute from Otsego to Lansing spans an hour and 15 minutes. About 10 minutes into her drive, her hands would go numb. And eventually, they’d be numb before she even turned on the ignition.
She enjoyed taking her sons, Trenton, 18, and Brady, 15, to the movie theater for family outings. But the numbness closed the curtain on those outings, too.
“I got to the point I didn’t want to go to the movie theater because I knew my hands would bother me by the time I got there,” she said.
‘It was simple’
Last spring, with pain and numbness continuing to canter, Ruffner saw a specialist in Lansing for a nerve test.
“They basically hooked up different electrodes to see how the nerves react,” she said. “The nerve testing came back that I needed surgery on both my hands.”
In June, she consulted with Peter Jebson, MD, a Spectrum Health Medical Group orthopedic hand and upper extremity surgeon.
“It was simple,” Ruffner said. “I felt a little pressure when they were cutting (the ligament), but as far as anything else goes, the worst part of it was the shot of the local (anesthetic) to numb my hand. It was a piece of cake.”
Ruffner needed only Tylenol to keep the pain at bay.
“It’s felt really good,” she said.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Dr. Jebson said he’s pleased with Ruffner’s progress.
“With carpal tunnel, you have pain, particularly at night,” he said. “You can have bothersome numbness and tingling and also functional loss. She had the entire constellation of symptoms. But she’s already experiencing 100 percent pain relief and 90 percent of the tingling has improved. She is doing very well and the incision looks good.”
Dr. Jebson said carpal tunnel release surgery has come a long way in recent years. It used to be performed in an operating room in a hospital or outpatient surgery facility, under general anesthesia, which is significantly more expensive. The new technique, developed in Canada, saves patients money, pain and healing time.
“It also used to be a larger incision,” he said. “The patient used to be casted or splinted after surgery. We’ve progressed to where we now do minimally invasive incisions.”
Dr. Jebson and his Spectrum Health Medical Group team of hand specialists—Drs. Kevin Chan, Randy Lovell and Levi Hinkelman—perform about 750 in-office hand surgeries each year, including carpal tunnel release, trigger finger, trigger thumb, De Quervain’s tendonitis release, simple tendon laceration repairs and ganglion cyst excisions.
Dr. Jebson estimates performing procedures in the office suite saves patients and health care insurers $2,000, “which is significant with the increasing shift of financial responsibility to patients with higher co-pays and deductibles,” he said.
“Not only does it save patients a significant amount of out-of-pocket expense because they’re not using anesthesia and they’re not at a surgical center, patients don’t have to go for any preoperative testing, which saves them a lot of time,” Dr. Jebson said. “And this doesn’t require IV antibiotics.”
Office-based surgery is also environmentally friendly, producing only one bag of waste for a day’s worth of surgeries versus one bag for every procedure.
“It’s a significant savings to society in general,” he said. “It’s a multiple win and provides true value for patients. It’s the future—it will be the standard of care in three to five years across the country. We’ve been doing it for four years now and happen to be a nationally recognized program.”
Ruffner is pleased—especially that she’ll be able to return to work soon.
“I’m a self-admitted workaholic,” she said. “Being home all the time is difficult for me.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
It may be a bit before she bounces back to barrel racing—her saddle weighs 19 pounds and she has a 5-pound weight restriction.
But she has plans beyond lifting saddles. She aims to have surgery on her left hand, too.
“By the time this journey is all said and done, I will have had surgery on both hands,” Ruffner said. “I want to get it done and over with and be pain-free and resume a normal life.”
She hopes to be running barrels again by mid-September, with both hands healed and weight restrictions lifted.
“It’s a rush,” she said of barrel racing. “I love the adrenaline. You get to go out and run as fast as you can around three barrels without hitting them on a 1,000-pound animal that has a mind of their own. They have a personality and temperament all their own. You learn the true meaning of teamwork. It’s one thing to be a team with another human. It’s entirely different to be a team with an animal.”
But Ruffner said she truly appreciates the teamwork with Dr. Jebson and other Spectrum Health staff, in getting her back to where she wants to be.
“Anybody that is fearful of having carpal tunnel release surgery done should know, the way Dr. Jebson does it, they shouldn’t be fearful,” Ruffner said. “Have the surgery and take care of it as opposed to waiting until your hands are completely numb all the time. This experience has been so easy.”
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
We felt it best in this case to relay the story of who this fine fella is and how he came to be in his guardian angel’s own words, as Grey Catsby (born in August of 2013) came to us under different circumstances and under the assumption that he was feline leukemia-positive (he retested negative several times). Here is his story in Augusta’s words:
“Grey is a big boy, but he’s not overweight and doesn’t overeat, he is just big-boned at 16 pounds. He’d make a great companion as he is pretty chill, but he would prefer to be the only cat in the place. His brother must have harassed him quite a bit as he wouldn’t eat or have a treat for a long time until he’d made sure no other critter was around.
“He’s smart and trainable, a big fan of Greenies, catnip, chicken and Lickables, though he isn’t a huge fan of canned food. He has excellent litter box manners and likes cuddles with people he bonds with, which I think he would do fairly easy with anyone who is consistent, gives him lotsa crunchy treats for basic good behavior, and only uses a loud or stern voice when he is doing something wrong (that doesn’t happen very often). He will be quite shy at first as he has been through a lot, and I don’t believe he had ever had a treat or toy in his life before I got him; he is just starting to get what toys are and feel safe enough to play.
“Until he has bonded with you, he won’t like you messing with the top of his head; he is OK with petting. but toys that are catapulted over his head or sudden, unexpected movements can freak him out. Honestly, I’ve worked with a ton of cats and this dude is really sweet. In the morning, he will wait for me to get my coffee and when I sit down with it, he will come over, look me in the eye and gently tap my arm with his right paw to ask for some cuddles; it is as if he has missed me while I was sleeping (even though he slept with me on the bed all night).
“I believe that feeling safe and secure is something he hadn’t much of, and that is probably as much to do with his nature as a nurturer. He becomes much more worried when there is a man and a woman in the house, though two woman are fine; add a man to the mix and he gets a bit skittish. He witnessed a great deal of verbal and some physical abuse in his former home, so he will just need consistency and kindness to allow him to start shining again.
“I can say with certainty that he now has the basic, but perhaps fragile, trust in believing in humans, and is learning that they can do right by him. In spite of his upbringing, he is not a lot of work, he’s cuddly without being clingy, and he’s getting happier by the day.”
Once you know his background, you can understand his demeanor with us since his arrival, and you are instantly SO PROUD of how far he has come in such a short period of time: Grey Catsby had a hard time adjusting to the hustle and bustle of shelter life but is doing much better. He still spends most of his time observing the action from the top of the catwalk, but if you call him, he will come down for pets. He will make an excellent cat for a family once he warms up to his new home. He could live with or without other cats. He is the perfect gentleman, and also very handsome.
Grey Catsby likes people but isn’t crazy about being the center of attention. Once he comes down from the catwalk, though, he enjoys being near you — although he’s a bit shy at first. Anyone looking for a cat that has his quiet mannerisms will be very lucky. He may need a little extra time adjusting to new surroundings but would do just fine in no time.
When Grey was sick with calicivirus, he got extra one-on-one attention, and we think that helped him be more comfortable with us (strange as that may sound). He would be perfect for any home with older kids, another cat, or a small dog.
Well, there ya have it folks, Grey Catsby in a nutshell. We are thoroughly enjoying watching him become brave and more self-assured every single day that he is with us. Augusta did a fantastic job laying the groundwork and Grey is coming in to his own with purpose and grace.
More about Grey Catsby:
Extra-large
Domestic Short-hair, Gray & White
Adult
Male
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
Neutered
Not declawed
Prefers a home without dogs
Want to adopt Grey Catsby? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
Reyna Orellana Masko shares some of the unspeakable horrors of life, violence, and death in her native El Salvador. A U.S. citizen today, she calls for the national administration to reinstate Temporary Protection Status (TPS) for the 200,000 Salvadorans at risk of being sent back to a land of estrangement and danger. Relatedly, she calls for Ottawa County residents to create a more welcoming community that is able to attract and retain diverse workers who are the global doers of tomorrow.
Only 354 days until Christmas! Now, about that tree…
Don’t let your Christmas tree dry out — drop it off at a designated site
Wondering what to do with that Christmas tree? If you’re a resident of Wyoming, there is a drop-off site at 2660 Burlingame Ave. SW. Kentwood residents can drop off their trees at the city’s Department of Public Works, 5068 Breton Ave. SE from 7:30am-4pm Monday-Friday, through Jan. 31. Get the details here.
No. 89… No. 89… Oh, wait…
Cool, old-timey photo of the Grand Rapids Symphony in the 1930s
The Grand Rapids Symphony officially organized on Jan. 11, 1930, making it 89 in 2019. Coincidentally, the Symphony has a concert performance on Jan. 11. So to celebrate its 89th birthday, one of the featured pieces is Hayden’s Symphony No. 89. Pretty clever, no? Go here for more info.
And now, a blast from the past
Remember them now?
Hey! Remember S&H Green Stamps? No? Maybe your mom does — well, your grandmother definitely does. You can trace the roots of Meijer’s MPerks and Hallmark’s Gold Crown Rewards back to about 1896, when Sperry & Hutchinson (the S&H — get it?) started to offer its loyalty retail program to supermarkets, gas stations and stores in the form of small green stamps. Managing editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma dishes on this once-ubiquitous homemaker staple here.
Fun fact:
45%
That’s the percentage of Americans who make New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, to stay fit and healthy, and to quit smoking. While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them give up on their resolutions by the second week of January. That’s next week, y’all.
What would you do if you were a farmer thrown out of your native land? Listen as Kharka Turung tells of losing both his birth country and his ethnic homeland. With the aid of Bethany Christian Services, Kharka finds friendship through Hope Farms manager Scott Townley and meaningful work as he regains his agrarian past in the midst of a bewildering new language and culture.
Alyssa D’Agostino can endure a lot: a battle against breast cancer, then leukemia, then a relapse of leukemia.
But when she realized she would not be home for her daughter Gianna’s ninth birthday—that drove her to tears.
“We have to do something.”
Katie Celentino heard that message over and over again from staff members at the bone marrow transplant unit at Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, touched by D’Agostino’s sorrow.
And so they did. In 24 hours, they pulled together a purple unicorn party that left Gianna nearly speechless.
The little girl burst into the staff room for the party with a big “Oh!” as she whirled around, taking in the birthday banner, a unicorn drawing on the whiteboard, party hats and a table brimming with colorfully wrapped presents. Nurses and nurse technicians greeted her with a lively round of “Happy Birthday!”
D’Agostino sat beside her daughter, eyes sparkling above her yellow face mask. She wore her party attire, a green tinted wig and a headband decorated with a silver unicorn horn and peach flowers.
“This is so amazing,” she said. “I’m blown away big-time.”
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, D’Agostino underwent surgery and chemotherapy and emerged a survivor.
Photo by Taylor Ballek, Spectrum Health Beat
In July 2017, she learned she had acute myeloid leukemia. It went into remission, but resurfaced in April 2018. Again, she was hospitalized as she began chemotherapy treatments.
In late August, she went to Butterworth Hospital, with plans to get the disease back into remission so she could undergo a bone marrow transplant.
Five straight months in a hospital: That has been her spring, summer and autumn.
She hoped she would be home for Gianna’s birthday. She had gifts and planned a surprise celebration with family. When she learned that would not happen, she said, “I was devastated.”
And then, she learned a party was in the works on the fifth floor of Butterworth Hospital.
Celentino, the nurse manager, said staff members eagerly joined together to make the day special. Nurses came in on their day off or stayed after their shifts ended. Nurse technician Courtney Fend used her artistic skills to create a birthday banner and unicorn drawing.
Sharing Gianna’s big day was deeply rewarding for the staff, Celentino said.
“We don’t always get to see these moments,” she said. “These are the things that matter to our patients. This is why they matter to us.”
A gift of happiness
Photo by Taylor Ballek, Spectrum Health Beat
Gianna, a third-grader at Chandler Woods Charter Academy in Belmont, Michigan, came to the party with her grandmother, Alice D’Agostino. She wore her Halloween costume—a purple and black outfit with a purple wig. She dressed as Mal from the Disney movie Descendants.
Her mom’s gift made the outfit complete. She gave Gianna a pair of black boots, just like Mal’s.
Gianna bubbled with enthusiasm as she opened her gifts: sparkly pencils and coloring books, fluffy unicorn pajamas, card games, glittery nail polish, hair chalk, a jewelry box and a kit for making her own jewelry.
She thanked everyone and went around the room giving hugs.
Gianna then sat beside her mom and they wrapped their arms around each other.
D’Agostino said the celebration exceeded all her expectations. And seeing her daughter’s happiness was a gift in itself.
“I just loved seeing her face light up,” she said. “When she’s happy, I’m happy. Doing something special for her just makes me feel good.”
"It doesn't matter where you came from. All that matters is where you are going.”
-- Brian Tracy
It’s been an interesting year. Let’s take a look back.
Grand Rapids Sweet Adelines Chorus rehearses its holiday music.
Managing editor Joanne Bailey-Boorsma has rounded up the most popular stories of 2018 and corralled them into one spot. Go here to see what readers read the most.
Everybody has a profile. Even Kent County.
Cool, fun graphic
Counties have profiles? You bet! Thanks to the Kent County Administration and their most excellent bilingual survey, the secret is out: Kent County’s median age of 34.9 years old is more than five years younger than Michigan as a whole and 50 percent of the population of about 648,594 is 35-years-old or younger. Go here for the cool details.
Get ahead of the game.
Wouldn’t it be fun to pay your tax bill with Monopoly money?
You know that big tax cut we’ve all been hearing about? The one that has corporations so excited? Well, there’s a tiny bit of relief for single people and families, too. Standard deductions for single taxpayers nearly double from $6,350 for 2017 taxes to $12,000 for 2018 taxes (the ones you file in 2019). It might get confusing, but there’s free tax help here. Take advantage of it.
Fun fact:
April 11, 1954
According to Cambridge computer scientist William Tunstall-Pedoe and his search engine project, ‘True Knowledge’, that’s the ‘Most Boring Day in History‘. After sifting through and analyzing 300 million facts, ‘True Knowledge’ divined that on April 11, 1954, a general election was held in Belgium, Turkish academic Professor Abdullah Atalar was born, and an Oldham Athletic footballer by the name of Jack Shufflebotham died. That’s it. Nothing else that matters happened.
Each week WKTV features an adoptable pet—or few—from an area shelter. This week’s beauty is from Crash’s Landing. Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary rescue organizations were founded by Jennifer Denyes, DVM (Dr. Jen), who is on staff at Clyde Park Veterinary Clinic (4245 Clyde Park Ave SW).
Courageous Karlie’s story is nothing short of amazing—and quite unique in the fact that she came back to us in October of 2018 after having been lost for over 3 years!
Our gorgeous girl (born in January of 2012) initially came to us in early 2015 and had only spent 2 months at Crash’s before a wonderful gal adopted her and another of our kitties. Sadly, only a few months after her arrival into her new home she somehow got outside, and no matter how hard her new mom looked for her for months on end, Karlie was simply nowhere to be found.
Many of our volunteers offered their support in staking out the neighborhood, but as time wore on, our hopes were dashed and the thought of her returning to a home she was just getting comfortable in seemed improbable. To top things off, her owners ended up moving within the year, so even if our buxom beauty had tried to return to the house she darted from, there would have been no familiar faces waiting for her there. It was a heartbreaking situation.
Fast forward to a chilly autumn day when Dr. Jen received a call from the Kent County Animal Shelter stating that a kitty with a microchip registered to us had been brought in; when she was told WHO it was, she could hardly believe it as so much time had passed! Dr. Jen was extremely surprised when she went to retrieve Karlie that she was still pleasantly plump, leading the good doctor to believe that someone had been caring for this kitty—and quite well at that.
Given Karlie’s shy nature, we suspect that she may have been leery of strangers, but a food bowl—now that was an entirely different story! Regardless of where she was for the past three years, she was found just a few short blocks away from her home, which in itself is quite astounding; wherever she hunkered down proved to be a safe hiding spot as signs posted in the neighborhood and door-to-door canvasing were unrewarded efforts.
Once back in our care, Karlie turned out to be pretty darn healthy, although she needed a fractured tooth pulled and unfortunately turned up positive for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), meaning that somewhere along the line she was bitten by an infected cat harboring the virus. Since this sweet girl hasn’t a mean bone in her bodacious body, there is minimal risk of her transmitting it to another cat as she prefers to spend most of her time now posing for photo ops and lounging in laps; she is definitely making up for lost time!
It took Karlie a bit to acclimate and come out of her shell at our sanctuary (who can blame her for that?), but once she began to trust us, she became the biggest snuggle-bug! In fact, she adores her cat-checker so very much she begs to be carried around for hours while Amelie works—or tries to with a 13# cat in her arms. She has found comfort not only in the embrace of her caretakers but also in the company of her fellow felines, so we’d love to find her a fur-ever home with another kitty to cuddle up to.
Karlie is the epitome of a lazy, lovable lap cat but given her history, we need to be sure we place her in an environment that is not too hectic and will allow her to adjust at her own pace. If you have a heart that is open wide and arms that are longing to hold a creature that will treasure you for the rest of her days, Karlie is THE cat for you! And we have it on good authority that Karlie’s wandering days are over—she promises to stay put!
More about Karlie:
Extra large
Torbie, White
Adult
Female
House-trained
Vaccinations up to date
FIV+
Spayed
Declawed
Good in a home with other cats
Want to adopt Karlie? Learn about the adoption process here. Fill out a pre-adoption form here.
Can’t adopt, but still want to help? Find out how you can sponsor a cat!
Crash’s Landing and Big Sid’s Sanctuary have a common mission: To take at-risk stray cats off the streets of the Greater Grand Rapids area, provide them with veterinary care and house them in free-roaming, no-kill facilities until dedicated, loving, permanent homes can be found.
Reouhidi Ndjerareou has an imposing name and a matching vision for leadership across the continent of his native Africa. Join us in the studio where this itinerant son of a preacher man talks of navigating the tricky issues of geography and ethnic identity. Caught between the U.S. and birth country of Chad, Reouhidi shares with viewers his take on colonialism, cross-cultural relationships, and national empowerment. Be ready to be inspired.
