2019 JJ Stewart Chrysler Winter Classic Takes Place February 18th At Lakefield College

The 2019 JJ Stewart Chrysler Winter Classic will take place on Monday, February 18th at Lakefield College from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. This year’s event is in support of Autism Ontario Peterborough Chapter, as well as the Tarkington and Dombroski families.

Four boys and two girls teams will be participating, and the teams include: Leon’s Peterborough, CrossFit Kawartha, Village Pet Food & Supply, Elmhirst Excavating, Birdsall Beach Resort and Rapid Lift Inc. The Hardest Working Playing Awards are sponsored by Mr Sub on Lansdowne St., and participants will be collecting pledges for the Autism Ontario Peterborough Chapter.

Players participating in 2019 JJ Stewart Chrysler Winter Classic. Front: Molly, Lili, Andrew, Liam, Carson, Sam and Logan. Back: Event Mascot Derek, Organizers Michelle, Mark, Aaron, Dani and Tom from Leon’s

A silent auction, bake sale and Chuck-A-Puck will be organized with all proceeds supporting the Tarkington and Dombroski families. Organizers are looking for silent auction donations, which can be dropped off to Aaron or Dani at Leon’s Peterborough (1731 Lansdowne Street West.).

For more info on the event, click here.

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#ForMaverick: The Life Of Baby Maverick Is One You Won't Ever Forget, His Parents & Community Will Make Sure Of It

There is an expectation that when you bring your baby home from the hospital, everything is going to be okay. You believe you are about to start the next chapter of your life with joy and love. Well, for the Willett family, this was not the case with their baby Maverick. Read about their rollercoaster journey in the words of Maverick’s father Joel Willett…

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When we found out we were expecting a boy on December 4th, 2017, our joy was indescribable. We had a house full of girls, and finally adding a boy would help even things out a bit.

We never imagined that after finding out his sex, our joy would be followed by pain and confusion.

On December 22nd, Amanda got a call from her doctor asking us to come see him. He needed to discuss her pregnancy and it couldn’t be done on the phone. We rushed over as quickly as we could, with dread running through our heads. When we finally arrived and sat waiting for our doctor, he told us that our unborn son had congenital heart disease, but in order to know more, we would have to travel to SickKids for better imaging and a proper diagnosis.

Maverick, Amanda and Joel

From what our doctor saw, he thought that he had a condition called “Hypo-plastic left heart syndrome.” We did what anyone would do when finding out something was wrong with their child: we cried, we imagined the worst, and we googled what possibly could be wrong.

It was Christmas time, and we had to take this news and share with our family about what was happening and why we weren’t having a festive Christmas. It was a difficult holiday season to say the least.

On December 27th, we made our first trip to Toronto to the world-renowned Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids). We sat through hours of imaging and discussion with our cardiologist to try to make sense of what was wrong with our baby. We were given diagrams and discussed a variety of issues that were happening with our son’s heart. The doctor gave us a scale of possible outcomes that we could expect as we continued through the pregnancy.

SickKids was incredible to Baby Maverick

On one end of the scale, we had the aforementioned “hypo-plastic left heart syndrome” which would require a possible heart transplant. On the other, we were told it would only require a couple procedures to repair his heart and allow him to live a normal life. All we could do was hope and pray that his heart would grow, and he would only require minimal treatment.

We knew at this point we had to find a name for our baby that had meaning. Something strong that would give him strength to fight his heart disease. We landed on the name Maverick because it meant an independent man who does not conform to normality. It was perfect for our boy who was facing an uphill battle.

We spent the rest of the pregnancy driving back and forth to Toronto for imaging and to talk to the doctors who would be delivering Maverick. The plan was that they would deliver Maverick at Mount Sinai Hospital, and he would be transferred to nearby SickKids immediately where he would undergo emergency surgery to repair his heart—or, he would be put on support to help his heart do the work that was needed.

As we got closer to his due date, we became more and more worried about his birthing plan, being that we lived in Peterborough and Toronto isn’t just a couple kilometers away. We decided that the best thing to do was to have a C-section, so that we had a firm date of when we would welcome Maverick to the world.

When April 11th, 2018 came along, we packed up the van, kissed our two girls goodbye and ensured them that the next time we talked they would be big sisters to their new baby brother Maverick. We set out to Mount Sinai where we were expecting to deliver Maverick at 2 p.m.

It wasn’t till almost 10:00 p.m. when Amanda was finally taken in. Maverick was born at 10:22 p.m., weighing 8lb 6oz. What came next was not what we were expecting. Somehow, Maverick was stable. We couldn’t believe it, this meant we got to spend a few minutes with him before he would be taken over by the SickKids transportation team.

These few minutes meant the world to us. I was lucky enough to be able to go see him at SickKids that night and spend time with him after he was checked in and the doctors had a chance to examine him. Unfortunately, Amanda couldn’t come and spend that time with him, but the determination from her the very next day to be able to walk so she could go see him is unmatched. There was nothing in this world that was going to stop her from seeing her baby.

Over the next several days, we met with doctors, nurses, and his entire cardiology team. They said Maverick was doing better than expected and that emergency surgery would not be required at this time. See, Maverick was a fighter, and he was determined to get healthy. His heart continued to grow and continued to baffle the doctors to the point where they just wanted to let him grow. This was great news!

As each day passed, his odds got better that he would only require a bi-ventricle repair to fix the following issues with his heart:

·       Severe coarctation of the aorta with transverse and isthmal Hypoplasia.

·       Mildly thickened and hypoplastic aortic valve, possible bicuspid aortic valve.

·       Hypoplastic ascending aorta

·       Mild to moderate Hypoplastic left ventricle

·       Single left aided SVC draining to right atrium via a dilated coronary sinus

·       Probably perimembranous VSD

·       Petent forame. Ovale with mainly left to right shunting

There was nothing to call his condition. It was just a bunch of different conditions all attacking him at once. But Maverick was fighting—fighting hard.

Joel, Mya, Maverick, Kyleigh & Amanda

A month went by as Amanda stayed in Toronto at the Ronald McDonald House and with Maverick at SickKids, and I drove back and forth between work and them. It was an extremely difficult month. It seemed at times as if we were being told something different every day about his surgery.

Finally, we got the news that he would have a minor surgery to help address a couple of the issues. At one-month-old, Maverick had his first open heart surgery: a four-hour procedure where they would put a stent in his aortic valve and bands to control the blood from his heart. This meant Mav would be able to come home until his next surgery.

The time flew between his first and second surgery. We bought a new home. We began planning our lives again. We were happy. Maverick was excelling as a baby and hitting all the markers as if there was never anything wrong with him. For 6 months, it was like his heart condition never existed, except for the scar that he had on his chest.

Maverick was a happy boy, always playing and smiling. He loved to play on the ground with his sisters. Mya, the youngest sister, would be in his face trying to play, but he complained or cried. Kyleigh, the older sister, would always take care of him and spend her time with him every chance she could. Like I said, we were happy.

We were told his next surgery was scheduled for October 9th, 2018, two days before he would be 6 months old. We met with his doctors and nurses and we went over the procedure he was to have. It was to be an 8-hour procedure, but this would be the last surgery he would need, because in his short 6 months, his heart just continued to grow and thrive.

On the date of his surgery, we sat patiently in the waiting-room. When his doctor finally came out, he delivered us the news that Maverick’s surgery was a complete success and we could see him soon. When we finally got in his room, all we could see was our little boy laying there with what seemed to be an infinite amount of tubes and medicines attached to him keeping him alive. It was heartbreaking, but we knew that he was going to be alright. We knew that soon he would be home again.

Maverick only spent 10 days in hospital. Because he was such a fighter, he continued to get better and better. He was working overtime so that he could get better. When he finally started to wake up, he was sedated, and there was something different. That smile of his that was so infectious was gone. We could see he was in pain.

For several days we couldn’t pick him up, which made it only harder on us. Day by day, Mav would be taken off a different meds and his smile started to come back. He was off 99 percent of his meds and we got told that we would be able to bring him home. We were overcome with joy.

The girls and I drove up to Toronto on October 19th, 2018, finally ready to bring Mom and Maverick home for good. We said goodbye to the remarkable doctors and nurses who took such wonderful care of him (and Amanda) at SickKids, and who will forever hold a place in our hearts.

Our journey home began.

We pulled into our driveway at 4:45 p.m. We got all the kids in the house and now it was just time to be together and share as much love as we could. The girls got to hold him and share all the affection that he had been waiting so long for. Amanda and I got to watch our family be together again.

As the evening went on, Kyleigh went to a sleepover, Mya went to bed, and we got some mom and dad time with Mav. We settled Maverick to bed at his usual time and everything was good. Like normal, Amanda woke up in the night because he was fussing. He was having indigestion, so as a precaution she took him to the hospital to get a prescription filled that helped ease it.

When they got home, his cries woke me up and we spent time cuddling him and calming him down and back to sleep. We decided to do something that we never did: we brought him to our bed and let him sleep with us. We spent the night holding his hand and kissing his soft head.

Amanda woke up to him fussing at one point in the wee hours of the morning, so she patted his bum and he fell asleep. This was the last moment we know Maverick was alive.

Mya came strolling in to our room at 7:15 a.m. like any other day. She woke us both up and when Amanda laid eyes on Maverick, she began to scream.

Maverick was not breathing.

I had just taken a CPR course the weekend before, so I jumped into action and began performing CPR while Amanda called 911. Fire and Rescue was first on scene, followed quickly by the paramedics. They worked to bring Maverick back and rushed him to PRHC hospital. They were so supportive in their efforts while they tried to save Maverick.

When we got to the hospital, doctors and nurses were on hand to try and revive Maverick. I travelled to the hospital with the ambulance while Amanda got Mya off to her grandparents. Nobody in that room thought their day was going to start off this way. They worked on Maverick for so long. We had a family friend who was a nurse in the room and we could see that they were doing everything imaginable to save our boy.

The doctor told us to come close and hold him. It was time. We held him for the next 2 ½ hours. The hospital was quiet. It’s like we could read everyone’s minds. He was gone. And our lives would never be the same.

It was later discovered that Maverick suffered a massive heart attack in his sleep.

There was nothing we could have done to predict or prevent it. And being only 6 months old, there was no way he would have been able to communicate that something was wrong. Time stood still. To add to our grief, our phones were still going off from social media notifications from friends, family and complete strangers welcoming him home who had no idea what had just happened. Our Hollywood ending of bringing him home was now a tragedy.

There was a dark realization that we were going to have to tell our daughters—who we had promised them he was going to be alright—that Maverick was not going to be coming home.

Over the next week, we had to plan the one thing no parent should have to do. We had to plan our child’s funeral. We didn’t have life insurance on him, so this was going to come out of our pockets. That’s when Maverick’s Godparents made a GoFundMe page to help us cover the costs some. The amount of support that came from family, friends, and the whole community was remarkable. We were able to give him a funeral and his final resting place that he deserved.

They say that when you survive a child, there is no such thing as good days. There are only bad days and worse days. Let me tell you this is true. We wake most days with the thought of him being gone. We worry and lose sleep over the thought of something happening to one of our girls. It is a constant nightmare when you know you are awake.

Now, the holidays have passed, and we have done everything we can to stay busy, but there was something calling us to remember Maverick. So that is exactly what we are going to do. SickKids gave us six months with Maverick, and it was six months that we may not have received without them.

That is why this year, we are aiming to raise $65,000 for SickKids. But we need your help. Please consider supporting us and keeping the memory of Maverick alive by donating here. This one is #ForMaverick, and all the kids who receive treatment from SickKids.

—by Joel Willett

[Like the “ForMaverick” Facebook page and spread the word about this story on your social media channels]

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Watch: Lakefield's Instagram Dog Celebrity Owen The Griff In Serena Ryder's New Christmas Video

Millbrook’s pride and joy Serena Ryder, who attended PCVS in Peterborough, has just released a new Christmas video called “Christmas Kisses”. The title track from her very first holiday album, the song spotlights rescue dogs from the Ontario SPCA and dog influencers wearing festive styles.

One of the dog influencers starring in the video is none other than Lakefield’s Owen the Griff, who has 73,000+ fans on Instagram.

Owen the Griff

“One of Serena’s people reached out to us via email,” Owen’s owner/”Momager” Lisa Besseling tells PTBOCanada. “It was filmed at a small studio in Toronto. We were really happy to be a part of this and help bring awareness to supporting animal shelters at this time of year.”

Indeed, the fit was great for Owen the Griff, as he has been an important influencer on Our Pet Project, the Peterborough Humane Society’s capital fundraising campaign to build a new state of the art facility in Peterborough to replace the existing one they are in that opened in 1956.

Watch the video below and spread the word about this great video raising awareness for rescue dogs…

We are proud to partner up with and support the Ontario SPCA this holiday season! Thank you to all the caretakers and volunteers for your continuous hard work and passion to make rescue animals' lives a little bit better and brighter. A special thanks to everyone involved in this video, both dogs and humans!

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The Peterborough Police Service And Lansdowne Place Mall Team Up For 12th Annual Cop Shop

The Peterborough Police Service and Lansdowne Place Mall are excited for the 12th Annual Cop Shop, a cherished holiday tradition for officers, mall staff and local children.

Started in 2006 by Peterborough Police Constable Leanda LeVasseur, Cop Shop partners a Peterborough Police Service officer with a local child based on good school citizenship, volunteer or academic achievement. The schools select the children that participate in the program. 

2016 Cop Shop at Lansdowne Place Mall

HOW COP SHOP DAY WORKS

-> The children arrive at the mall in a limousine and are provided breakfast courtesy of Tim Hortons.

-> They are also generously provided with a $200 gift certificate from Lansdowne Place to spend on holiday shopping for family and friends.

-> The officer becomes the child’s personal shopper for the day and a bond is quickly formed. (All of the officers that participate in the program are volunteering during their off-duty time.)

-> Mall shops provide the kids with additional discounts and treats.

-> Purchases are wrapped and tagged by mall staff, and by volunteers from the community and the police service. Lunch caps off the event followed by a complimentary photo with Santa and their officer friend.

-> The students then enjoy a limousine ride back to their school courtesy of Welsh Limousine and Ulimate Limousine.  

2016 Cop Shop at Lansdowne Place Mall

This year’s Cop Shop takes place on Wednesday, December 5th. The children will be arriving at the mall at approximately 9:30 a.m. and the event takes place until about 1:30 p.m.

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Watch: Peterborough Humane Society Picks Up 8 Dogs In Montreal Transferred From South Korean Meat Farm

On Friday, November 9th some members of the Peterborough Humane Society team including Executive Director Shawn Morey and Manager of Development & Outreach Susan Dunkley travelled to Montreal to pick up eight dogs transferred there from a South Korean meat farm.

Susan Dunkley helping load a dog onto the truck

This was part of a collaboration with Humane Society International, and resulted in PHS giving these dogs a new chance at life. They will soon be up for adoption here in Peterborough, looking for their forever homes.

Shawn Morey in Montreal during the transfer to Peterborough

Watch the video below (it has garnered over 10,000 views already) to learn more as our agency StudioPTBO documented the day…

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Throwdown: Peterborough Police United Way Team Issues Cheeseburger Food Court Eating Challenge

Move over Joey Chestnut, there is a new local food eating challenge on the horizon and it’s all about squads.

The Peterborough Police United Way team have issued an open challenge to all City of Peterborough services, including Peterborough Fire Services and Peterborough Paramedics, to a cheeseburger eating contest at the Lansdowne Place McDonald’s location in the food court on Tuesday, December 4th.

Image courtesy Peterborough Police

Starting at 11:30 a.m. on December 4th when the cheeseburgers will be fresh off the grill, teams will pack away as many as possible all for a good cause—and bragging rights of course. All proceeds from this fun event are going to the United Way Peterborough and District.

The challenge is capped at 10 teams, and this year they must be City of Peterborough services with plans to expand the event next year already being discussed. To sign up your City of Peterborough services team, simply contact the Police Services United Way Co-Chair here with your team info. Each team is asked to make an initial $100 donation to the United Way Peterborough District and anything on top of that is a bonus.

Learn more about the burger throwdown in this video Peterborough Police put out…

—post by Aaron Elliott

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Bras Around The Building 2018 Campaign Collects 5,889 Bras And Raises $11,922

Country 105, Energy 99.7 and Merrett Home Hardware Building Centre have wrapped up the 8th Annual “Bras Around the Building” Campaign. With the support of the community, a total of 5,889 bras and counting were collected.

With the generous contribution of $1 per bra from Merrett Home Hardware Building Centre, along with other monetary donations from local businesses and individuals, the 2018 Bras Around the Building Campaign raised $11,922, which will be donated to the Canadian Cancer Society for breast cancer research.

For the last four weeks, residents of Peterborough and The Kawarthas have been donating their gently used bras, and many took up collections from family and friends for this powerful campaign.

The bras will hang on the Country 105/Energy 99.7 building at 59 George St. N. until Monday, October 29th as a symbol of support for women battling breast cancer, to honour survivors and to remember those who have lost their battle.

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Watch: A Peterborough Grandmother Of 5 On Why She's Become An Environmental Activist/Leader

On Episode 26 of PTBOCanada, our Neil Morton sit downs with Peterborough's Kate Grierson, a grandmother of five (soon to be a sixth) who has become an environmental activist/leader after taking Al Gore’s Climate Reality training course in Pittsburgh in 2017.

On the heels of this New York Times article that details scientists’ findings that there is a strong risk of climate crisis as early as 2040 unless we take extreme measures now to combat it, Grierson outlines some of the ways we can all make a difference in our everyday lives. This is a political and moral issue, she says. Watch the interview below…

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New Buddy Bench Installed At Roger Neilson Public School

The Rotary Club of Peterborough Kawartha went back to school on Thursday (October 18th) for a special reason: They presented a Rotary “Buddy Bench” to Roger Neilson Public School Principal Denise Humphries and the staff and students there.
 
It was Kawartha Rotarian Donna Geary and her son Nate Loch that initiated the program and St. Catherine’s Catholic Elementary School was the first recipient last year.  

Ribbon Cutting of Rotary Buddy Bench at Roger Neilson School: (Left to Right) Nate Loch, Rotarian Donna Geary, Kawartha Club President Brian Prentice & Principal Denise Humphries

Nate shared candidly with the group his past experiences of both inclusiveness and exclusiveness in both elementary and high school—of being both the victim and the perpetrator of bullying.

“The Buddy Bench is something that I really wish I had growing up, as it’s meant to celebrate friendship with those we may not know and is a good social tool for the kids of Roger Neilson to combat the problem of bullying,” Nate says.

“By understanding one another, we find similarities we might not have found, and unlikely friendships can form from even the smallest of encounters,” he adds. “I hope that the Buddy Bench helps create some of these unlikely friendships and helps keep as a reminder that we all could be on that bench at one point in our lives.”  

“We hope that the Buddy Bench provides an opportunity for students to foster new friendships, build empathy and reinforce inclusiveness,” adds Principal Denise Humphries.

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