with tir, paihiing or games. Don puys with I and of piaydough while breIthlng In I bttmtthlttttMtoi mist baton his physiotherapy. McCulloch mam I point of musing therapy. I hm tlme when Don II busy carriers. Her cousin had died of CF only months before Don's birth. McCulloch and her husband Ian McKenize, of Waterloo, were keeping a watchful eye for telltale signs and when their suspicions grew from the salty taste of Don's skin, the high number of bowel movements, and his cries of pain after feeding, they insisted he be tested. Shortly after diagnosis, Don was hospitalized, his first and only time, with a which "I be patsed. or? yhgnbgtjl wents Cystic Fibrosis To see him, you would never know it. He looks as healthy as the day is long. But his days are a regimen of drugs and physiotherapy, the likes of which people with cystic tibroti, know about. His mother knew about cystic fihmeig - a genetic disorder characterized by repeated rmpiratory infections and usually digestive disturbances, Metro's Famous METRO Free tlttsi,iii"iAiIsiifrtiiCij Garlic Bread Offer "-f',' WWW Soon Don and his mother will have outgrown that means of therapy as Don continues to grow and as McCulloch awaits her third son in September. Tests conducted at the 10week mark indicate the child has a 99 per cent chance of being born CF free. Therapy, which consists of a vigorous pounding of his chest area, front and back, lying with his feet elevated and his head resting on his parent's feet to capture gravity's full impact. The pounding, which comes from a resonating clap from the cupped hand of his mother or father, is done to loosen the mucus. Like any boy, Don rebels when he doesn't want to do something, and sometimes that means resisting therapy. While other things may be flexible, therapy is "nonmegotiable" - it's a must. So it's meant making therapy fun and tossing aside inhibitions. "We would spend too much time sequestered away if we were inhibited about where he did thereapy, so Don has had his pounding on the beach, poolside, at friends' houses. That way he can still be part of the action around him," explained McCulloch. During the course of a day Don takes between 12 and 20 enzymes. plus an allotment of multivita- mins, vitamin E and vitamin C. Sometimes he dabs the enzyme capsules in ketchup or sticks them into his peanut butter on mm as birthday candles “He's doing really well right now but we don't know for how long. He may have a downturn at six or he may be healthy to 26. We just look at these years and think we'll take them as we've got them." "You juist rion’t want to "wiitrtrnu"y'iiu can't help but think about it. While the mean life expectancy for people with CF is 24 years, it has increased significantly since CF was that pinpoigted some 50 years ago. Don's healthy looks are deceiving to people who are not familar with CF because the battle is going on within his body where the digestive system is not working properly, requiring him to take enzymes with everything he eats. The lungs come under attack as well, " the tenacious and thick mucus clogs up the small bronchi leaving Don susceptible to infection. respiratory problem. However, he visits Toronto specialists every three months for tests. Don looks as healthy as any other 2-1/2 year old, and it's a comment that McCulloch often hears. He runs, plays, laughs and cries. He also takes at least two hours of therapy a day, and if he comes down with a cold he'll have three to four hours of physiotherapy, compounded with mask therapy where he breaths in a bmnchiodilator mist to help expand the air passages in his lungs. Where it may take a youngster a week or two to get over a cold. it may take Don six weeks to conquer one. (Win-um†[ERIE] 164 Victoria N. Kitchener 743-2720 amm 'iMilliEi (t ' Kn} r MEP, . . . 'll' 5 iii) f, . ltlli,lli â€I" l or More , (, h s,',)-;' ; Services _ '," r! \ a , ll Worr I BENEFITS or ======== Demaicmng tuv/goo #3. ti 'ttt 9500 Word Processing Typewriter _ - c-alt SMITH Reg. Price - $769.00 .“39‘39NA $59500 Don’t Let Your Lawn nllrttt.,trtt Off This Year SALE PRICE WATEHLCX) W. MWY MAY 3. tttoe - PAGE 5 M ROLLING . AERATINE. JirenijRTiFio 743-4017" 310/1000 sq t $WI,000 SQ tt 1 Reduces "to! "no?! 2 Improves ludgrass 700009 3 Imam mm mm 4 'Woves but 5 stress drown W BENEFITS or AEMTION 1ipe0-Rtght" 75,000 Wow Electromc Dcctvonary Word-Right' Auto - Worannd‘ Gamma-Rom System" mm Phrase Alert" 2 Lune by so Character thstyay 16.000 Character Ednabte WordErasef /Lme F raser Wow Count Word Alon' "-yrestF.rlti 4 /ij'p, ;' l _',,e"'/ii,'u'iit"