QB Sunrise Scuttlebutt
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QB Sunrise Scuttlebutt Scuttlebutt is a weekly newsletter highlighting the activities of the Rotary Club of Qualicum Beach Sunrise July 16th Edition July 16th Meeting July Celebrations Sara Medd, July 9; Bev, July 15; and Blake, July 26 are all celebrating July Birthdays. John and Sheila, July 15; and Gerry and Charlotte, July 22 celebrate Anniversaries. Enjoy your special day! A President Ken Update Ken is slowly recovering, he said he had hopped to attend todays meeting but just didn’t have the energy to get going this morning. However he says he’s on the mend; he has lost a lot of weight but is beginning to eat again and will be attending the meeting next Wednesday at Rotary Park. We are all looking forward to Ken’s return. Rotary Moment Ken sits on a Mid Island Indigenous Reconciliation Committee. Twenty- two clubs are participating in the project that will see 75 Indigenous youth and 75 non-Indigenous youth that will be meeting in Nanaimo in November to discuss issues around Reconciliation. We have contributed $700 in support of the initiative. Oceanside RCMP Corporal Jesse Foreman An interesting talk by Corporal Jesse Foreman: Ø Our Oceanside detachment has 57 Officers who are working within 3 jurisdictions; the RDN, the City of Parksville and the Town of Qualicum Beach Ø They patrol an area that stretches in the south from the new Shell station on the highway at Nanoose to Cook Creek in the North and west to Coombs and Errington Ø The RDN funds 32 officers, Parksville 17 and Qualicum Beach 8 officers Ø Traffic monitoring and control is the number one responsibility of the detachment. Ø Each jurisdiction has identified priority issues for their particular area. Cpl. Foreman opened the session to questions from the floor: Traffic issues, 911-protocol, homelessness, and drug addiction were touched on. I guess for me the advise to keep your doors secure and your vehicle locked and free of temptations on the seat and in the car was what I took home and will act on from now on. Twenty Children will be immunized against Polio, our way of thanking Cpl. Foreman It’s Roses Time Again Deanna and Arlene are co-chairing this years Rose campaign. The first planning meeting is scheduled for July 22, 12:30 at the Final Approach Restaurant. If you plan to attend contact Ken at [email protected] so reservations can be arranged. DG’s Visit District Governor Maureen Fritz-Roberts (Mo) Rotary Club of Comox, will be addressing Oceanside Rotarians next Wednesday, July 24th at Rotary Park. Cocktails at 5:30 and Dinner at 6:15. Volunteers to help with set up (Doug) and set up, food preparation and clean up (David, John, Mike, Arlene, and a student. Note – Our meeting on Tuesday the 23rd is cancelled. “Opportunity” “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill I have been turning over in my mind for the past few days whether this is a story I should share with my Rotary colleagues; it’s a very personal issue for me because the story is about my grandson Michael Henman. I’ve decided to share Michaels story because I believe its something, an issue, you all care about. "What a Journey": Michael Henman's life with mental illness Rich Abney – UNBC Athletics It had been a tragic week in Prince George, British Columbia. Two high school students had made the heartbreaking decisions to take their own lives, just days apart from one another. The school was reeling. The community was reeling. Questions mounted in the minds of those where answers would not. It was 11:55 PM when my phone vibrated, notifying me of a text. It was Michael Henman, a member of the University of Northern British Columbia’s Men’s soccer team. “I have to tell my story.” I responded by asking him why he thought now was the appropriate time. “Did you see what happened to those two kids this week. I have to tell my story. Maybe, if I had told it earlier, one of them may have seen someone who has gone through things. Maybe it could have saved a life.” It struck me that in a time of sadness for an entire city, it was a Victoria transplant, just 20 years old, who felt compelled to do something. I text him back saying I would help him do just that. We had talked before about writing a piece on his journey to get to Prince George, but the timing hadn’t been right. In that moment, it struck me as unfair that when the vast majority of us were allowed to just be sad, he was feeling like his story could shed light, create conversation, or even save a life. I asked Michael if it felt unfair. “Mental health is unfair.” He saw the play developing at midfield. It was a scoreless tie between the visiting Calgary Dinos and his UNBC Timberwolves, on a brisk September afternoon in Prince George. The game was the sixth of his Canada West career. He had been held without a goal through his first five contests, but the Victoria native had a number of chances, with eight shots on goal through the first few matches. Now, in the 37th minute, that was about the change. UNBC’s Owen Stewart took possession at midfield and cut across the pitch 40 yards from the Dinos net, drawing with him a pair of Calgary defenders. Henman, recognizing the open area, turned up field, where Stewart found him with a through ball that rolled perfectly to his feet. From there, instincts took over. Henman, who had proven his ability to make plays with either foot, changed the angle and managed to put it through Dinos keeper Jake Ruschkowski to make it 1-nil. A big goal, no doubt. A go-ahead marker against a powerhouse school in the conference would be monumental for any player, and particularly any freshman. But as his Timberwolves teammates swarmed him in celebration, including childhood teammates Cody Gysbers and Jonah Smith, it was perhaps Smith who said it best. “What a journey! What a journey.” Michael Henman couldn’t quite clear his throat. No amount of coughing seemed to help. He had battled a sinus infection for a few weeks, but seemed to be coming out of it nicely. His cold symptoms were mostly gone, except for the feeling of a buildup in his nose and throat. No matter how much he tried, he had a nagging fear that we would try to breathe, but end up gagging or choking. His parents, Pat and Diane, had taken him to three throat specialists for three exams, but every time, the scans and exams came back with nothing. There was, seemingly, no reason why Michael felt something in his throat. There was no reason why he was in constant fear of gagging and choking. “There wasn’t anything there. I didn’t believe it,” said Henman. “As soon as we did the third test, and my parents saw, again, that there was nothing, they knew there was more going on. There was something psychological going on.” It was 2015, and Michael was a member of the Victoria Highlanders U21 program. Soccer was his escape. His chance to play the game he loved, alongside friends he had grown up with. The Highlanders coach, Steve Simonson, had been made aware of Michael’s recent ailment, so a strategy had been devised. No matter what direction the Highlanders were attacking, Michael would play on the side of the pitch closest to his coach. That way, if he was having throat issues, Simonson could easily communicate with his player, and substitute him out of the game if needed. The Highlanders made the trip to Ladysmith, a town of 8500 people on the east coast of Vancouver Island, for a rainy afternoon matchup. As usual, Henman was on the side of the pitch closest to his coach. With a few minutes left before halftime, he let Simonson know he would like to be subbed off. However, Simonson urged him to finish the half. It was a coaching decision that has happened thousands of times prior; imploring a young athlete to dig deep, take the hard path, and find the inner strength to battle through adversity. In nearly all occasions, the result is a positive breakthrough. But on that rainy afternoon on Vancouver Island, things were different. At halftime, Henman experienced the first panic attack of his life. While his teammates sat in the locker room, he locked himself in the bathroom. While his teammates focused on the next 45 minutes, he struggled to try to throw up. “My heart was racing. I was covered in sweat, and yet felt cold. My brain was a cloud. I couldn’t sort out my thoughts, and it just wasn’t working. It felt like I was in a storm.” Simonson was a distracted, conflicted coach during that halftime. He himself had battled with anxiety his entire life, and recognized some of the symptoms of his player. While trying to address the other members of the team on the x’s and o’s, his mind was with Henman, who was alone in the bathroom with only his own thoughts. When the rest of the Highlanders headed out for the second half, Simonson stayed in the locker room. He knew something wasn’t right. Henman unlocked the door, and Simonson joined him, trying to calm a young man he had known for many years.