PAGE 2 THE PRESS FEBRUARY 29, 201 2
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The Brittany Dvorak Story
By K. Ellis
GRAND FORKS, N.D.-
Early in the morning, Brittany
Dvorak lifts one leg over the side of
the bed with her arms, then the
other. Steadying herself against a
wall, she moves slowly in a dark-
ened bedroom. Things are good on
this morning and she is standing
upright on the first try. Jumping
out of bed and rushing to get ready
for the day is out of the question.
For now anyway.
Twenty-eight years ago this
month Scott Dvorak was fighting
along with his Lankin-Adams
teammates for a Regional Basket-
ball title. Today he's still fighting,
but this time beside his daughter
Brittany who is on the long road to
recovery fi'om Leukemia. Don-
ning tile Green and Gray of the LA
Bruins back then, Scott now pro-
motes the color Orange, the color
for Leukemia.
Brittany's story was first pub-
lished in the Walsh County Press in
March of 2009 ("Life's a Ride -A
Young Girl's Story"), since that
time Brittany and her family have
seen the highs and lows of the bat-
tle going Oll in her life.
Brittany has gone though the
tough times and is now slowly try-
ing to make her way back to nor-
real. Or at least what could be
considered nonnal for 17-year-old
junior in high school.
"I am fortunate with where I am
today," said Brittany. "I try to stay
positive as much as I can."
Not an easy task considering
where she has been. On fathers
day, 2009, when it seemed like life
was getting back to normal, Brit-
tany woke tip with "useless legs".
"My legs and most of my mus-
cles were not responding and from
there my whole body just kept get-
ting worse," Brittany recounted.
Brittany and her family imme-
diately drove to the Emergency
Room in Grand Forks and after an
MRI, was air lifted to the Mayo
Clinic in Rochester, Mime. By the
time she arrived, she couldn't move
her ,arms or legs and within minutes
she, was not able to speak. At
Mayo, it was determined that tox-
ins entering her body from a re-
cent spinal tap procedure caused
the paralysis in Brittany's body.
While at Mayo, the doctors were
able to get her on a protocol and
slowly her body began to recover.
"I basically had to start my lit
functions over," said Brittany. "I
had to relearn how to do every-
thing just like a baby would."
With therapy, Brittany had the
daunting task of learning how to
walk again.
"'Being paralyzed and coming
out of it, having all the injections to
my legs and the thousands of pills
I've taken, it's really made me re-
alize how thankful I am right now
that there are things out there to
help me," said Brittany.
Besides the physical problems
Brittany has had to cope with, the
emotional issues are the ones that
perhaps are the most difficult to
overcome.
"There are hard times," Brittany
says, "especially when I'm missing
out on the things I would love to do
like fi'iends, sporting events and
other events at school. "But what
I really miss the most is playing
Basketball."
The Red River High School
Junior has other interests to keep
her spirits up as well.
"I love my puppies, going to the
lake, getting to the sporting events
I can, going to my siblings basket-
ball tournaments and my friends,"
said Brittany.
To get through the really hard
times, Brittany has relied upon the
support of her family and close
friends and those moments to her
have been priceless. Brittany
added that all the well wishers out
there have meant so much to her
over these years, many of whom
she have never even met; it's all
pretty amazing. "My friends help
me so much, picking me up for
school, helping me with my wheel
chair, I am so thankful for all of
that."
Another one of those people
helping the cause is country singer
Paulette Carlson, former lead
singer of Highway 101. Carlson
recently did a benefit concert at the
Chester Fritz and a part of that is
for "Team Brittany" which is trying
to raise money for a basketball
court at the new Choice Wellness
Center in Grand Forks. They are
also looking into building a hospi-
tality house in Grand Forks where
families who have children in the
hospital will have a place to stay
while they are here. For more in-
formation on this you can see the
Sunshine Foundation group's web-
site at www.sunshinememorial.org
"This whole ordea 1 has changed
us a lot." reiterated her Dad Scott.
"We probably overreact when one
of the kids gets sick, we're hoping
it's just a cold. And my brother Ja-
son's son Jordan, was diagnosed
with Leukemia just 8 months after
Brittany was. But cancer is not
necessarily hereditary, it doesn't
discriminate.
"'Brittany has been such an in-
spiration to us," said her Dad, "see-
ing her fight her way through this
on her own and us not being able to
help has shown us the true family is
all about. Now, whenever we get
the chance to do something fun
with the family we do it.'"
For now, Brittany's goal is to
keep pushing so that one day when
all of this is over she can make it
back to being "100% nomaal."
"I don't know exactly where she
is right now percentage wise but
she's got a ways to go", said her
Dad, "we just keep pushing every-
day to get her back to normal."
As for Brittany, her struggle
continues and she is looking ahead
to the future with optimism.
"I will finish high school and go
to college one day, then I will see
where things take me. For now, I'
just want my walking to be 100%
again."
Brittany's dad summed it up
pointing out just how important life
is.
"Brittany was all about sports,
playing basketball on her teams,
like a lot of kids growing up. That
was her passion. Now," he says,
"it's not basketball or volleyball
that we're concerned with, it's the
game of life we're all fighting to
will."
Child Passenger Safety Month reminder
WALSH COUNTY, N.D. -- In observance of
Child Passenger Safety Month in February, the Walsh
County Health District (WCHD) urges all parents and
caregivers to make sure they choose the fight car seat
to fit their child's size, age, physical development and
behavioral needs.
The number one killer of children in North Dakota
is motor vehicle crashes. Car seats, boosters and seat
belts are the "vaccines" for preventing deaths and
injuries to children in car crashes. For a vaccine to
work, it needs to be spaced properly and administered
correctly, just like car seats. It is important that
children ride in the right kind of restraint to fit their
body. Using the wrong restraint and utilizing it
incorrectly could lessen the effectiveness of a car seat,
booster or seat belt and puts a child at more risk.
According to the North Dakota Department of
Health, car seat checkup statistics for 2010 indicate
that 88 percent of the car seats checked were being
misused in some form. One of the categories of
misuse was that 15 percent of the restraints used were
inappropriate for the child. Of the cases where the
restraint wasn't appropriate for the child:
• 85 percent of the children were too small or too
young. Many were moved from a booster to a seat
bellt before they were tall enough and many were too
young to be in a booster (younger than 4 years of age).
• 46 percent of children were too large and were
exceeding the maximum height or weight of the seat
they were in.
To cut down on misuse, the WCHD suggests
always reading the instructions for the restraint being
sekcted to make sure the child falls within the
guidelines indicated by the manufacturer. Restraint
manufacturers are required to use the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration's testing
standards while crash testing their seats. Not
following the instructions can cause the restraint to
not perform as it should in a crash, putting the
passenger at more risk.
To offer children the best protection while traveling
in the car, even if you are only travelling a block away,
the Department of Health offers the following best
practices:
• Children younger than 13 should ride in the back
seat.
Have a really
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions
when using a car seat!
REAR-FACING - Children should ride rear-facing
until at least 2 years of age. Two types of car seats are
available for rear-facing:
Infant Seats - Most of these seats can be used until
22-35 pounds. Use them until the highest weight limit
or until the child's head is within one inch of the top
of the seat.
Convertible Seats - These seats can be used rear-
facing and forward-facing. Most can be used
rear-facing up to 30-40 pounds. Use them rear-facing
until the highest weight or height limit allowed by the
manufacturer.
FORWARD-FACING - When children are at least
2 years of age or have outgrown the highest rear-
facing limits of their car seat, they may ride
forward-facing in a car seat with a harness. Use the
seat until the child reaches the harness's highest
weight limit allowed by the manuthcturer. Car seats
with harnesses can be used up to 40-100 pounds.
BOOSTERS - When children have outgrown the
harness in their forward-facing car seat, they may be
moved to a booster. The child should be at least 40
pounds and at least 4 years of age. Keep the child in
the booster until about 4'9" tall or the seat belt fits
correctly over the child's body. Most boosters can be
used up to 80-120 pounds.
SEAT BELT - Children should use a seat belt when
it fits over the body correctly. For a seat belt to fit
properly, the lap belt must lie snugly across the upper
thighs and be snug across the shoulder and chest. It
should not lie on the stomach or across the neck.
Caregivers who need assistance with their car seats
should attend a car seat check or contact a certified
child passenger safety technician fbr help. To find a
certified technician near you, call the North Dakota
Department of Health at 701-328-4536 or 800-472-
2286, or visit www.ndhealth.gov/injury or the
NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.gov/.
For more information about child passenger safety,
contact Donna Holand, Walsh County Health District,
at 701-352-5139.
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The woman then !eft h# waterpot, went her way
into the city, and said to the men,
"Come, see a man who told me
all things that I ever did.
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¢, 2012 by Klll Fealores Syndcalo, Inc WofUl qghlS rewrv
- Walsh County Press--Church Director€--
PEMBINA HILLS LUTHERAN, MOUNTAIN ; TRINITY LUTHERAN, EDINBURG
Sun.: 9:15 Trinity (10:20 Sunday School), 10:30 Vikur Tue.: 2:30 Bible Study
at Borg, 9:30 Women's Bible Study at Trinity Wed.: 4:20 Confirmation, 7:00
Lenten Services at Trinity
ST JOHN'S NEPOMUCENE CATHOLIC CHURCH, PISEK
Sun: 10:30 a.m. morning Mass
ST JOSEPH'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, LANKIN
Sat: 5 p.m. evening Mass
STS. PETER & PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH, BECHYNE
Sun.: 8:30 a.m. morning Mass
ST. PATRICK'S CATHOLIC CHURCH, CRYSTAL
5undayMass: 8:30 a.m.. Tuesday: 5:30 p.m. • Thursday: 7 a.m.
ST. BRIGID OF IRELAND CATHOUC CHURCH, CAVALIER
Saturday Mass: 5 p.m. • Sunday Mass: 10:30 a.m. • Monday & Friday: 7 a.m.
• Wednesday:. 6:00 p.m.
OUR SAVlOUR'S LUTHERAN CHURCH, PARK RIVER
Sun.:9:00 a.m. Service Sunday/Adult Study/Coffee, 10 a.m.
Worship/Communion/Senior Choir
ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH
Sunday.: 9:30 a.m. Morning worship, 10:30 Sunday School
ST. MARY'S CHURCH
Saturday: 9:30 a.m. Good Sam. Center • 5 p.m. St. Mary's, Park River
Sunday: 8 a.m. St. Luke's, Veseleyville • 10 a.m. St. Mary's, Park River
FEDERATED CHURCH
Sunday: 9 a.m. Worship (Fordville) • 9:30 a.m. Sunday School
(Park River) • 10:45 a.m. Worship (Park River) • Wednesday: 3:30 p.m.
Confirmation
VICTORY FREE LUTHERAN CHURCH, PARK RIVER
Sunday: 11 a.m; Worship, Sunday School 9:45a.m. for all ages 3-adult •
Wed: 9 a.m. Men s Bible Study, WinGS 7:00 p.m.,Youth Bible Study 7:00p.m.
GRACE FREE LUTHERAN CHURCH, EDINBURG
Sunday: 9 a.m. Church Services / 10:15 a.m. Sunday School
Every Thursday: 9 a.m. Bible Study
BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, PARK RIVER
Sunday: 9:30 a.m. worship • 10:30 a.m. Fellowship •
Sunday School • Wednesday: 7:30 p.m. prayer service
11 a.m.
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