March, 2002 -- Catherine Paleczny (Peter & Camilla's eldest daughter on the Melchior family tree) has just returned from a conference in Kansas and will soon commence studies at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbour with renowned ceramic artist Sadashi Inzuka. "I am thrilled with this opportunity," she says.

"I am interested in exploring a range of surfaces," she explains. "I have the desire to touch and feel everything that emulates texture."

Her goal is to work with and study fine art within universities. She has a show coming up in Montana, at the university.

Update, September 2002 -- Catherine has graduated from the University of Calgary with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Sculpture. She is on her way to Copenhagen for a show/conference, and is returning to a teaching position.

Catherine's calling card: The sculpture on the left is called Pontastichous and is a series of 100 red clay pieces, 6 x 4 x 3 cm. The object on the right, untitled, is one of a series of 120 units averaging 13 x 8 x 8 cm in size. To see more, visit www24.brinkster.com/catpaleczny or contact her at catpaleczny@yahoo.com.

Local boy recovering from bout with flesh-eating disease

By Blake McKim, Journal Staff Writer

PRESCOTT - Three months after nearly succumbing to flesh-eating disease, Jacob Whitney knows he's lucky to be alive.

And though he knows the running, jumping, and biking which used to typify his summers has come to an end, he has a positive outlook for the future - which includes three weekly sessions of physiotherapy at St. Vincent de Paul Hospital in Brockville and monthly visits to the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) in Ottawa to meet with specialists and track his progress.

Jacob's ordeal started in early June when a jump off his parent's backyard shed caused his right ankle to swell. At the time, he was also suffering from a sore throat and cold. However, when a mysterious red rash started advancing up his leg, his mother (former Journal reporter Monica Whitney) knew something was very wrong.

"Jacob had visited the doctor four times and they couldn't find anything wrong," she said. However, by June 6, her son was in such distress that he couldn't hold his leg straight and had to keep it elevated. "I was in so much pain I couldn't sleep. It was really bad." said Jacob

Whitney's husband Randall rushed Jacob to the emergency room at Brockville General Hospital, where doctors recognized his symptoms as being consistent with necrotizing fascitis, commonly known as flesh-eating disease.

If not for the quick-acting doctors at Brockville General Hospital, Whitney says, her son would have likely died. "The (CHEO) doctors said if the BGH doctors didn't give him the right antibiotics, it would have been 'game over' for Jacob," she said. Her son was rushed to CHEO by ambulance.

Once at CHEO, a quick-acting team of specialists worked to save Jacob's life. After an MRI, doctors delivered the devastating news to Whitney. "Finally, the doctors came out and said (my son had) an aggressive form of flesh-eating disease," she said. "(They said) he needs surgery immediately to save his life."

The surgery which followed took three-and-a-half hours; doctors removed dead muscle and tissue. Immediately following the operation, he was placed on life support in an isolation unit in the ICU of CHEO.

Jacob's condition was tenuous following the surgery, with doctors telling Whitney and her husband they hoped to save their son's leg. "The first 48 hours (following the first surgery) were the biggest risk," said Whitney.

Jacob remembers little about the days following his first surgery. One of his few memories involved attempting to speak but being unable to because of the large breathing tube in his throat. However, two nights after the initial surgery a quick-thinking nurse thought to give Jacob pen and paper during one of his brief lucid moments (he was kept under heavy sedation during most of his time in the ICU). "When I saw the note saying 'Where my mom,' I felt everything would be okay. It gave me hope," Mrs. Whitney said.

In the days following the first surgery, a total of six additional surgeries were undertaken. Three of these surgeries were to ensure all dead tissue was removed from Jacob's leg, and three more were to attempt to close a gaping wound on Jacob's calf - which doctors initially thought would require a skin graft to close properly.

After five days in an isolation room in the ICU, Jacob was allowed to go into a regular room. "I thought the worst might be over," Whitney said

After two-and-a-half weeks, Jacob started physiotherapy at CHEO. "He had two IVs and a medication pump he had to drag with him," said Whitney.

During this time doctors were able to fully evaluate Jacob's condition "Once the doctors said (his injuries) would be a lifetime issue for him, it threw me again," said Whitney. Doctors explained the lost muscle in Jacob's ankle meant he can move his foot down but not up. "Every step he takes, he will drag his foot," she said. However, doctors have said there is a possibility of tendons taking over the job of the lost muscles, which would allow Jacob to walk with greater ease.

The loss of mobility definitely came as a blow to Jacob. "I am sometimes sad that I can't do the stuff I used to do," he said. "But I know that I am really lucky too."

Whitney explained "He was really into running, jumping and bicycling. But now he can't put any pressure on his foot." In spite of his injuries, she added, Jacob remained active by swimming in the Prescott pool.

"Swimming is good because it takes pressure off his foot," she said.

Jacob went home in mid-July. And though his homecoming resulted in changes in the household (a ramp was built at the back door and the living room became Jacob's bedroom), Whitney says her family has become closer because of the experience.

"I think the experience has made all the kids (Alexander, 14, Cortland, 10, and Stuart, 8) appreciate each other a lot more. (The experience) has knit us closer together."

Whitney is also quick to thank the neighbours, individuals, and service clubs who collectively made her harrowing experience more bearable. The family was assisted with everything - from home-cooked meals to a new wheelchair ramp - by members of the Prescott community.

Three months after her son's ordeal began, Whitney says doctors still don't know why her son fell victim to flesh-eating disease. "They (doctors) can only speculate why it happened," she said. "Jacob had sores on his leg; he's always into things and falling down. They think if he had a sprained ankle, the bacteria may have entered one of the sores and went to the weakened area."

Health Canada indicates flesh-eating disease can be caused by a number of different bacteria, most commonly group A streptococcus (GAS). This is a very common bacteria of the same type which causes strep throat. While many people carry this bacteria in their throat or on their skin without getting sick, if infection occurs it can destroy tissue and cause death within 12 to 24 hours. It is estimated there are between 90 and 200 cases of flesh-eating disease per year in Canada, and about 20 to 30 per cent of these are fatal. Symptoms of flesh-eating disease include a high fever and a red, severely painful swelling that feels hot and spreads rapidly.

Whitney gives advice for parents who think one of their children may have the disease: "You have to follow your gut feelings - you have to keep pressing until you get the answer you need," she says.