Cancer is the leading cause of death in Canada and one in four Canadians will die from it. The Eisner family knows all too well about how cancer can take a loved one. This past summer they lost their wife and mother, Robyn and her husband, Jason, still grapples with her loss and just how the whole scenario played out.
“Robyn was the kind of person that saw the good in everyone,” said Eisner. “I never heard her say a bad thing about anybody in the 29 years we were together. She focused on the positives, never the negatives. She loved her children, Rayna and Maddix, first and foremost as well as exotic vacations, family gatherings and spending quality time with friends playing games or just simply socializing.
“She loved the outdoors such as camping, water sports, bike rides for ice cream, her flower gardens, sipping wine on the neighbours' decks, or relaxing in our hot tub. One of her favourite activities was cross-country skiing with the Nordic Girls. She would always comment on how good it felt after getting some exercise and being out with the girls.
“Robyn had a magical smile and a genuine concern for people's feelings, which reflected throughout her daily life at work and at home,” said Eisner. “She was easy to talk to, never judged what was going on in a person’s life and was always there for anyone that needed free advice. I truly think that will be missed the most for she was a constant reliable friend to all.”
The discovery of Robyn’s cancer wasn’t as apparent as the normal warning signs. The symptoms she was experiencing at the time seemed to amount to feeling run down, but it wound up being so much more.
“To say it was an emotional rollercoaster would be an understatement, for it's so tough to describe,” said Eisner. “I’m the kind of guy that can fix almost anything and having something like this attack the one you have been with for almost 30 years, and not being able to physically do anything to help, literally broke my heart.
“We were on vacation for spring break in Orlando and she seemed to be sleeping in a lot, which was not normal for her. Normally, she was up at 6:30 a.m. getting us a coffee and having a leisurely walk around to see the layout of the resorts. We chalked it up to her being a bit stressed from work and her body was unwinding, so sleep was a good thing.
“When we got home from our vacation, the tiredness for her got worse by the week,” said Eisner. “Within a few weeks, she was having naps through her lunch breaks, coffee breaks and having a nap after work for a few hours and then going to bed for the night at 9 p.m. Night sweats got worse and her appetite began to decrease, so she called a doctor to make an appointment. After the doctor's visit, he felt it was likely pre-menopause related, as she was almost 48 and it seemed most likely as otherwise, she seemed normal.
“He scheduled a blood test for precautionary purposes but two weeks went by with no call to go so, upon follow-up, it was determined the request didn’t get sent. We ended up going to the emergency department and met with Dr. Koetting. She quickly gave her blood tests and an X-ray. Based on the blood test results, she said she wanted Robyn to spend the night and go for a CT scan the next morning in Dauphin via ambulance. At this point, we still were just expecting some sort of bad flu bug.
“The next day, when she got back to Swan River, the doctor called me in and told us that the CT showed that her liver was full of what looked like cancer tumours,” continued Eisner. “She explained it wasn’t a good scenario and we needed to do a colonoscopy to search for the primary tumour, as the liver is a catch-all-filter and there’s likely something in her colon."
Shortly after it was confirmed she did, in fact, have a large tumour in her colon and a few days later it was removed by a surgeon in Dauphin. The battle against cancer was now on for Robyn. Little did they know just how limited their options would be in fighting the cancer that had already spread.
“The tumour was removed successfully, but we still had a fully infested liver to deal with and hoped chemo would take care of that,” said Eisner. “We had to wait six weeks for her surgery to heal but, at the end of the term, she was too weak and was denied a chemo option. We were given two and a half months at that time.
“I wanted so bad to fix her that I was prepared to buy new body parts or send her for specialized treatments in Tijuana or Michigan, for new state of the art trials; anything and everything was on the table if there was a chance to help her beat this. When we were told she was too weak to receive chemo, I went into overdrive to try and find something with any type of success story behind it.
“We tried Essiac Pills, and then I reached out to some First Nations friends I have that could refer a traditional medicine man and had some remedies made up,” said Eisner. “We tried Phoenix Tears (CBD/THC) and water purification solutions that were supposed to attack the cancer food within the body. I tried everything and, in the end, it was either too far advanced or I was living on hope for a miracle.”
Jason made the most compassionate decision to enable Robyn to live the remainder of her days in the comforts of their home, surrounded by loved ones. He took remarkable care of Robyn during her final days and was crushed when the pain became too much for her to take.
“We both knew that time was not in our favour,” said Eisner. “So we chose to live the way she would be most happy. I was able to sell three of my companies, so I could look after her myself, instead of working during the day and having homecare. She wanted to be home so bad instead of the hospital and I wasn’t about to deny her that request. She was able to spend her last few weeks in her happy place, looking out at the river and her gardens, and having her friends and family beside her meant the world.
“This allowed us to have some pretty deep conversations and make a special video for the kids on how she wanted them to conduct themselves after she passed on. That was super hard, but a cherished keepsake that can’t be replaced.
“As time went on, we had to take her back to the hospital a few times for fluid replacement and CT scans in Dauphin to monitor progression,” said Eisner. “We would have to stay there a few days then she would say ‘let’s get outta here’ and we’d head home to try it again. We borrowed a special tilting bed from friends of ours to set up in a spare room to keep her as comfy as possible. I was able to sleep with her, which allowed me to monitor her throughout the night.
“She would need to go to the bathroom frequently and spiked high fevers. Since she couldn’t walk due to weakness, I would lift her onto a walker that had wheels and a place to sit or the wheeled commode. As for the spiking temperatures, I would administer Advil, soak cold clothes, turn on a fan and get her to eat a freezie, which seemed to bring it back down within an hour. Sleep was difficult as I was always wondering what was going to happen and when.
“As she got weaker, I would sit her on a chair in the shower and wash her hair, shave her legs and brush her teeth,” said Eisner. “I found pleasure in being the one to do this for her. She told me how much she appreciated it all and it warmed my heart. I couldn't imagine it any other way. I told her I had made a commitment ‘in sickness and in health’ and wasn’t giving up my duties to anyone.
“Then came the day when the pain was too much to handle and something stronger was going to have to be given. I somehow knew that when the ambulance came this time, it was going to be the last time she would be there and that hit me like a ton of bricks.
“The nursing staff and doctors were amazing,” said Eisner. “They were all very understanding and accommodating. She told me many times how she felt so cared for by them and I was there to witness it. I would sleep at the hospital to help monitor her at night and advocate for her when she was too weak or a bit confused to do it herself.
Robyn passed away on July 27. Looking back, Jason can’t emphasize enough to people the importance of early detection when it comes to cancer and how it can save lives.
“With Robyn’s particular type of cancer, things weren’t known until it was too late,” said Eisner. “Robyn’s symptoms were fatigue and heavy night sweats and a slight pain under her right rib cage. There was no blood in the stool, which is a typical sign of colon cancer. So in all reality, the only thing that triggered everything was the blood test. Her counts were off showing her body was fighting something. The question of the day is would it have shown up if she did the test six months earlier, which would have allowed a better chance to fight it?
“Her sister, Tara, passed away four years prior from breast cancer at a young age. Even though there seems to be more proactive screening for that type of cancer with mammograms, not much is offered for other types of cancer.
“I guess the big takeaway from our experience has been that there are recommended screening ages for certain things and as a society, we don’t go get things done that may be uncomfortable if we aren’t feeling sick, such as pap smears, breast exams, colonoscopy, and a full physical. We will never know if a simple routine blood test would’ve helped her predict something was going on inside her body even though she felt fine.
“I want to encourage everyone to talk to their doctor about what proactively can be done to minimize the risk of cancer,” said Eisner. “We were told that the day we found out she had cancer, it was likely progressed too far already and there was nothing that would've helped.”
The Eisner family had tremendous support from people in the Valley. Many fundraisers were established and people came to provide support in any way they could.
“I can’t thank our community enough,” said Eisner. “The support given to us really amazed us. Robyn said many times ‘we must have done something right around here to get this level of support’.
“Special thanks to our neighbour, Tracey LaForce, who set up a schedule for people to deliver hot meals to us at the house, so we didn’t have to cook three days a week for a few months. Sean and Brandy Eggie of Eggies Green House donated all her flowers and soil. Ricki-Lea Keefe started selling t-shirts on behalf of our hockey family with close to 500 sold. Carmela Brading, from Shivers, held a ‘Support Mrs. E’ ice cream day with proceeds being donated to local cancer care and $5,600 was raised.
“I would also like to thank Dr. Koetting for the guidance and support through everything,” said Eisner. “Dr. Stan Riddell for the immunology guidance. Chris Staniland got the Swan Valley Regional Secondary School gym ready for the funeral during a huge renovation. Clint Weir from the golf course donated the proceeds from a Ladies' night to our kids’ education fund, which was $1,800 raised.
"Thank you to Marla Chernyk for the facial/spa treatment, Aspire Dental’s Heather King and Krista Smolinski for the teeth cleanings, and Kayla Hofford from Empire Esthetics for the manicure and pedicure. All of these incredible ladies came to our house to do these services. Jeff Schwarz from The Liquidator, died his hair blue for a Muay Thai event and to everyone who sported their blue t-shirts in support of her.
“Thank you to everyone that dropped off food and snacks, came for visits, donated to the children's education fund, cut our grass, watered/planted flowers, funeral assistance and prayed. We will never forget you all. A special shout out to my sisters, my parents, close friends and Robyn’s parents; we couldn’t have done this without your support.”
Eisner is hoping to play a bigger role in cancer screening advocacy and awareness.
“We wear our ‘Don’t Puck With Robyn’ t-shirts often to maintain awareness, hoping someone asks a question about what it means,” said Eisner. “I've shared her story often. I’d like to sit down with people who have also been affected by cancer and see if they want to brainstorm some ideas for creating awareness. Unfortunately, it seems to be a common thread amongst people and cancer seems to be affecting almost everyone in some way. Since it is still fairly fresh, I haven’t spent a lot of time putting that plan into action yet.
“I do explain to people who ask, that they should do research on their own, as to what all the options are available for treatment. We seem to be pushed towards chemotherapy, when there are alternative options that do work, under certain circumstances depending on the stage. In this journey, I found things offered in the U.S. that weren’t available in Canada, but had high success rates. I learnt a lot about immunotherapy - when it works, when it won’t and how changing your diet is a key ingredient to starving what cancer feeds on. I’d love to see more public education on how diet affects disease among people and will try to push the buttons to make that a reality.
“As I mentioned before, breast cancer seems to be the only one really out in front for pre-screening,” said Eisner. “I know there are some early warning tests available for men for prostate cancer, but you don’t hear the same amount of information about it, such as mobile screening units like they have for breast cancer. It could be because breast cancer is more prevalent? I’d like to see statistics posted for what types of cancer are most common in Manitoba and broken down further to what area per capita is most affected. That information should be published, so people can see clear as day if they should be more concerned.
“But, as far as colon cancer and liver cancer, I don’t know of anything being done proactively. I had a childhood friend that had the exact same cancer that Robyn did a few years ago. They caught it earlier as he had some symptoms such as blood in the stool. The doctors were able to resect a large portion of his liver as it regenerates itself, and remove the tumour in the colon. To this day, he is doing fine.
“With the amount of cancer happening around us and living in such a rural setting, we all need to advocate our politicians that more needs to be done in terms of availability to our health care system and prices for healthy products at the grocery store need to be brought into line,” said Eisner. “Water should not cost more than a soda pop.”
Robyn’s life will always be remembered and cherished. Her courageous battle with cancer will be a constant reminder for people to get screened for cancer and hopefully spark more advocacy and options for those going through a similar battle as Robyn did.

Residential areas across the Swan Valley were crawling with costumed children as they hunted for the houses with the best treats on Halloween (Oct. 31).

It was one of those events that Covid cancelled - over and over again. But in the end, it was well worth the wait. On October 22nd, the George P. Buleziuk Centre was filled with laughter, song and dance - and even a wee bit of fire - as well over 400 people who enjoyed a wonderful evening out with friends.

The Caribbean Cultural event has been a dream of Patricia Kopetski and her friend Cheryl Lenderbeck for quite a few years, when Pat had the idea to bring the joy of her home land to Russell as a fundraiser for a number of local charities.

Originally, the plan to have Caribbean food and dance, came up in about 2019. But then, the social part of life was essentially stopped by the pandemic. From there, over the next couple of years, everytime it appeared that the Covid restrictions may be lifting, Kopetski was on the phone to one provincial department or another, looking to see what the social distancing rules might entail and when she might be able to book the entertainment from Toronto and finally hold the event she’d been dreaming of bringing to town.

While there were some tense times, wondering if it would all work out, when the date finally arrived, the hall was all but full and aside from a few glitches with the sound the system - and a fire alarm set off by the fire eating limbo dancer - the evening was still a fantastic success.

Check this week's Russell Banner for more!

The Rural Manitoba Football League season came to a disappointing end for the Dauphin Clippers, Saturday, with a 26-14 loss to the Interlake Thunder in the league semifinal.

Matthew Zurba had one of Dauphin’s touchdowns, as did Joseph Lopez on a 60-yard interception return. Louis Prevot was good on both converts.

Lopez finished with 120 yards on 10 carries, while Oliver Dandeneau had 49 yards on nine carries.

Defensively, Lopez had seven tackles, one interception and a forced fumble, while Will Miner and Sully Fox each recorded a sack.

Clippers coach Jason Zurba said Interlake played well defensively, shutting down the Clippers offence.

“We just couldn’t move the ball on offence. They were solid on defence. They had big bodies and plugged the holes. They were the better team today,” he said.

Defensively, the Clippers had trouble containing some of the Interlake’s running backs, missing a lot of tackles.

“The boys were trying too hard to make the perfect play,” Zurba said. “That was basics on how to tackle. That was a big contributing factor on a couple of their touchdowns.”

Interlake also took advantage of some key penalties on high tackles, which contributed to their victory. But Zurba pointed out two good teams were playing each other and the better team won.

“I’m not disappointed in the season we had. We played well all year. We just couldn’t move the ball on offence today,” he said.

Although the Clippers will lose a number of players to graduation, they will also have a solid nucleus of returning players back next season. Looking back on the season, Zurba was most pleased with how the team played as a family.

“Everyone played together. You can see right now, the emotion everybody has. They were playing as a family, as one unit,” he said.

Interlake will now face the Moosomin Generals in the league final after the Generals beat the Swan Valley Tigers, 33-26.

The consolation final will pit the Neepawa Tigers against the Southwest Sabres after Neepawa defeated the ParkWest Outlaws, 51-28, and the Sabres beat the Virden Golden Bears, 34-26.

Ernie Sirski is the new Reeve for the Rural Municipality of Dauphin.

Sirski beat Tom Gibbs in last Wednesday’s election, with 458 votes, compared to 383 for Gibbs. In terms of percentages, Sirski won with 54.46 per cent to 45.54 for Gibbs.

Sirski admitted he is both excited and apprehensive about his election win.

“As most people know, I’ve never been involved in municipal politics, but I’ve been involved in a lot of organizations over my somewhat long tenure in farm politics,” he said. “So I’m excited. I’m looking forward to dealing with our residents.”

Sirski is also looking forward to working with the new council.

“I’m excited to dealing with our new council. We have a great council going forward. We’ve got youth. We’ve got experience. We’ve got incumbents. And they’ve got a leader who’s probably older than most of them put together,” he said. “I’m looking forward to being part of this rural municipality and, hopefully, contributing something in a positive manner.”

It does not matter if you win by one vote or 100, Sirski said, winning an election makes you feel good about yourself. And he was expecting a close race with Gibbs.

“I’ve known Tom a long time. I’ve known Tom for probably 30 years. I have a great deal of respect for him. He’s put his time in on the rural council. So I wasn’t the least bit surprised that it was this close,” he said.

Running in this year’s election was a good learning experience, Sirski said, adding he is looking forward to dealing with surrounding municipalities and the City of Dauphin, as well.

“So that we have mutual benefit for all our citizens,” he said.

Sirski expects he and the new council will be sworn in within the next couple of weeks.

Elected to council were Tammy Koshowski (596 votes), Todd Boguski (546), Midge Sametz (540), Ron Ryz (516), Ken Shewchuk (431) and Ken Plustwa (426). Also running, but not elected were Jack Bremner (413), David Johnson, (349), Darrell Inkster (134) and Wilf Kachurowski (130).

After a hard fought and heavily contested campaign the City of Dauphin has a new council in place to guide it over the next four years following polling in Manitoba’s General Municipal Election, Oct. 26.

Headed by David Bosiak as mayor, the new council features incumbents Christian Laughland, Kathy Bellemare and Devin Shtykalo, who will be joined by newcomers Steve Sobering, Randy Daley and Ted Rea.

Bosiak earned the mayor’s chair by claiming 74.14 per cent of the popular vote, a total of 1,995 votes to defeat former councillor Kerri Riehl, who earned 696 votes.

Laughland topped a field of 17 candidates vying for six council positions with 1,418 votes, followed by Sobering with 1,363 votes, Bellemare with 1,309 votes, Daley with 1,297 votes, Rea with 1,187 votes and Shtykalo with 1,176 votes.

Unsuccessful in their bids were Joe Houston, who earned a total of 997 votes, Jason Alf with 902, Patti A. Eilers with 792, Rodney P. Juba with 781, Tamara Michele with 580, Bev Sarkonak with 561, Michael Winter with 529, Ken Tarrant with 468, Gerry Wieler with 388, Sharon Riehl with 287 and Carter Taylor-Luke with 130.

The results, Bosiak, said, fit perfectly into his philosophy about bringing good people together and getting out of their way to let them do their thing.

“When you look at who was elected and their strengths and backgrounds and interests, it so well represents what I think we need to do as a community going forward,” he said. “There were others who didn’t get elected who I thought could have done a great job, but the six who did are exceptionally talented and motivated and positive thinkers. And it bodes well for us going forward.”

Eager to get started, Bosiak has already met with senior administration at city hall and has been in contact with elected officials in other area municipalities.

“I talked to a few other elected people from a few other municipalities who congratulated me, and I them. And we talked about working together as a Parkland region on a couple of things, which again just bodes well, I think,” Bosiak said, adding he is sensing an air of optimism after two years of pandemic restrictions. “I think everybody just paused during COVID, especially us with the two former mayors and the untimeliness of their passings and how that impacted us as a community. But I think that everybody is ready to move on.”

We do have to keep in mind that COVID is still with us and could once again threaten public health, we just have to be ready to deal with it, Bosiak said.

“We can’t lose sight that we are still dealing with something big, but that we are moving on and we are learning how to live in our new reality,” he said. “And I think that is a key piece of this. The pause that we had during the beginning of the pandemic, I think, is done, but us now going forward it is something we have to consider. And again, I think that the mandate we have got reflects what the community thinks, let’s think about the community and what is important to us.”

Forty-four per cent of eligible voters came out to cast a ballot, which Bosiak believes signals an optimism in the community and the desire to see positive things happening.

“Some of my shtick about forward together and us together as a team manifested. It was destiny, karma, whatever you want to call it, it’s the truth,” he said. “The resounding turnout was nice to see. The notion that people paid attention. A lot of people were not vocal about it, but they voted with their feet. They showed up and I am humbled by the support and ready to work.”

Bosiak is aware that expectations are high, his included, and he is going to remain cognizant of that and try to temper that enthusiasm.

“And ensure we are focused and, like we have done in the past, we develop priorities and pick them off one at a time,” he said. “We work on more than one at once, but we can’t do it all at once, We will understand that process and move forward.”

His goal is to eliminate that attitude that “this is Dauphin, it will never happen here, it can’t happen here.”

“Oh, yes, it can. So in the realistic sense, and it is not like we are going to shoot for the moon, but we are going to chip away and with a positive outlook on things,” Bosiak said.

There is lots of issues for the city to deal with, Bosiak added, and not all of them are favourable and positive.

“But I think the approach we will take in dealing with them is all positive. What good can come out of this? What can we do with this challenge to turn it into an opportunity or a benefit for us? So I think if there is nothing else that I am so enthusiastic about, is the approach we will take to deal with the issues facing us,” he said. “So I am just really excited, enthusiastic and motivated. I have already talked to all of the council members who got elected and we are all happy to be working together.”

Dedication to her patients, colleagues and community has earned a local physician a prestigious award from the Women’s Executive Network (WXN).

Dr. Bittoo Malik, a medical doctor specializing in diagnostic radiology at Dauphin Regional Health Center, was recently named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, an annual awards program which recognizes women across Canada who create meaningful change in the way they lead within their organizations and communities.

“I am honoured to be selected for this prestigious award and am humbled to join a legacy of Canadian women recognized for their outstanding contributions and achievements,” Malik said, reflecting on her selection.

Led by Dr Arturo Tamayo, a stroke neurologist at Brandon Regional Health Centre, and supported by physicians throughout the region, Dr. Malik’s nomination centred on her dedication to advancing medical imaging in Prairie Mountain Health, in particular, acute stroke imaging and assessment.

Dr. Malik is described by her colleagues as a powerful presence and determined force, demonstrating innovative leadership and transformative approach. A forward thinker, she has helped shape the evolution of trauma and stroke imaging and assessment. She is recognized for her inclusive perspective and unwavering commitment to inter-professional mentorship and collaboration in patient care.

“Achieving best possible patient outcome in stroke presentation requires a rapid co-ordinated effort by a team of health care providers, from first responders to triage and clinical assessment in the emergency department via telestroke, to emergent CT scanning, and review and diagnosis by the radiologist, thereby guiding treatment of lifesaving medication or transfer to Winnipeg for further interventional treatment,” Dr. Malik said, adding when she began working in the region in 2008, there was no real stroke imaging program.

“Because we’re in a rural area, it’s difficult for our patients to get very fast treatment. So I’ve, I guess, advanced that to the point where our patients are getting successful treatment because we’re imaging them within minutes of their arrival in the hospital. I’m looking at their imaging and providing a diagnosis so that they can have the treatment that they require, be it a clot busting treatment here in our ER or they are life flighted out to Winnipeg to have clot retrieval by one of our interventionalists in the city. And all of these things are incredibly time sensitive, so that’s one of the things we’ve accomplished quite well. Often it takes a team of people right from our triaging system to our EMS people bringing our patients in to our ER docs, our radiologists, our neurologists, all of us are working together for this.”

The Top 100 Most Powerful Women awards span the private, public and not-for-profit sectors, with the winners selected by WXN’s Diversity Council of Canada. The awards are presented in 12 categories. Dr. Malik received her award in the “Professionals” category.

Raised in Gilbert Plains, Dr. Malik obtained a Bachelor of Science degree and Doctor of Medicine at the University of Manitoba. She then completed a residency in Family Medicine at the University of Toronto and a residency in Diagnostic Radiology at the University of Ottawa.

Dr. Malik serves as a board member for Doctors Manitoba and when not working at the hospital, she can be found nurturing a garden, or practicing a new-found interest of yoga flow and tai chi qigong. An outdoor enthusiast, kayaking and skiing are among her favourites. She enjoys classical and jazz music, and architecture and design.

She is one of two diagnostic radiologists at Dauphin Regional Health Centre, the other being her brother, Dr. Neesh Malik, who has a special interest in oncology imaging, and vascular and interventional radiology.

WXN will celebrate each 2022 winner in person at its 20th annual Top 100 Awards Gala, hosted at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, Nov. 17.

Both the City and RM of Dauphin have new leadership.

Below are the results. Be sure to check next week's Dauphin Herald for plenty more!

 

 

OTHER PARKLAND MUNICIPALITIES 

The Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA) held their 79th Annual General Meeting and Convention called Lighting Up the North at the Kikiwak Inn last Monday. This year’s appointed HBRA Board of Directors consists of Jim Berscheid as the President, Wayne Bacon as 1st Vice President and Len Gluska as the 2nd Vice President. The past president was Elden Boon.
The goal of HBRA is to promote education and, awareness of the need for continued and increased use of the Hudson Bay Railway and the Port of Churchill. As well, to identify and articulate the economic and strategic reasons why the Hudson Bay Route and the Port of Churchill are of great value to Canada in general, and Western Canada’s prairie regions in particular.