This week on Health Matters, Tarah Schwartz introduces Florence K, the award-winning singer and host of MUHC’s Got Talent! Alex Becker explains why the Selwyn House rock band wanted to support cancer research by performing at the Corona Theatre on November 16. Dr. Donald Vinh helps you navigate colds, flus and COVID as the temperature dips. And, Darlene Hindley shares the heartfelt reason behind her family’s fundraising efforts in support of patients with genetic illnesses.
Cette semaine à Questions de santé, Tarah Schwartz présente Florence K, chanteuse reconnue et animatrice de la soirée Le CUSM a du talent! Alex Becker explique pourquoi le Selwyn House Rock Band souhaitait appuyer la recherche sur le cancer en jouant au Théâtre Corona le 16 novembre. Le Dr Donald Vinh vous aide à faire face au rhume, à la grippe et à la COVID alors que les températures chutent. Et Darlene Hindley partage les raisons qui motivent sa famille à recueillir des fonds pour appuyer les patients atteints de maladies génétiques.
Follow us on social media | Suivez-nous sur les médias sociaux
Facebook | Linkedin | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube
This week on Health Matters, Tarah Schwartz introduces Florence K, the award-winning singer and host of MUHC’s Got Talent! Alex Becker explains why the Selwyn House rock band wanted to support cancer research by performing at the Corona Theatre on November 16. Dr. Donald Vinh helps you navigate colds, flus and COVID as the temperature dips. And, Darlene Hindley shares the heartfelt reason behind her family’s fundraising efforts in support of patients with genetic illnesses.
Cette semaine à Questions de santé, Tarah Schwartz présente Florence K, chanteuse reconnue et animatrice de la soirée Le CUSM a du talent! Alex Becker explique pourquoi le Selwyn House Rock Band souhaitait appuyer la recherche sur le cancer en jouant au Théâtre Corona le 16 novembre. Le Dr Donald Vinh vous aide à faire face au rhume, à la grippe et à la COVID alors que les températures chutent. Et Darlene Hindley partage les raisons qui motivent sa famille à recueillir des fonds pour appuyer les patients atteints de maladies génétiques.
Follow us on social media | Suivez-nous sur les médias sociaux
Facebook | Linkedin | Instagram | Twitter | Youtube
Hello there. Thank you for joining us. I'm Tarah Schwartz and this is Health Matters on CJAD 800. On today's show, this is the time of year where everyone seems to be getting sick, cold, flu and COVID season. Later in the show, we speak with infectious disease specialist Dr. Donald Vinh. He'll help you navigate this time of year and share what you need to know about the Pfizer and Moderna bivalent vaccines that are now available. But first, MUHC's Got Talent is quickly approaching and we are so excited about it. On November 16, we will take over the Corona theatre for an incredible evening of music, singing and fun. There are 11 teams who are performing and fundraising for causes close to their hearts, from cancer to cardiology to rare genetic diseases. Our goal is to support research and patient care, all while showcasing the talents of our health care professionals. We are so fortunate to be able to share that we have an extremely talented host for MUHC's Got Talent. Florence K is an accomplished singer and musician and is joining us to emcee the event, which is really exciting. And she joins us now. Hello, Florence.
Florence K:Hi, how are you?
Tarah Schwartz:I am well. So happy to speak to you today. And so happy that you're joining us for this event.
Florence K:Well, I'm the excited one. I'm really, really thrilled about joining the event and hosting it. I cannot wait to see the numbers and the performers.
Tarah Schwartz:I agree. Now let's get people to know a little bit more about you. So tell us a little bit about yourself. When did you find your love of music?
Florence K:I guess I was about three-years-old or four-years-old. I grew up in a musical family. My parents were professional musicians, opera singer and guitarist. It was kind of really part of the environment. It's almost like I had no choice but to love it because that's what my house is all about. But the good news is that music is not a difficult thing to love. So I grew up with that taking piano lessons, playing piano, starting to sing as a teenager. And then I became a pianist in a Polish restaurant in the Old Montreal Stash cafe for four years while I was studying. And then I went on to do a professional career. I recorded about 10 albums. I did as many tours. And then I fell in love with psychology. And so I went into psychology program and now I'm doing my PhD in clinical and research psychology with a clinical approach in neuro-psychology. So, why I'm all about health too. That's why I am even more excited because music and health care are a fantastic marriage.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, you sound like the absolute perfect person. Now I know you sing in multiple languages. Is that difficult to switch between languages? Or does each one carry its own beauty as far as music is concerned?
Florence K:I like to think of the language as an instrument in itself because it changes the sonority of a song. It changes the way the voice sounds as well, because of the intonation because of how the words are pronounced. And to me, it's an added piece to the arrangement in itself. I personally don't find it difficult to switch from one language to another because I see it as music. Because I see it as a part of music. I also love learning languages. Well, I don't have time to do it right now. Maybe that's my retirement; probably within a few decades,
Tarah Schwartz:Which is a long while away!
Florence K:Hopefully. But when I was a teen, I actually wanted to become a United Nation translator and I was fascinated by those people who just simultaneously translate these very important discussions from one language to another. And so I studied German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and some I don't remember much about. But Spanish and Italian stuck with me and Portuguese a little bit as well because of my love for bossa nova. So yeah, I find that we are likely to live in a bilingual city and it's a great opportunity to be able to work in both languages. I don't see it as a problem. I think it's fun also to make music in both languages.
Tarah Schwartz:Definitely. Our guest is Quebec musician and singer Florence K, and we're talking about her hosting the MUHC 's Got Talent on November 16. You can come in person, you can watch it virtually, just head to MUHC Foundation dot com for details. So Florence, you are the host of the first MUHC's Got Talent, were you surprised to hear how many health care professionals have musical talents that they are willing to get up on stage and showcase?
Florence K:It kind of confirmed the myth, a legend that I always heard in my life that doctors can be particularly good musicians and vice versa, that these two disciplines really complement each other. It's something in the brain. It's something about creativity. I think that becoming a doctor; you have to be creative, you have to have a lot of divergent ideas. When you see a problem, you have to have a multiple different possibilities of approaches. You can't just think one problem equals one solution. So creativity is involved. And you have to be spontaneous about how you're going to solve the time. Because obviously, if you don't solve the problem very quickly; it can cause really bad consequences. So I have a bunch of friends who work in health and music as well. I have a friend who's in Toronto. An ER doctor who's also at the head of St. Michael's-Tim Rutledge. He is an amazing jazz saxophonist. And I mean, professional, amazing. I'm fascinated by that phenomenon.
Tarah Schwartz:Nice. And what does it mean to you to know that these doctors are fundraising for their departments for causes that are close to their hearts?
Florence K:It's community. It's social cohesion. It's community. It's showing that you care about the place you work at, which is really good. When you have a job somewhere, it's always a plus, if you like where you work. And if you feel involved and committed to making it even better place for people who benefit from it. It also is good for the cohesion between the workers. It's good to know your colleagues in other settings than just the work environment. And this is the perfect setting to show your vulnerabilities as well. And this is how you get to know someone fully and it creates a lot of laughs and fun laughs not mean laughs. A lot of inside stories and then they can go on and carry on the stories forever. And then 20 years they'll be I don't know doing a C section and be like, hey, remember when I sang this?
Tarah Schwartz:Lovely. Now you will be singing which is very, very exciting. You'll be singing two songs while our three judges deliberate and decide on their top-three favorite performers. Have you decided what you'll be singing yet? Are you giving us a little a little tease of what we can expect?
Florence K:Actually, I don't know what I will sing because I will figure out what's going to happen that evening and then I'll just pick the songs I'm going to sing afterwards. I like to do that. I like to change my programs before. I like to be spontaneous about it. So I feel the audience, I'll feel the other artists and then though I'll pick my songs.
Tarah Schwartz:I love that. Now your grandmother, Florence, is currently being cared for at the Montreal General Hospital, what message do you have for the health care professionals who are caring for her? Because I know it means a lot to you.
Florence K:Yeah, so she's been there for eight weeks already. And we didn't think she was going to survive what she was going through. She's 92 years old. We were ready to say goodbye but the amazing care that was provided. We thought she would never walk again and the physiotherapist that took care of her managed to help her walk again and smile and laugh. The nurses, the PABs, doctors, we're talking about a miracle here. We thought we were saying goodbye and here she is FaceTiming me and telling me about her day.
Tarah Schwartz:So she could watch virtually. She could watch you host MUHC's Got Talent virtually. We'll make sure that she has the link so she can cheer on her granddaughter.
Florence K:And she is so happy. She says she loves her view of the city and the river.
Tarah Schwartz:That's amazing. Quebec singer and musician Florence K, thank you so much for joining us on Health Matters. We are absolutely thrilled that you're hosting MUHC's Got Talent and we can't wait for the big night.
Florence K:The pleasure is all mine and I can't wait for the big night.
Tarah Schwartz:So once again if you'd like to come you can see and hear Florence K sing. You can see 11 healthcare professionals and their bands singing. It is on November 16 at the Corona theater, just head to MUHC Foundation dot com -all the details are there. Next up on Health Matters, a group of high school students are giving back to support cancer research. I'm Tarah Schwartz. Welcome back to Health Matters on CJAD 800. We just introduced you to the host of MUHC's Got Talent from Oscar, now we showcase team cancer. The Selwyn House Rock Band is a group of students who meet on their lunch break with the support of music teacher, Alex Becker. The four students are all in grade nine and wanted to play in honor of cancer research as it is an important cause for them. Their music teacher joins us now. Thanks so much for being here. Alex.
Alex Becker:Hi. Nice to meet you online, so to speak. On the phone rather. It's a pleasure to be here.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah. We're happy to have you. So tell us, Alex a little bit about this. Selwyn House Rock Band?
Alex Becker:It's four boys right now that started a rock band this year. These are guys who were in the music program in various grades; at different years, different times. But as friends, they got together-they're in grade nine- to start a rock band, because while they're like playing their own music. Not necessarily the jazz band stuff that we run in the program, or otherwise. They started this year, and they've been playing together some of their favorite rock songs. And that's what they do. And we found out about this opportunity and so it's really right up their alley. We're very excited.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, we're really excited to so this band seven House Rock Band is going to be playing for cancer research... Team Cancer. We couldn't necessarily find a health care professional from cancer who wanted to get up on stage. So what did we do? We found Selwyn House Rock Band who's going to be playing for cancer research. Did it take some convincing to get them to play for this event? It sounds like they were like on board right away.
Alex Becker:Yeah, right away. As soon as we had the opportunity, and they found out about it. Of course, they said yes. Ironically, it seems like everybody involved in this project has a few reasons why it really makes sense to join. So besides the fact that they're musicians, and they like rock music and playing whatever songs they like to play. They all have a connection with health reasons for cancer research in particular. So, that's sort of interesting as well.
Tarah Schwartz:Can you share some of those personal reasons of why they wanted to?
Alex Becker:If I start with myself, for example, I lost my father to cancer 21 year ago. That's something that's affected me always been part of my understanding of the downside of cancers. But on the bright side, my mother is a survivor-25 years. On that level, there's always encouraging signs, there's always great things going on. There's other family members I have as well. But I think we talked about the boys in the group; they all have different reasons, relatives that are currently at the MUHC undergoing cancer treatment. We have one of our students who has a pretty long medical history of living or being in-and-out of the MUHC over the first few years of his life. So there's a lot of really personal reasons. In some cases, involving in hospital, you know, being a patient or supporting loved ones. Some of them have family members who work in the hospital as well. One of our students has an uncle, I believe. There's a lot of great reasons to be part of this project. So I think that's really the message that resonates from our end of things. That's why they're so interested.
Tarah Schwartz:And that's absolutely beautiful. I love it. We're speaking with Selwyn House music teacher, Alex Becker. We're talking about the Selwyn House Rock Band who are playing in honor of cancer research at MUHC's Got Talent, which as we mentioned, is taking place at the Corona Theatre on November 16. You can come in person; you can watch the event virtually. So Alex, what is it like for you to see these teenagers come together and fundraise like this as their teacher, as an adult, who they certainly look up to? What's it like for you?
Alex Becker:Honestly, it's inspiring. As much as we try and teach and encourage and all that stuff, it really is more effective when the desire and the hard work and the ambition comes from their end. Without having to tell them where to go, what to do, why to do it. When there's a real situation that connects with people who want to share what they already like doing; it's basically a home run, right? They're doing what they like to do for a good cause that supports things that they feel strongly about. And of course, within a school community to raise awareness and to get other students to understand and to take part and to be able to support. We have some events coming up next week. They're going to be performing a little concert at lunch, and they're going to get a chance to play some of their music for the students but more importantly, raise awareness of what's going on a week before the actual event. That way, we're going to try and get more donations, get more votes, so to speak for our competition part, and of course, maybe sell some tickets for the actual event. Just to get other teachers, staff, parents, friends, to know about this and to log on and hopefully donate to the cancer cause.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, that's it. So if you do want to donate to cancer research, if you want to buy tickets to the event, one vote is $1. And we've got multiple prizes. MUHC Foundation dot com. That's where you get all of your information. Now, Alex, you must be super proud of these young boys. I personally think that when you get involved in philanthropy at a young age, it means that you will be someone who gives and gives back your entire life. Do you agree with that? Do you see that?
Alex Becker:Oh, absolutely. It's a great feeling for one. But being in an event, like we did similar events with the Glee Club, and the Just For Kids Foundation years ago. I've seen firsthand exactly how the kids, when they participate in the big event with other students and other people, how it's transformative. You come out of there with a sense of a more communal sense. People working together. You see people who are benefiting directly from what you're trying to raise funds for. There's a sort of a circular thing when it comes around. You're working from one side of it but then you get to see where the money goes, you get to hear stories from people. And so that's really the transformation. And of course, when that happens young, or at any point in time, you carry that with you through life. So I think there's a strong sense of understanding and educating in terms of what all this is about. So that's definitely something to be carried with you through life.
Tarah Schwartz:Now, tell us what can people expect from their performance on November 16? Have they decided on a song? How did you come together to that figure out?
Alex Becker:I don't want to spoil it.
Tarah Schwartz:Okay, don't spoil it!
Alex Becker:We have about four or five songs that are top quality songs that everybody knows. That are fun songs to play and sing. I'm not sure if they've decided quite yet what their song is going to be.
Tarah Schwartz:Maybe they'll do like a medley?
Alex Becker:I think they're going to stick to one song and do it well. That's my goal. We'll have to find out when the show come. But I'm pretty sure they've got three or four tunes that they're ready to go with.
Tarah Schwartz:You've got the perfect tease, Alex, because now I'm super curious to know what they're going to play. So well done on the front.
Alex Becker:What I will say is, they are playing at lunch next week. And when they play, they'll do all their songs, and whatever probably goes the best is probably what they'll do a week later. So that might be the deciding factor. Popular support from the crowd.
Tarah Schwartz:That's smart. Yeah, look at the crowd engagement and then they can play that song on their very big night. Do you think they're nervous about playing up on stage at the Corona Theater? Have they played on a stage of that caliber before?
Alex Becker:No they haven't and they're super excited to play on stage. And the drummer was the one who pointed out to say, listen, guys, we've never seen a gig like this. So this is not a school stage. This is big time in their minds. It is a big thing. There will be a lot of people watching. It is a nice theater and our drama teacher in the school, Ryan Kennedy really said- you know what, that's a great stage. Like he's been there. He's performed there as well. And so he was telling us that we're going to have a great time. And I haven't seen it yet. So I'm looking forward to it very much. And I'm sure it'll go really well. So the guys are excited. Really, really excited.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, I'm sure they are, especially for teenagers to get up on stage like that. That's a rare thing. I'm happy for them. And I'm happy they're excited. We're speaking with Selwyn House music teacher, Alex Becker. We're talking about the Selwyn House rock band. Now they are playing in MUHC's Got Talent, they're playing in honor of cancer research. So if you want to vote for them, $1 is one vote. There's two top prizes to be won. And there's some juicy prizes $15,000 for each prize that goes to the cause close to their heart. MUHC Foundation dot com is where you get information. So you mentioned you're looking forward to the night of, Alex. What are you looking forward to most? Watching them hammer it out on stage or the event in its entirety? Tell us what you're looking forward to.
Alex Becker:I'm looking forward to seeing everybody else. I know what our guys have to offer and I know it's going to be great. I'm kind of looking forward to some of those doctors and nurses. And apparently there's another group from LCC. I'm hoping we can maybe outperform them, just because we always have a little rivalry downs with our partners down the street. Usually with sports, but when we can move it into the music realm, it's always fun as well. So looking forward to just seeing all the great music and hearing all the great acts. Just seeing how it all comes together. Because the show has many acts. That will be the wonderful thing to see is everyone's best efforts and just have fun for a wonderful cause. So that's what I'm looking forward to it.
Tarah Schwartz:Eleven acts to be seen on the night of, so a lot of coordinating. I think it's going to be an absolutely special evening. Alex Becker, I want to thank you so much for joining us on Health Matters and good luck drumming up support for Selwyn House so they can they can get one of those top prizes.
Alex Becker:Well, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me and helping us expose what we're doing and get some awareness out there. And thanks so much for all the opportunity.
Tarah Schwartz:You are most welcome. We'll see you on the 16th Bye bye now.
Alex Becker:Can't wait, bye!
Tarah Schwartz:Next up on Health Matters, cold and flu season is upon us and COVID remains in the mix. How can we navigate this challenging time without getting sick? I'm Tarah Schwartz and this is Health Matters. As we all know when the temperatures dip, we have to navigate colds, flus and of course still COVID. And who is vulnerable to RSV another respiratory virus that is making the rounds. And if you are due for your COVID booster, what you need to know about the bivalent vaccines that are now available. Dr. Don Vinh is an infectious disease specialist at the MUHC and the Research Institute of the MUHC. And I was just saying, Dr. Vinh, that I feel it's been too long. I need my Donald Vinh fix and I haven't had one in a while. So I'm happy you're here.
Dr. Donald Vinh:Thank you for having me.
Tarah Schwartz:All right, Dr. Vinh, so Australia went through a difficult cold, flu COVID season. That is usually the big indicator of what North America will face. What was your takeaway? Or what is your takeaway right now from what Australia has been going through?
Dr. Donald Vinh:You're right, actually. What we saw not sure is usually a sign that we may have a bad season. If we think back to prior to the pandemic, what typically occurred for flu was that it would strike first in the southern hemisphere and countries below the equator, like Australia and New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa. And the intensity of the flu cases, as well as the flu strain that circulates there during their flu season, which is between April and July, are typically a harbinger of what we will end up seeing here in the northern hemisphere starting around October, November. Now, obviously with COVID, and all the public health measures implemented globally, we barely saw any flu over the last two and a half years. But this year it's a different story. With the relaxation of public health measures and more travel, the countries in the southern hemisphere had a significant increase in flu cases. It was the worst flu season in the last five years. Now they were able to extinguish their fire and get flu under control, primarily with strong vaccination rates. But nonetheless, the flu strains were launched, they had time to disperse in Northern Hemisphere countries, including here in Canada. And that's what we're seeing. Since mid-October, there's been an increase in the number of flu cases causing medical visits, it's likely we're going to have the same trajectory as those countries in the southern hemisphere with a potentially significant flu season. But if will learn from what they did and have a strong uptake of flu vaccination here by the public, we may be able to limit how bad it becomes.
Tarah Schwartz:And so can people go for their COVID booster and their flu shot at the same time? Can those happen simultaneously?
Dr. Donald Vinh:Yes. A while ago, there was a study that showed that you can get both the COVID shot and the flu shot at the same time. Usually, in general, regardless of what vaccines we're talking about. We don't try to give the same vaccines all on the same arm. COVID shot will be on one shoulder and the flu shot will be on the other shoulder. But yes, they can be done at the same time. So there's no need for two visits. The only thing is the question is the timing. If you're not due for COVID booster dose because it's been too recent to your previous one, then you may have to stagger out your COVID and your flu shots.
Tarah Schwartz:And of course a COVID booster could also be considered if you've had COVID in the last couple of months. What is the timeframe now that they are recommending? That if you, say had COVID two months ago, how long should you wait before you get your next booster?
Dr. Donald Vinh:That's a bit confusing, right? Because if you've had COVID infection, you wait this and if you've got a COVID booster you wait that. The reality is it's very simple. It's three months. Around three months is what you should go. So if you had an infection with COVID, or if you had a booster dose with COVID, and it's been three months, it's either of those get your booster dose.
Tarah Schwartz:All right, so we have been hearing Dr. Vinh a lot about RSV. Can you break down with that viruses and who it impacts and what should we be doing to protect ourselves if we can?
Dr. Donald Vinh:Yeah, right. So RSV stands for respiratory syncytial virus. It's a leading respiratory virus other than COVID that is circulating right now. Although I do have to say, there are definitely other viruses that are circulating and going around. But like COVID, RSV is an RNA virus that can infect the lungs. Now, in otherwise healthy children and adults, RSV can cause what we call the common cold. But in reality, you can also cause a nasty cold. It looks like flu, where you get high fevers, and you're achy, but you'll eventually recover. However, in babies that are 12 months of age and younger, and an adult older than the age of 65; as well as in people who have heart or lung conditions or those with weakened immune systems, RSV can cause severe, life-threatening disease. In kids we hear about certain conditions, like bronchiolitis or bronchitis or flares of asthma or croup that can be caused by RSV. We know that it can lead to hospitalizations of children. And in adults, you can get the same thing. You can get pneumonia, you can get exacerbations of your lung disease; such as your COPD, you can get heart failure. Now unfortunately, there is no vaccine currently available to prevent RSV. And to top it off, there are also no antiviral drugs available to treat RSV. So you can imagine RSV is pretty serious.
Tarah Schwartz:Well, Dr. Donald Vinh is an infectious disease specialist at the MUHC and the Research Institute of the MUHC. He joins us now to talk about flu season. So Dr. Vinh, there are two by bivalent vaccines available now- Pfizer and Moderna. In general terms, how do these vaccines differ from the previous ones?
Dr. Donald Vinh:In this case, the term bivalent means that the vaccines contain two mRNA components of SARS CoV 2. One from the original strain, and the other one from either the BA.1 strain for Moderna. Or the BA.5 strain from Pfizer. And this is in distinction to the original mRNA vaccines we got which contains mRNA only from the one original strain. And so that's what we call the monovalent vaccine. Here's an issue where people may get confused. They think that the Moderna bivalent dose only protects against the original strain and only the BA.1 because that's what it looks like on the label. Whereas the Pfizer one says it contains BA.5, which is what we're dealing with now. And so it must be the better one, right? And that's not necessarily correct. If we look at the data from Moderna, what we saw would their BA.1 bivalent vaccine is that not only did it produce strong antibody responses to the original strain, and to BA.1. But it also produces strong antibody levels to other strains that are not on the label, such as alpha, gamma, delta, as well as BA.4 and to BA.5. Those antibody levels lasted to at least three months later. We don't have data beyond that simply just because that bivalent booster dose hasn't been available longer than three months. So this tells us that the BA.1 bivalent vaccine does produce protective antibodies against BA.5 despite its name. And the Pfizer bivalent vaccine is probably similarly effective. Their BA.5 bivalent vaccine was approved, based on their BA.1 version, and there is data as well that it produces good antibody levels against BA.5. So what we need to do is to not go shopping or do head-to-head comparisons between the two vaccines. What's more important right now is to just get a booster dose. And if it's going to be an mRNA vaccine, like Madonna or Pfizer, get the bivalent one.
Tarah Schwartz:Alright, so what is your general advice, Dr. Vinh, for helping our listeners navigate the upcoming cold, flu, COVID season? I hear these things and I just want to stay inside and I want to stop socializing because it's a fearful time. What is your advice on how to navigate this while still remaining part of the population?
Dr. Donald Vinh:I am sure I'm not the only one who says this, but I hate getting sick. Whether it's a sore throat and a blocked nose of a cold. Or the fever, the chills and feeling like a truck ran over you from the flu, or having trouble breathing with COVID. I just hate it. So I try to do everything I can to prevent myself from getting sick. That means I focus on two steps. First, I want to avoid getting severe disease should I become infected and that's accomplished through vaccines. That means get your flu shot. That's been available now for several weeks. You just have to go to the Clic Sante app to find the location that's closest to you. And FYI, if you're over 65 years old, you should be getting the high-dose flu vaccine. Ask for that specifically, because it produces stronger antibody levels in the elderly. Of course, get up to date with your COVID vaccines. And that's it. Pretty simple, right? And then the second thing I try to do, is to avoid getting infected just to begin with. That means that outside of the work environment, when I do my own stuff, I try to avoid crowded areas, like you said. I try to avoid being in close proximity to people who are sick. If I go indoors, like in stores, I prefer to wear a mask. If I'm around people who are sniffling and sneezing and touching things. I also like to wash my hands. For me, that old Benjamin Franklin adage remains truer than ever, right? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, good advice. Dr. Vinh. Now just a final question for you. How hopeful are you with regards to how Quebecers will navigate this season? Are you hopeful or are you worried? Are people going to listen to this advice considering what we've seen in the last few years? Where are you on the scale of hope versus worry?
Dr. Donald Vinh:I'm right now in the middle. I'll tell you there are some things that are outside of our control. Right now, RSV is outside of our control. It's rampant. It's leading to emergency room visits and clinic visits. And as we know, all across the province, all across the country; there are emergency rooms, including pediatric ones that are overflowing, likely from RSV and other viruses. It's unfortunate because that could be mitigated by simple things. Just like wearing masks in schools. If there's one place that RSV spreads, it's in school. That's unambiguous; there's decades of data on that. On the other hand, I am hopeful that Quebecers can use common sense. They can put aside whatever, post COVID Stress Disorder, they may have acquired and realized, Okay, listen, things are getting tough here, I will do the simple thing that I've done in the past, like get a flu shot. While I'm at it, I'll get my COVID updated booster. And at least I'll protect myself from two viruses that I can protect myself against, as we sort of bear down for the winter.
Tarah Schwartz:Dr. Vinh, it's always such a pleasure to talk with you and you help set our minds at ease and you set us straight. So we appreciate both of those things. Thank you so much for joining us on the show.
Dr. Donald Vinh:Thank you for having me, Tarah.
Tarah Schwartz:Next up on Health Matters, supporting patients with genetic diseases. I'm Tarah Schwartz, you're listening to Health Matters. Shawnea Roberts has lived with a genetic illness her entire life. While this experience would have discouraged some people, it has inspired her to help others. How is she doing that? Once Shawnea Roberts met Dr. Don Vinh, who you just heard from, he committed to finding answers to her condition. So Shawnea and her family committed to raising$2.5 million to help Dr. Vinh create the Centre of Excellence for Genetic Research in Infection and Immunity. Darlene Hindley is Shawnea's mother and she joins me now. Hello, Darlene.
Darlene Hindley:Hi, Tarah, how are you?
Tarah Schwartz:I'm super well, I'm happy to be talking to you today. Let's start with the name of the family fundraising initiative. It's called the SDR project. Why is it called that?
Darlene Hindley:Correct? That's actually Shawnea's initials. So her name is Shawnea Dylis Roberts. When we were trying to find a name, we wanted it to project about her, what she stands for, and we thought her name and her initials would be the way to go.
Tarah Schwartz:And it's nice and catchy to the SDR project. I like it.
Darlene Hindley:It is and it works in English, French, and it seems to correspond with what we want to do and with the project that we're putting into place.
Tarah Schwartz:So let's talk about that project, Darlene. Why are genetic diseases and Dr. Vinh's research a cause that is so close to your heart and your family's heart?
Darlene Hindley:In 2014, my daughter was diagnosed after many, many illnesses throughout her life. She was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's lymphoma. Much to our surprise and to our obvious devastation. Her doctor, Dr. Chantel Seguin, who was her hematologist at the MUHC through the Cedars Cancer Fund decided to put her on an eight-month regimen of chemotherapy. Through this there was many tests, about 12 scans and different biopsies that came back. And we found that we had no answers. We could not find an answer to what was plaguing Shawnea for all of her life. And as a mother, you want answers.
Tarah Schwartz:So you met Dr. Vinh?
Darlene Hindley:Correct. After about 18 months of inconclusive therapies and scans, Dr. Sagan referred us to Dr. Vinh. We met with him. He went in an in depth analysis of our family background, our family history, our medical files. And through that meeting, he said one thing that triggered us. He said... I'm sorry. I get a little emotional, sorry. He said, I'm going to find out why this is happening to Shawnea. All the treatment that she had received all her life- nobody had ever asked why this was happening. And that, as a mother, was key. It was the key. So we focused on him; we couldn't believe his attitude. And he said he will not stop until he finds the solution.
Tarah Schwartz:I think that's so beautiful. I think any parent out there is feeling everything with you right now. Because the idea of our children being sick is so difficult. So I think your emotions are very well placed. And I'm sure must have been a very difficult time.
Darlene Hindley:You never expect it. You never expect it and she didn't have any symptoms. She had a pain in her chest. That was it- one night, for a few hours and that was the only symptom and it was stage four cancer. So it really... it hit us like a ton of bricks, for sure.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, we're speaking with Darlene Hindley. And we're talking about a family's fundraising initiative called the SDR Project to raise$2.5 million dollars to help understand and treat genetic illnesses. Now you have a fundraising goal, which is pretty significant, $2.5 million. And incredibly, you're almost halfway there. What does it mean to you that the community is supporting you in this way?
Darlene Hindley:We've been in fundraising; my family, my father, Jim Hindley has been in fundraising all of his life. Since the age of 16, raising money for various important causes throughout Montreal. And so when we met with Julie Quenneville from the MUHC, and we said, how can we help? What can we do? Selfishly, obviously, for my daughter, it helps her case. But moreover, it helps the community at large. It helps anybody who does not have an answer, and wonders why this is happening to them. And I think anybody who's hit with any medical diagnosis, can understand that and can relate to that. So we met with her and we decided an initiative and we wanted to find out what does Dr. Vinh need. He's an incredible researcher here in Montreal, and we are so lucky to have him. He is apparently very well-known within the hospital community as Dr. House, and he finds the answers. He's cured people from diseases, and he's found new diseases, and he works with a consortium of doctors and researchers around the world. And he's invaluable to our community and going forward. So his genetic research which really intrigued us was that he's into personalized care and finding out your genome sequence to find out what is going on with you. What do you need? Somebody can take a Tylenol, somebody has to take an Aleve, somebody could take an antibiotic, strong one or a mild one. So, why? Why is that the case? And what does your body need?
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, he is an incredible researcher. I have all the love in the world for Dr. Vinh. And I'm so glad that you're doing this fundraising initiative room because I agree with you. I think he's going to help countless people. Now Darlene, you have the SDR project luncheon coming up in a couple of weeks. What is the goal of that kind of event?
Darlene Hindley:Those luncheons- what we do, what we ask the community is we ask for a pledge of $5,000, payable over five years. So it's $1,000 a year with a tax receipt. That's generally what we require, what we ask of people, and the response has been phenomenal so far. So with our luncheons we've only put on two so far. And we have raised almost a million dollars at those lunches. When anybody comes in, they hear Dr. Vinh speak, they hear Shawnea's story. They are moved by it. They want to get involved. They realize what we need in Montreal and the talent that we have in Montreal. We just need to give the talent, the equipment, the tools, in order to bring us into this century. To bring medicine to where it should be. And where we all have to be for future generations to come. So that is what we ask; and the Aziz family so graciously donated to buy one of the machines already. It is on its way; it's in production. And yeah, we can't thank the community enough for standing behind us and this project.
Tarah Schwartz:Yeah, it's incredible. Now, you mentioned that your daughter had been struggling with her health; you're understandably emotional about it. Tell us how she's doing now.
Darlene Hindley:Now she just had her third baby. So she's doing very well. She's never out of the woods. There's always something that pops up along the way, which gives Dr. Vinh another tool in his case for her. So he says, there's a soldier in her body that's laying down on the job, and he's got to find that soldier. So that's basically what he's looking at. Every time she comes up with an illness, or an issue, she relays it to him. It gives him another piece of the puzzle. Overall, other than that, she's doing fantastic. She has three children now and she's doing great.
Tarah Schwartz:That's incredible. I'm so happy to hear that. And Darlene as a mom, and I'm sure all the moms out there are standing beside you. We are soldiering on with you. And I just want to say congratulations, and thank you so much for everything that you're doing- for not just your child, but all the children out there who are going to need this kind of help. So thank you so much.
Darlene Hindley:Oh, my pleasure. You know, I worked with the Children's, I worked with all the hospitals within the MUHC. All my life has been dedicated to raising funds and to helping people. And I truly believe in this project, I believe in Dr. Vinh and I believe in Montreal, which is great. We have talent and we need to give them the tools to succeed. So, thank you so much, Tarah for having me on. Sorry for the emotions.
Tarah Schwartz:Don't be sorry. I feel it all. I feel at all, Darlene and I am right there with you. Thank you so much for your time today. If anyone would like to learn more about the SDR project, Dr. Vinh's work, the Hindley family who are doing their best to raise $2.5 million for this incredible Centre of Research, just head to MUHC Foundation dot com. And you can get more information there, the SDR project, Darlene Hindley, thank you so much for joining us on the show today. I appreciate your time.
Darlene Hindley:Oh, thank you, Tarah. I appreciate your time. Thank you, everyone.
Tarah Schwartz:Thank you so much. I am Tarah Schwartz. Thank you for tuning in. What would you like to hear about on the show? Write to us at health matters at MUHC Foundation dot com You can also follow us on social media and sign up to our newsletter so you never miss anything, and hear all about the people and the stories we talked about on the show. It's all at MUHC Foundation dot com. I hope you'll join me again next Sunday. Thanks so much for listening and stay healthy.