Plush monkey inspires Olympic swimmer to write children's book
Before we can appreciate the important role a plush toy named Monkey Guy has played in Elaine Tanner’s life, we need go back to when people started calling her Mighty Mouse.

WITH ADAM SAWATSKY
Before we can appreciate the important role a plush toy named Monkey Guy has played in Elaine Tanner’s life, we need go back to when people started calling her Mighty Mouse.
While it's not unusual for Lisa Amorim to spot wildlife while paddling her kayak, seeing a bottle bobbing about beside her is.
When Shannon Alce said yes to Clayton Taylor's proposal, she never could have imagined how challenging it would be to say "I do."
It’s been said "men are from Mars and women are from Venus," but in this couple’s case, Thomas is a McDonald’s man, while Ellie is a Wendy’s woman.
If you ask Barry what it’s like being out and about with his bird, he’ll tell you it's no big deal.
Robert Burke is in the midst of an unexpected journey that began with a childhood he describes as "violent and chaotic."
A pair of festively decorated mailboxes have popped up on a Colwood Street. One says, "Mail your letter to Santa here." The other says, "Check in here for your letter from Santa Claus."
After the accident this spring, after they were told Rohn Brown wouldn’t make it, his family felt lost. “I turned to the kids and said, ‘We have to do the decorations for dad this year.”
"Life is not about acquiring things, it`s about giving." Adam finds out how an Olympic swimmer was inspired by a plush monkey to write a children's book after overcoming adversity.
Got a story idea for a Swatsky Sign-Off? Contact Adam at signoff@bellmedia.ca.
A Vancouver Island man is awaiting possible extradition to the United States on charges of sexual assault against his 13-year-old stepdaughter.
A temp agency on Vancouver Island is taking a compassionate crack at the labour shortage.
Residents of a neighbourhood near Nanaimo armed themselves with "garden tools" to confront a break-in suspect last week, according to local police.
B.C.'s chief coroner Lisa Lapointe warned the province has experienced an average of six deaths, every day, of every week for two years.