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•T h e IF P • H al to n H ill s •T hu rs da y, M ay 1 6, 2 01 3 8 OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK M-F 9am-7pm Sat. 10am-6pm Sun 10am-5pm Like us on Facebook! SENIORS 10% OFF EVERY WEDNESDAY (REG. PRICED MERCHANDISE) It's worth the drive to Acton HWY. 7, 1 MILE WEST OF ACTON 519.853.0311 1(800) 387.4039 Go to our website and sign up to receive our store specials by email: www.macmillans.ca May 17th to May 30th WEIGHT WATCHERS SMART ONE MEALS Reg. $3.99 ea. BATTERED DILL PICKLE SPEARS 3 lb $7.99 $22.99 ea. or 2 for $39.99 ASSORTED FLOWERS 12" HANGING BASKETS AND PATIO POTS LEADBETTER'S PORK SAUSAGES Reg. $9.99 - Hot, Mild & Honey $8.49 NACHO & SALSA COMBO 1 jar salsa & 2lbs of Corn Chips Reg. $10.49 2 for $6.99 LEADBETTER'S COWBOY STEAKS Reg. $31.99 ea. 'S 5 lbs $27.99 PREMIUM SLICED BREAD 4 varieties to choose from: 9 grains, Whole Wheat, White, Multigrain 99¢ per loaf WILD BLUEBERRIES Reg. $17.99 Excellent source of antioxidantsE ll t f ti id t 2 kg $14.99 1 lb $3.99 2 lb 8" STRAWBERRY MANGO PIES Reg. $4.99 Bake and serve, while supplies last 3 for $4.49 1 CARDINAL ROAD HOUSE BEEF BURGERS Reg. $19.99 - Great for the BBQ! 1 20 x 4oz burgers $17.49 Students at Silver Creek Public School wore blue yesterday (Wednesday) and it has nothing to do with a certain pro hockey team called the Maple Leafs. To help spread awareness about a largely unknown disease called Tuber- ous Sclerosis Complex-- which is actu- ally more prevalent than Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) affecting one in 6,000 births-- the students at Silver Creek showed their support for Junior Kinder- garten student Keira Poff by sporting blue clothing. Wednesday was TSC Global Aware- ness Day and the CN Tower in Toronto was lit up in blue to show support for the campaign. The four-year-old Poff is in her fi rst year of school and was diagnosed at the age of seven months with TBS after suf- fering from frequent seizures. The ill- ness affects all of her organs in some way and has caused a development delay in her learning abilities, requiring her to have a full-time education assistant on hand at school. This past November, Keira was inca- pacitated by seizures an average of 20 times an hour, but she's now taking fi ve different medications to help minimize them and has reverted to a strict diet of fats and proteins, avoiding sugars and starches altogether. Her mother, Lee-Ann, said that Kei- ra's condition has improved greatly over the past few months and that she loves being in school, but there's still no cure for TSC. Lee-Ann had to give up her job as an EA with the Peel Board of Educa- tion to care for Keira. "As she gets older, there will be more obstacles for Keira," said Lee-Ann, who also has a six-year-old daughter who has no TSC symptoms. "(But) going to school has been the best thing for her. Being exposed to other kids has really helped her and it's helped them too, because they know what her feeding tube does and she just loves to be with kids her age. She's learning from them as well. Right now, her develop- ment is the equivalent of a two-and-a- half-year-old. She makes great progress when the the seizures are under control and because her new strict diet has been wonderful, she's down to just a few sei- zures a week." TSC causes non-malignant tumours to grow in the brain and other organs and is caused by the mutation of two genes, resulting in autism or behav- ioural problems as well as seizures and development delay. No one in Poff's family has TSC, but it can be inherited from a parent in ap- proximately half of all cases and most of those people affl icted are able to live independent, healthy lives. Keira is a regular visitor to Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto and has a specialist for each of her affected or- gans. She is not yet a candidate for brain surgery that would hopefully al- leviate some of her health problems, although Lee-Ann is optimistic medical advancements will eventually neutralize the symptoms. "Keira is the happiest, most loving person, despite all she's been through," added Lee-Ann. "She takes everything that comes her way, no matter how diffi cult it is, and pushes it aside with a smile on her face. She's actually taught me a lot of things about how to deal with things and move forward with a positive outlook." By EAMONN MAHER Staff Writer To help spread awareness about a largely unknown disease called Tu- berous Sclerosis Complex-- which is actually more prevalent than Lou Gehrig's Disease (ALS) affecting one in 6,000 births-- the students at Silver Creek showed their sup- port for Junior Kindergarten stu- dent Keira Poff (left) by sporting blue clothing Wednesday. Photo by Eamonn Maher Silver Creek students get blue to show support for classmate Ted Brown will return next week