The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, November 13, 2015 | 12 `Pinball' Clemons speaks out on World Pneumonia Day by Bob Mitchell Special to the Beaver Canadian football legend Michael `Pinball' Clemons never knew his grandmother because she died from pneumonia before he was born. He always thought she must have been in her senior years so he was surprised to learn she was only 24 when the disease took her life. "My grandmother's passing is a reminder that pneumonia isn't just an older person's disease and that it can strike anyone at any time," said Clemons, who is helping the Ontario Lung Association make people aware of the potentially-deadly disease and how to prevent the illness. Established in 2009, World Pneumonia Day is marked each Nov. 12 (yesterday). Clemons, an Oakville resident, admits he didn't know much about the disease until he was asked to help increase awareness of it. "It's incredible to learn that 61,000 people in Ontario get pneumonia every year," the former Toronto Argonaut offensive star said in an interview earlier this week. "I had no idea how prevalent it was." Worldwide statistics are also startling. Michael `Pinball' Clemons Pneumonia is the leading cause of death among children under age five. Although one of the most treatable diseases, a child still dies from the infection every 20 seconds. By the end of 2015, more than 900,000 children will have died from this preventable and treatable illness, accounting for 16 per cent of under-five mortality worldwide -- three per cent of whom are newborns. Children in poor and rural communities are the most affected, which is why pneumonia and diarrhea are the leading causes of death in Africa and South Asia. Clemons' wife Diane has asthma and the Lung Association has reached out to her in the past to be its spokesperson. This time, the Lung Association reached out to him because of the pneumonia connection with his grandmother. "I knew she had died from it but it really didn't resonate with me because I didn't know much about it," Clemons said. "My mother was only five years old when her mother died, so most of what she knew about her was told to her by others." Clemons relatives aren't even certain if his grandmother received treatment for her illness. "My great, great grandmother, who raised my mother, was the one who tried to get her help, but by then she was too far gone," Clemons said. "I didn't actually know how old my grandmother was when she contracted the disease and when I found out she was only 24, it made me more inquisitive about the illness. I thought she would have been older to have pneumonia." As part of World Pneumonia Day, Clemons wants to encourage everyone to be more "preventive" when it comes to staying ahead of the illness. "Something as simple as washing your hands is very important," he said. see Pneumonia on p.16 CREATE YOUR DREAM h t a B r o n e Kitch 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE | QUALITY CRAFTSMANSHIP | CUSTOM DESIGNS Convert you wood burning fireplace with a beautiful gas insert by TRAVIS When purchasing a Travis fireplace you will experience EFFICIENCY, DESIGN and TECHNOLOGY UNMATCHED in fireplaces! Visit us your Masonry and fireplace specialists today! Call for a Free Estimate 905-844-3332 Visit our showroom: 333 Wyecroft Rd. Unit 3, Oakville www.aromakitchens.ca 406 Speers Rd., Oakville 905-337-2066 | www.cobblestonembers.ca