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2 8 - The O akville Beaver W ee ke nd , Torch of Hope crop for the cure By Kathy Douthart SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER August 30, 1997, a warm day. I hold my seven-year-old son, Christopher, in my arms and gently kiss his sweet face for the last time. Up until October 1996, when he was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, Christopher was a robust, healthy, and energetic little boy. Perfectly normal or so we thought. Then, at 4:30 one morning, he awoke and vomited. And so our nightmare began. Although Christopher underwent a series of tests, nothing out of the ordinary was found. After a number of doctors' visits I refused to leave the doctor's office until she ordered a CAT scan. To our horror, it revealed a brain tumour. After emergency surgery, the look on the doctors' faces said it all. Our lives had changed forever. Although they were able to remove a mass the size of an egg, the tumour was malignant. How could my beautiful boy have cancer? I was a good mother; I took good care of him. The other doctors had told me he was fine. This had to be a nightmare. Oh God, please wake me up. During the next 10 months, we were forced to watch helplessly as our beautiful boy was slowly robbed of his childhood. Bravely and without complaint, Christopher endured procedures and tests that would have had an adult run ning in fear. In July, Christopher looked at me with tired eyes and said, `I cannot do this anymore Mommy. I think I give up.' It was so unlike him to admit defeat. Three weeks after this, he suffered a mas sive seizure and was rushed to The Hospital for Sick Children. An MRI con firmed what I had dreaded since his initial diagnosis. The cancer had exploded; my beautiful boy was terminal. There was nothing medical science could do for him now. For the next three weeks, I tried des perately to make up for a lifetime of I love yous, kisses, hugs and snuggles, an impossible task Christopher has been physically gone now for almost nine years. It seems like an eternity. How my heart aches. I am told that time heals, but the skeptic in me believes that some wounds never heal. All the things that he loved tear at my heart and yet, his heroic personality lives on. In my eyes, Christopher did not lose his bat tle with cancer. He merely passed the torch of hope on to us. Help Kathy Douthart carry the torch. Torch o fHope, a day ofscrapbook album making in support ofBRAINchild at the Hospital for Sick Children on April 1, will be held at St. Simon' s Church. The event will run from 9 a.m. -5p.m . and all are welcome. If you would like to spend a day o f scrapbook album making or would like to make a donation in sup port of this charitable organization, call Alyson Colosia at 905-257-1335 or Mary Panetta 905-257-2821 or visit www.cropforacure.ca. The inspiration for this event is from Christopher Douthart' s brave struggle. His mother Kathy Douthart has carried ' his torch ofhope in raising awareness for the Brain Tumour Research Assistance and Information Network at the Hospital for Sick Children through her Rigatoni for Research fundraisers. To date, her efforts have raised not only awareness, but more than $1 mil lion in funding. Help her and BRAINchildsget to the next million. For a complete copy ofthis article visit www.rigatoni.ca. For more information on BRAINchild, see wwwsickkids.Ca/brainchild. Kathy Douthart and Christopher ABBEY EYE CARE O p to m etry and Eyewear Eye Exams ` Glasses 'Sunglasses ` Contacts 905-847-EYES Foxcreek Plaza - Third Line and Dundas, Oakville S M A R T N U T R I T I O N : Eat Smart! winners from left include Dorothy Clieff, Occupational Health, Cryovac; Monica Bovett, Peel Health, Public Health Nurse; Ralph Mann, DANA Hospitality; Ghislaine Provencher, DANA Hospitality, District Manager; Catherine Brown, Peel Health, Registered Dietician; Vern Davenport, Employee Rep, Cryovac; BiJI Newman, Salaried Rep, Cryovac. D o cto rB to announce the opening of his neui practice in Hamilton! Dr. V in e e t Bhandari bsc, d ih , d d s FAMILY, AESTHETIC, LASERIV SEDATiON DENTISTRY BACKPACK SAFETY w ith Dr. Jenna D avis Monday, March 27, 7 -8 pm DANA Hospitality Eat Smart! winner DANA Hospitality Inc., an Oakvillebased foodservice management compa ny and Sealed Air (Canada) Co./Cie, Cryovac Food Packaging Division, in Mississauga were recipients of the Eat Smart! Workplace Cafeteria Award of Excellence. The award presentation took place recently at Sealed Air's facility at 2365 Dixie Rd., in Mississauga. Eat Smart! is an Award of Excellence program that recognizes Ontario workplace cafeterias that pro mote healthy lifestyles among work place employees and cafeteria cus tomers. See DANA page 29 HOURS OF OPERATION Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri '9-5 pm Tues 9-8pm Sat. 8-3pm B r in g the w h o le fa m ily to th is F U N , I N T E R A C T I V E w o rk sh o p . Learn what to look for in a backpack, how to pack and wear it properly, guidelines to help keep your back and neck healthy! D O N 'T MISS TH IS GREAT W O R K SH O P...Y O U R BACK AND NECK W ILL THANK YOU! Please call Alliance Healthcare 905-845-2291 to register! 105 M ain S treet East, Suite 1106 . Effort Trust Square (corner o f Main and Catherine) Hamilton BEFORE U pcom ing Events: Pregnancy and you! First workshop Wednesday, March 29, 7-8pm Chiropractic Mother's Morning Out, Tuesday, April 4, 1 l:15-12:15pm AFTER Dr. Jenna Davis Family C hiropractor/A cupuncturist n Alliance Healthcare Professionals 905 .845.2291 232 South Service Rd- E, Oakville, O N L6J 2X5 www.aliiancehealthcare.ca 30