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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday December 3, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Living Oakville Beaver LIVING EDITOR: ANGELA BLACKBURN Phone: 905-845-3824, ext. 248 Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: angela@oakvillebeaver.com · WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2007 SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER / OAKVILLE BEAVER CONDUCIVE TO HEALING: Ovarian cancer patient Rosemary Halls-Dawson's bedroom before, left, it was redesigned as a Haven for Healing, by local residents and entrepreneurs Dede Hacking and Lyn Gilchrist. Designers give patient a Haven of Healing By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF year ago, Oakville resident Rosemary Halls-Dawson went home and asked her husband, Colin Dawson, if he wanted the good news or bad news first. She then blurted out that there was no good news -- she had cancer and burst into tears. A year later, the couple was off to England to see their newborn granddaughter Brooke, HallsDawson's hair is regrowing into attractive tufts, she is well past her surgery and chemotherapy, is trying to learn her new tap dancing steps -- and has a new Haven for Healing in her home. For the latter, Halls-Dawson has Oakville residents Dede Hacking and Lyn Gilchrist to thank. Hacking and Gilchrist, both of whom recently established new interior design firms, volunteered their time to design a Haven for Healing for Halls-Dawson. A Both Hacking and Gilchrist attended the Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning interior design program. Both later took a redesign/staging association course and both belong to the C a n a d i a n Dede Hacking ReDesigners Association (CRDA), which has adopted Ovarian Cancer Canada (OCC) as its charity of choice. Through that partnership, Havens for Healing are designed for ovarian cancer patients. They are a room in the patient's home that is tailored to be a personal place conducive to the person's healing as they go through their ordeal with cancer and journey toward recovery. Halls-Dawson said she thought it a little odd when Hacking and Gilchrist first called her to suggest a Haven for Healing, but believed she may as well find out what it was about. Rosemary Halls-Dawson That positive, open attitude is typical of Halls-Dawson, in fact it is evident within minutes of meeting her. "We were happy to do it and we got to meet Rosemary and that was the real bonus," said Hacking who operates Eleanor Hacking Design. "She's a real inspiration," agreed Gilchrist who operates By Design. Halls-Dawson is 68, a mother of three grown children (Tracey, 39, Sharon, 31 and Tim 35), who moved from England to Canada in 1981 and settled in Oakville in 1984. Though she had a benign cyst diagnosed some time Lyn Gilchrist before her cancer diagnosis, HallsDawson said it wasn't until her dog died and she cried so much that the cyst began hurting. It was afterward that a large tumor was found, located in behind the first cyst, and both were deemed cancerous. "They call ovarian cancer the silent killer," See Focus page 13 Stars of Sick Kids shine in Tuscan Nights at Ristorante Julia By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF A seven-year-old boy battling brain stem cancer may not live a lengthy life, but at his tender age, he already knows he is an artist. He has known that since last year when Rocchina Scrocco whispered in his ear the sum for which his work sold. The figure was so unexpected, the boy's mom later told Scrocco her son was still trying to digest the news. That impact on children who are battling for their lives -- and for their parents -- so touched Oakville's Julia Hanna that this year she is hosting a Dec. 3 reception for the artists. The stars will be shining -- mostly in the eyes of the young artists whether they are present or still in hospital -- at Ristorante Julia when their works will be unveiled and exhibited at the centre of a reception being dubbed a "These kids are anywhere from four to 14 years old and this art program takes them away from the daily battle for their lives." Julia Hanna Tuscan Night with the Stars of SickKids. The works will remain on display for a month and will be available for purchase. All proceeds will be directed to Hats off 2 Kidz in support of leukemia pediatric research through the SickKids Foundation at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children. "These kids are anywhere from four to 14 years old and this art program takes them away from the daily battle for their lives. They are so proud to have their work displayed," said Hanna. Scrocco, Karen Bernardo and Barbara Rizzo, all of Mississauga, have held a spin-a-thon fundraiser on Jan. 25 at Carpe Diem Fitness on Ridgeway Drive on the Oakville/Mississauga border for the last five years. The fundraiser draws about 100 participants and also features a silent auction. After meeting Deborah Bianchi, who battled leukemia, won and now runs Hatz Off 2 Kids, the spin-a-thon benefitted Hats Off 2 Kidz last year. Hats Off 2 Kidz is a charity that supports leukemia research for the Hospital for Sick Children and the SickKids Foundation. Bianchi, in 1986, at the age of 10, was diagnosed with leukemia. For three years she endured endless visits to Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. The hospital became her home and would be for three years, she was told. With radiation, at age 13, she went into remission, surviving what most people will not see in their lifetime. Today, she is married and has two children and founded Hats Off 2 Kidz as her way of saying to children who are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy to take their hat off and show the world that they made it. Meanwhile, the local fundraising trio, after last year's experience, decided not to change the event's benefactor this year. According to Scrocco, last year, in an effort to have the benefitting children become a greater part of the event, the women displayed the children's artwork. The pieces were available for purchase at a minimum $500 donation. Scrocco said the works garnered $500, $1,500, $2,500 and even $5,000 -- a more than pleasant surprise for the children and their parents. So, three weeks ago, the women travelled to See Artists page 15