W W W P A L M A P A S T A C O M 4 H E ) T A L I A N & O O D 3 H O P 2501 Prince Michael Dr (at Dundas St.) (905) 257-9200 www.palmapasta.com Hours: Monday to Friday 9 am - 7 pm, Saturday 9 am - 6 pm , Sunday 10 am - 4 pm $11509 pieces Valid until September 30th, 2010 Not to be combined with any other offers. Family Size Cannelloni $199514 pieces Large Cannelloni Valid until September 30th, 2010 Not to be combined with any other offers. San Benedetto Water$499Until Sept 30th, 20106 x 1.53Ltr Bottles Can Italian Peeled Tomatoes 99 Olive Oil $399Until Sept 30st, 2010 Until Sept 30st, 2010 Bottle NOW OPEN IN OAKVILLE! 7 W ednesday , Septem ber 15, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF It's not what happens to you, it's what you do about it. This quote by W. Mitchell was a favourite of David Smyth, 20, and something he lived his life by, advocating the need for more bone marrow donors right up until his death from leukemia on Friday, Sept. 3. Smyth's victory in making the most out of the limited time he had was a recurring theme explored by family and friends during a celebration of his life at a memorial service Thursday. Before the service even began Smyth's impact was immediately apparent just in the number of people in attendance with hun- dreds packing the pews of the Glen Oaks Memorial Chapel and Reception Centre to remember Smyth and to say goodbye. David wanted to showcase the end of his life due to leukemia brought on by Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. He want- ed all to see. He wanted people to learn about the blood typing and how a simple surgery, a simple blood transfusion can save people, said Smyth's father, Mike. I'm so proud of him. Smyth inspired hundreds of people, not only in Oakville, but across southern Ontario, to attend various bone marrow donor drives in recent months and get their cheeks swabbed to see if they were a match for him. Mike said his son knew the donor drives might not save him, but he still believed they were important for raising awareness as to just how easy it is to get tested to be a bone marrow donor, how important increas- ing the size of Canada's bone marrow reg- istry is and how 85 per cent of the time bone marrow can be donated through a proce- dure similar to giving blood. During Smyth's funeral his family reiter- ated the need to increase the number of peo- ple on Canada's bone marrow registry from its current number of approximately 262,000 to two million in two years in order to save lives. Smyth's aunt, Mary-Jane Porter, said that while her nephew may be gone, his legacy is continuing to move the registry towards the two million goal. We currently have two superintendents at two separate school boards who are inter- ested in bringing the One Match (stem cell and marrow registry) program to their stu- dents, she said. We hope to see the government involved in increasing the donor base and thanks to the efforts of MP Terence Young there is a cheek swab clinic at the House of Commons this October, which Mike and Kim (Smyth's mother) have been invited to attend. The results of this event could substantially increase the numbers on the registry. Porter also said a growing list of corpora- tions, such as the Beer Store, have offered to either ask their employees to register as bone marrow donors or hold donor clinics. It was also pointed out that a number of universities have also expressed interest in holding donor clinics and Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn has challenged other MPPs to hold donor clinics similar to the one he co-sponsored at Oakville-Trafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) earlier this month. Smyth's family is also hoping his legacy will see permanent donor clinics established in hospitals and people being given the option to add their name to Canada's bone marrow registry when they donate blood. At Smyth's memorial service, Dr. Peter Durie of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children also spoke about the impact Smyth has had in the study of Shwachman- Diamond Syndrome, which led to Smyth's severe leukemia. Durie, who had treated Smyth since he was an infant, said that when a six-month- old Smyth was first diagnosed with Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome the med- ical community knew little about it. This changed when Smyth galvanized his family and friends to form the Shwachman- Diamond Foundation. This organization raised considerable funds, which allowed Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children to pull together a team of researchers to study the syndrome. Durie said that as a result of these efforts, the gene, which causes Shwachman- Diamond Syndrome, was discovered. How does this help David? asked Durie. In my view, it has not been a direct help for David, but on the other hand I am con- vinced that David has helped other people in a big, big way because understanding the basic defect in a condition like this does allow us to think about ways of curing it and hopefully that will come about in the not- too-distant future. While Smyth's achievements may make him sound larger than life, the testimony of other friends and family reminded those present that he was very human. Childhood friend Kelly Price talked about how Smyth loved every animal, from snakes to spiders, and would read to her from books about various animals so she would know more about them. Jordan Bruder, who was friends with Smyth since Grade 4, struggled to hold back his tears as he read a letter Smyth had writ- ten to him as Bruder prepared to leave for university. As you prepare for the future remember who you were and who you are now. With skill, determination and a little luck your path will be highlighted before you. Also, please have fun. Life is too long to live dull, Your friend always, David Smyth. Many at the service were moved to tears when The Call by Regina Spektor was played and when Smyth's life passed by in slideshow, which showed everything from Smyth as a child standing by a pool in his bathing suit with water wings and goggles, to pictures of him on tour in Europe to pic- tures of him with his friends at the hospital during his last days. Smyth's aunt Kate Williams read the Water Bug Story, which she said was read to Smyth shortly before he passed away. The story revolves around a colony of water bugs. Some of them climb a lily pad to the water's surface and disappear forev- er. The water bugs promise the next to climb up will return to share its story, but the next one up breaks the waters surface and becomes a dragonfly and though sad it cant share the news with friends, realizes they will have to wait to become dragonflies, too, and departs happily into a wonderful new world of sun and air. With the service concluded, Smyth's family and friends went outside and released 20 white doves into the air in his honour. Despite being released at different times, these doves formed a single flock as they departed into the distance. Family and friends say goodbye to David MICHELLE SIU / OAKVILLE BEAVER FAREWELL: David Smyths family (from left), dad Mike, brother Will and mom Kim, prepare to release doves into the air following a memorial service held Thursday afternoon for the 20-year-old Oakville man.