Council Behaving Badly - Fullerton Observer

Page 8 FULLERTON OBSERVER HEALTH
MID DECEMBER 2010
ROSE PARADE PARTICIPANTS FROM FULLERTON
Anthony Garcia
Anthony Garcia (pictured at right), a
Fullerton Union High School student, is
one of ten Kaiser Permanente patients
who have been selected to ride on the
healthcare provider’s Rose Parade float on
New Year’s Day. Anthony and the others
were chosen to ride due to their heroic
and inspiring fight against significant diseases.
As a defensive end on his high school
football team, Anthony is familiar with
facing and tackling powerful forces. He
had to face a more formidable opponent
in late 2009, when, after experiencing
headaches and fatigue, he was diagnosed
with a cancer of the white blood cells -the
cells in the body that normally fight
infections -- known as acute lymphoblastic
leukemia (ALL). After undergoing
grueling treatment, during which he lost
Dave Hollon
As a result of adult onset Type 1 diabetes,
Dave Hollon’s kidneys failed in
2001. He began dialysis and was listed for
a transplant. “The support of my wife,
Sonya, and children Leslie and Michael
(who were eight and four at the time) kept
me moving along,” recalled 50-year old
Dave. “By my second year on dialysis, life
was, in a word, agony. I could not be the
husband and provider my wife deserved
and could not keep up with my kids.
How do you tell your little son that you
can’t go bike riding?”
Dave’s overall health was failing fast,
and he was not looking forward to several
more years on the transplant list. His
brother, Mike, could not stand to see
Dave and his family suffer. In April
2004, Mike donated a kidney to save his
brother’s life. “He had the love and support
of his wife, my sister-in-law Sharon,”
Dave said. “He would have not made that
life-saving decision without her support
and counsel.
“After that transplant, I could enjoy life
again. In fact, my son asked my surgeon,
before I could, when I could resume bike
riding. Also, Mike and his family moved
from Virginia to Fullerton and we are now
able to enjoy life together.”
his hair, he achieved remission in January
of 2010. Still, lasting side effects and
complications have led to multiple noncancer
re-admissions requiring days or
weeks of hospitalization. Because of this,
Anthony, 15, is currently being home
schooled, but he’s looking forward to
returning to his Fullerton High School
this January.
Though Dave’s life was renewed and he
was enjoying life and work again, he still
suffered from diabetes. A few months
after his kidney transplant, his blood
sugar levels became very erratic and he
ended up back in the hospital, and was
then listed for a pancreas transplant.
While Dave was dealing with managing
his health, 16-year old Lacey Rodia of
Murrieta, California, became aware of
organ donation while preparing for her
driver’s license. She let her wishes be
known to her parents and joined the
Donate Life California Organ & Tissue
YWCA Honored with $90,000 Komen Grant
On December 3, 2010 the YWCA was
honored by the Orange County Affiliate of
the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Grant
Program, in a ceremony at the Bowers
Museum in Santa Ana. The YWCA
received a recognition plaque along with a
$90,000 grant for its Early Breast Cancer
Screening and Education Program.
The YWCA outreach program helps
women 40-64 years and older with screenings
located throughout the community.
Our multicultural staff reaches out to the
Vietnamese, Korean, Spanish and English
populations providing breast health education
and referral services to over 7,000
women and schedules over 5,000 women
for annual mammograms.
This program helps low-income or uninsured
women with early breast cancer
detection. Workshops provide life saving
self breast exam awareness and education.
Clinics are held in churches, temples, and
local community centers.
For information on these and other programs
call the YWCA at (714) 871-4488.
He misses his friends and wants to
rejoin the debate team, a favorite activity
for the aspiring public interest attorney.
He’s also active with the Leukemia &
Lymphoma Society and plans to continue
raising funds through charity walks and
the sale of anti-cancer bracelets.
The entertaining float presents an
image of a momma cat and family practicing
healthy eating and active living in a
Victorian-inspired garden. Working and
playing alongside these giant feline figures
are young patients, all courageous fighters
against life-threatening diseases. Entitled
“Purrfectly Healthy,” the float aims to
inspire people to make the lifestyle
changes that can lead to better total
health, a central theme of Kaiser’s ongoing
“Thrive” message.
On Jan. 1st, turn on your TV and look
for Anthony Garcia on Kaiser
Permanente’s Rose Parade float!
At Left:
Dave
Hollon
with mom
Adriane
and sister
Laura
decorate a
memorial
floragraph
of a donor
being
honored
in the
float.
Donor Registry. A few months later, in
February 2006, Lacey was involved in a
fatal auto accident. Lacey touched four
lives as an organ donor, including Dave’s.
He now has a pancreas that produces
insulin. His diabetes is no longer active.
Dave and his extended family first met
the Rodias in December 2006, and
together they placed Family Circle roses
on the 2007 Donate Life Rose Parade
float. For more infor on organ donation:
www.onelegacy.org or www.donatelifecalifornia.org.
For more information on the
float: www.donatelifefloat.org
AT LEFT: BACK ROW: YWCA staff members
Susana Torres, and Vi Nguyen; YWCA
board member Don Thurmond; YWCA
President Nancy Schultz; YWCA staff member
Nancy Hoan Le; Eileen Frere from ABC
News; YWCA Executive Director Diane
Masseth-Jones; YWCA physician Dr. Chi
Phan; YWCA board members Rosamaria
Gomez-Amaro, and Mona Wehner; Rose
Ruiz, YWCA Staff. FRONT ROW: CSULB
interns Kenneth Nguyen and Viet Nguyen;
and Martha Detor, YWCA Board Member.
Doctors Debra and Dallas Stout
Danielle Nava
Takes Over Direction
of Violence
Prevention Coalition
The Violence Prevention Coalition
of Orange County (VPCOC)
announced that after 8 years of dedicated
service, Drs. Dallas and Debra
Stout will be stepping down as Co-
Chairs of the Board of Directors at the
end of the year.
Danielle Nava,
MAOL, currently
the Director of
programs for the
California
Conference for
Equality and
Justice will serve as
Chair of the
VPCOC in 2011.
In 2007, Danielle
was one of three
Danielle Nava
Californians awarded the prestigious
American Marshall Memorial
Fellowship; a unique opportunity for
emerging leaders representing diverse
sectors from the United States and
Europe to engage with policymakers
and counterparts across the Atlantic
on political and public policy issues.
In 2009, she was named
Distinguished Alumna of the year by
Cypress College. Danielle holds a BA
in Sociology from CSUF, and a MA in
Organizational Leadership from
Chapman.
The VPCOC, established in 1996,
is a county-wide affiliation of businesses,
community organizations,
public and private agencies, and individuals
seeking to promote violence
prevention through a public health
model. The mission and goals of the
VPCOC are to promote the health
and wellness of our community by
reducing violence, changing community
norms by establishing non-violence
as a desired behavior.
To find out more about the group
go to www.vpcoc.org.