With Every Step, Toronto Man Pays Tribute to His

							Media Release
For Immediate Release
March 23rd, 2009

               With Every Step, Toronto Man Pays Tribute
               to His Wife’s Journey with a Brain Tumour
(TORONTO, March 23, 2009) A loving couple, Ron and Heidi were enjoying their life, and
taking every opportunity to build new memories together. This aspect of their lives became
more important with the addition to their family of their two sons, Thomas and Matthew. So
when Heidi was suddenly diagnosed with a brain tumour that eventually took her life within
one year, the memories took on an even great importance to her family. Now Heidi’s memory
lives on through her family and through a fundraising event that bring together other families
that were similarly affected by a brain tumour.
Spending time as a family was important to Ron and Heidi. Taking trips to their parent’s
cottage up north allowed the family to escape from the city, and enjoy time together. Each
year, they tried to travel abroad at least once, and looked forward to the many places they
would visit. Their family grew in size with the addition of their first son, Matthew, and soon
after with the arrival of a second, Thomas. It would be around the time of Thomas’ first
birthday that family life took a new direction.
Heidi began to experience dizziness and often felt faint, or as her husband Ron describes, she
often “simply did not feel well.” Her doctor advised Heidi to have a CT scan where they found
a mass on her brain. Further testing and an MRI confirmed that Heidi had a glioblastoma brain
tumour. She underwent surgery but the majority of the tumour could not be removed so
chemotherapy was recommended. Ron was told by the doctors that Heidi may only have one
year left to live. To prevent Heidi from losing hope, Ron decided not to tell Heidi the new
diagnosis.
Heidi tried chemotherapy, however she did not react very well to the treatment and shortly
afterwards treatment was stopped. For the last few months of her battle, Heidi was very ill
and her quality of life diminished quickly. While being in and out of the hospital, Heidi not
only broke her hip, but had pneumonia. Heidi was eventually placed in palliative care to be
attended to by caring professionals, all the while with constant support and love from her
family.
Heidi celebrated Thomas’ second birthday in the hospital, surrounded by her loving family.
On March 27, 2007, Heidi lost the battle with her brain tumour. Ron and Heidi’s sons are now
ages four and eight and have death with the loss of their mother very respectfully. Like many
fathers, Ron wonders “what life will be like for them later” but mostly expresses how much he
misses his dear wife: “I wish we could have had more time with Heidi.”
Ron wanted to find a way where he could give back and become involved in creating
awareness for others affected by or living with a brain tumour. Last spring, Ron learned about
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada’s annual Toronto Spring Sprint fundraising event and
joined to honor his wife. Along with two other families who were on their own brain tumour
journey in the same hospital during Heidi’s stay, Ron was eager to become involved in the
event and reach out to even more families.
On Saturday, April 25th, 2009, join Ron and his family along with hundreds of other people in
the GTA will join the thousands across Canada who will don their sneakers to participate in
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada’s annual Spring Sprint. Last year, in 19 cities, Spring
Sprints raised an unprecedented $1.35 million for brain tumour research and to support the
estimated 55,000 Canadians currently living with a brain tumour. Each year, an additional
10,000 are newly diagnosed.
The Toronto Spring Sprint features 5km or 10km routes through beautiful Sunnybrook Park.
People are invited to register online at www.springsprint.ca or by telephone at 1-800-265-
5106. Participants raise pledges that are used to bring hope to people affected by brain
tumours and to fund research. Each step is one closer to imagining a cure.
Ron and his family built great memories with Heidi that they will forever keep close to their
hearts. Ron and his family will continue to keep her memory alive every day, but also by
participating in the Spring Sprint event and helping others affected by a brain tumour. He will
proudly walk in loving memory of his wife, every step paying tribute to Heidi’s courage.
                       Event:       Toronto Spring Sprint
                       Date:        Saturday, April 25th, 2009
                       Location:    Sunnybrook Park, Sports Pavilion
                       Time:        9:00 am Check-In
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About Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada
There are an estimated 55,000 people in this country living with a brain tumour and 10,000 new cases
are diagnosed each year, many of those are children. Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada provides
information through a free, comprehensive Patient Resource Handbook, live and web-based annual
education events, and support through a Canada-wide, toll-free 1-800 line, website
(www.braintumour.ca), and national support groups that meet monthly in 21 cities. Brain Tumour
Foundation of Canada also supports brain tumour research through annual grants-in-aid program and
to date has donated $2.3 million directly to brain tumour research. Please visit Brain Tumour
Foundation of Canada’s website at www.braintumour.ca.

For more information or to schedule an interview, please contact:
A. Paul Mitchell
Community Relations Officer
Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada
519-642-7755 x 32
1-800-265-5106 x32
E-mail: pmitchell@braintumour.ca
Website: www.braintumour.ca