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THE ERA 1 INCLUDING GST I 24 OWTaq- Sunday Jan 17 2010 on edge of disaster Family feeling effects of earthquake in Dominican Republic BY TERESA LATCH FORD The atmosphere is solemn on the north shore of the Domini can Republic in the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti Newmarket resident Steve Mas- sen says Mr his wife Lisa and two children Veronica and Luke are on a mission in the Domini can providing dairy medical care to 300 to 500 people who have little or no access to health care but have a love of life But in the wake of the natural disaster just across the border Mr has witnessed those who usually laugh and joke revert to silent worry The Haitian population here is just an emotional mess he said They are very much on edge and dont know what to da- He is surrounded by people who have no contact with their families in Haiti not knowing if they survived the quake and are left to do nothing as the border has been closed They are transporting medi cal aid and interpreters across the borders in convoys he said But many locals are frustrated that they have no choice but to PEOPLE Mother son in fight for life Mom urges you to sign donor card See KUMSBIS page BY TERESA tlatchfordQyrmg com Tanis Hargrave is encouraging others to help create a miracle for someone else It was hard for her to watch her son Dan miss out on the life his teenage peers enjoyed At 16 he weighed just 30 pounds couldnt walk and suffered from severe breathing prob lems Dan lives with cystic fibrosis a genetic multiorgan disease affecting the lungs and digestive system He only had 10percent of his lung func tion Ms Hargrave said Think of putting a straw in your mouth and breathing through it it prevents you from doing a lot In 2002 doctors at the Hospital for Sick Children prepared Ms Hargrave for the possi bility of her sons life lasting less than a month His only hope was a lung transplant and at what they thought were the final moments a donor supplied him with new lungs Theres no words to describe the feeling she said In one moment we didnt think a donor would come in time and then it hap pened The only way to describe it is a miracle Prior to her sons surgery Ms Hargrave would lay awake in bed listening to Dan cough throughout the night in the next room The first night he was home after his transplant she lay awake in silence it was the best feeling she had ever had Not only was her son walking he was running playing paintball swimming and doing all the things a teenager does It gave him a new quality of life she said See HAM page VISIT Y0RKRE6I0NCOM FOR BREAKING NEWS PHOTO GALLERIES VIDEO AND MORE HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY SEND A LETTER TO THE EDITOR TO TMCFA0DENYRMGCOM 2010 498 49 TURBO SHAWD MONTH DOWN LEASE AM ACURA MSRP and payment Include EHF tires and fitters AC and OMVK fee andeutud taxes and applkaNe dealer charges mi an WC 1lt am 15796 Yonge St Aurora 9058411400 EfTtfttt