Pictou Lights the Night to fight cancer
Almost $38,000 raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
Joe DiPenta was with the NHL’s Anaheim Ducks when they won the Stanley Cup in 2007.
The former Halifax Moosehead was preparing for a celebration parade when he was approached by a couple of teens.
“Do you remember me?” one of them asked.
It took a minute, but finally it came to him.
“I’m all better now,” Jessica told him.
Seven years earlier, as a Moosehead, he and other players would visit the IWK in Halifax on a weekly basis. It was there he met a young girl named Jessica who had leukemia. She came to a lot of his games throughout the season and he would always talk to her for a few minutes afterward.
DiPenta’s was one of several stories shared during a Light the Night event Saturday at the deCoste Entertainment Centre that included a walk along the Jitney trail. In all, $37,772 was raised for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Today DiPenta, who grew up in Cole Harbour, is vice president of Development for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and he related his story to those on hand Saturday.
As exciting a day as that was for his hockey career, it was seeing Jessica healthy and with full, long hair that stuck out for him.
“I remember her as a patient and when she didn’t have hair.”
It became important to him to help others achieve that same health again and when opportunities to help out were presented, he took them.
Darla MacKeil was MC for Saturday’s event and said like many of those gathered, she had a personal reason for participating. Her husband’s first cousin, who is like a sister to them, was diagnosed with leukemia at age three. She is now 33 and cancer free.
“That’s why I light the night,” MacKeil said. “Our reasons for being here are diverse but our goal is singular. We’re here to celebrate the lives we’ve lost, support those who are facing a diagnosis and show Pictou and the world that we want to see the end of cancer.”
Another speaker at the event was Donna Murray, who told of her brother Paul Rudolph’s battle with cancer. He was diagnosed in October 2011 and passed away less than two years later.
But during his life and during his battle, Rudolph taught her many important lessons, she said.
“The most important one was never give up,” she said. “Although Paul lost his battle he believed there would be a day when no one would. This year we honour his fight by lighting the night to help make his belief a reality.”
She said she was very proud of what they were able to accomplish with this year’s event.
“Tonight, our support could have saved a life or it brings us that much closer to finding a cure. That is very powerful.”