Howie D. Performs A Class Act

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Feb 18, 2001 Source: The London Free Press Submitted By: Danielle -Ian Gillespie At first it didn't seem to have much to do with death and dying. At first it seemed to be all about meeting someone famous. There was the girl clutching a camera and her copy of the latest Backstreet Boys CD. There was the boy with his Backstreet Boys sticker book. There was the Backstreet Boys video blaring from the back wall. There were the reporters, including two women from MuchMusic dressed in black and sporting hair the color of rancid grapes. There were the record company guys pasting Backstreet Boys posters on the walls. There were the young girls-who likely knew Howie D. wears a size-eight shoe, favors the colour purple and owns a cat named Christopher-trading bits of gossip. "I think Kevin looks better with his long hair," whispers one to another. But more than anything there was the electric expectancy that jangles through people when they are about to see a superstar. About 75 people were waiting yesterday in the townstairs conference room at the Public General campus of the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance. They knew Howie Dorough-"the sweet one" from the Backstreet Boys-was going to present a $27,500 for a palliative care room - a room for people who are dying. But nobody was talking about death. And that didn't surprise Jacquie Logan-Stephens. She's the hospital's palliative care co-ordinator and she says that even when death is right in front of our eyes, we usually look away. "Most people don't want to talk about palliative care," she said. "They don't want to talk about the end of life." Logan-Stevens said the money from Dorough's foundation would help equip a room for dying patients and their families. It would buy things like a sound system, a TV set and a reclining chair. It would help give a dying person a bit of dignity. But nobody was talking about that. Not at first. Waiting for Dorough to arrive - the foggy weather delayed the performer's flight from Chicago - a Zomba Records representative talked about how Dorough and the other four Backstreet Boys are on the first leg of an 11-month world tour and how they're scheduled to perform tonigh in Pontiac, Mich. And Scott Fortnum talked about how this type of high-profile donation generates publicity for the Alliance's efforts to add $60 million in upgrades to Chatham's health-care facilities by 2003. "A big gift like this creates a lot of excitement in the community," Fortnum said. "And that tends to lead to more support." Fortnum talked about how his donation started with the efforts of Liz Fields, a local woman who heads a Canadian fan club for the Backstreet Boys. But death seemed the farthest thing from everyone's mind when Howie D. finally stode into the room at about 5:30 p.m. Flashbulbs exploded, people applauded, girls giggled and photograpers jostled for position. And then Howie D. started talking. "I lost my sister in '99 to Lupus," He said. "I never thought it was a disease that would take her life." He explained a bit about Lupus: it's a chronic disease that attacks the autoimmune system, which causes inflammation of various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints and kidneys. About 50,000 Canadians are afflicted with lupus. There is no cure. And then he recalled how he'd gone to North Carolina, where his sister, Caroline, lived, as soon as he heard her condition had worsened. And how he got there too late. "I missed her by an hour," he said. "We lost her...I didn't get to say goodbye to her." And he said he started the Dorough Lupus Foundation to rais money to help other people suffering from lupus and to help pay for research into a possible cure. And then he turned the microphone over to another sister, Angie Herring. "I stood in the corridor, watching them try to resuscitate my sister," she said. "When the priest came in to give her last rites...there were a whole bunch of people there. There was no privacy." Finally, somebody was talking about the reason for all of this. Finally, someone was talking about death. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: markus http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: johnanz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Comment on this item. Next Item: 2000's Biggest Money Makers Prev Item: Teen Pop Acts Ready For Summer Tours