My son, Patrick was diagnosed with leukemia on August 15, 1979. He was ten years old. For several months prior to his diagnosis, Patrick had been sick with strep throat. The strep infection returned despite the penicillin he was taking. He was first diagnosed at the Winchester Hospital, in Winchester, MA. That same day, we took him to see Dr. Truman at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Truman began tests to identify Patrick's type of leukemia. From then on we were on a roller coaster ride.

Dr. Truman told us that Patrick had Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL), and that it was so bad they didn't think Pat would survive the weekend. I believe, through prayers, Pat lived 19 more months, but with much pain and suffering. His diagnosis went from ALL to AML (Acute Myelogenous Leukemia). Pat died on March 25, 1981.

In the fall of 1979, a notice appeared in our local newspaper, The Daily Times, that asked anyone who had a child with leukemia, or knew of any child with leukemia, to come to a meeting at Trinity Episcopal Church. My husband, Richard, and I went to the meeting, and met the other parents whose children had the disease. Thus began the investigation that lead to a civil suit because of toxic chemicals which had been dumped in our community. The suit involved W.R. Grace and Beatrice Foods (John J. Riley Tannery). We won the case against W.R. Grace, but not against Beatrice Foods. Unfortunately, the Riley tannery was the greater polluter. This case has brought more attention to the environment and what harm pollution can cause.

My husband, Richard, died October 6, 1989, after a two-year battle with Adenoid Cystic Cancer, another rare type of cancer. I had Basal cell cancer removed from my face in 1972. I had a melanoma removed from my upper left arm in July 1989. I also had open heart surgery to May 13, 1990 to repair a valve in my heart. I believe it was the stress from losing my son and husband which caused my heart murmur to get progressively worse. My last child, Sheila, came home from the hospital on the first anniversary of Patrick's death. I also lost another son, Jimmy, at the age of four and a half. He was killed in front of our home in April 1972.

— Written by Mary Toomey

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