The record, 13 décembre 2007, jeudi 13 décembre 2007

¦¦HH THE ¦¦¦¦¦ HBPHHMwmi —- RECORD The voice of the Eastern Townships since 1897 - ~ ' - IM«————¦ K - 75 CENTS + TAXES PM#0040007682 Thursday, December 13, 2007 y- The legacy of Kasey Gage She married two days before her death By Maurice Crossfield Stan bridge East Parents aren’t supposed to outlive their children.But Colin and Louise Gage are facing that brutal fact, and using the memory of their daughter’s strength and determination to move on.“I think we just want to tell people how strong she was,” said Colin Gage.Born in 1983 Kasey was a passionate athlete, taking part in triathlons, inline skating and skiing, often with her dad.She wouldn’t think twice about doing 90 laps in the family pool, or spending time on an exercise bike.But in the spring of 2006 Kasey learned she had a cancerous tumour in her left leg.That led to surgeries and chemotherapy and hospital stays.The Gages even brought in an exercise bike so their daughter could stay fit while in the hospital for treatment.“She’d be in for six days at a time for chemo treatments, and she always had hand weights or ankle weights with her to keep moving,” Colin Gage said in an interview.In those early months Kasey kept the news of her illness to herself.This, despite the operations and the post-surgical infections.But she was getting better and in November 2006 her father approached her with an idea: Join the group of local people climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to raise money for Au Diapason’s project to create an end-of-life cancer care centre in Brome-Missisquoi.“At first she wasn’t very interested.She said T don’t want to put a lot of effort into training only to find out I can’t go,’” Colin said.“But by Christmas she said she’d like to do it.” Finishing her chemotherapy in the Please see Kasey Gage on Page 2 ¦ & wwjai: -¦r’W'i.fÿl *.