By Pepper Parr
May 9th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
He was never sure he was going to actually celebrate a 50th birthday – but there he was at a Halton District School Board delegation night explaining to the trustees what leadership was all about.
He set out what few would disagree with, that the PAR process was deeply flawed and resulted in schools battling things out with others schools to ensure they were not on the close list. Cosgrove wanted his community to overcome the fears and work together as a community to find the best solution for everyone.
Casey and his daughter Kate.
The parents got part of the way – they weren’t given a lot of time. Denise Davy put it very well when she said the city of Burlington took more time to decide what to do with the Freeman station than the Board of Education spent deciding which high schools to close. Freeman was was marked for demolition. Today that station sits beside the Fire hall where it will become a must get to place for those touring the city. It will get more traffic that the Paletta Mansion when it formally opens.
It was this kind of coming together that Cosgrove looks for and what he teaches at the University of Guelph where he lectures on leadership.
Cosgrove and his wife and their three children carry the burden of their father’s illness as well as it can be managed. Casey will tell you it is what it is and then pull you into his confidence and tell you that he was injected with something from a Brazilian Sand Fly that is an experimental process he is under at the Juravinski clinic in Hamilton.
Cosgrove is grateful the small blessings that come his way. Sometime ago, when he was being treated at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto he wrote about a typical day; “ It was a LONG 8-hour day in PMH yesterday. There at 7am, left at 3 to the usual lousy traffic…blood work, then an x-ray, then a meeting with my oncologist and study nurse, then a CT, then chemo. Long day, then raced back for a hockey game with Evans team, the team I coach.
“No results yet. They have told me to expect some ‘inflammation’ in the affected areas that it is almost standard with this anti PD1 drug I am taking now. They will call me if anything out of the ordinary appears in my test results. I still feel fine, but one never knows – there is not always a direct correlation between how you feel and look vs. what’s going on inside one’s body – I think I’m living proof of that.
“Bryna is going to be mad that I forgot to tell her this – I got the call the other day and forgot frankly. You may recall another study I did where they took a part of my tumour to see if its ‘markers’ may give them information about a drug or such that may be a good match for me. No such luck – my tumour didn’t show yield any particular unique information that gave them much more to go on. I was told that there was a ‘marker’ that was very unique, but what that means they don’t know. They simply scientifically don’t know what it may mean. So, no harm no foul on that one. It didn’t tell me anything really but they had to call and let me know.
Doug the dog.
“All else is good here. Hockey has begun. School is in. Bryna back to work. Kate or Katherine (now she doesn’t care which again) was signed to do some modelling/acting, which is exciting for her to have her ‘own’ thing. She started last weekend.
A day in the life of the Cosgrove family – this evening they will celebrate – fifty years eh! You’ve still got work to do pal.
Get Doug the dog off the couch and snuggle up with your wife.
cool rip brother!….Peace, and thanks for all your community consideration.
Happy birthday Casey Cosgrove! There’s been lots wrong with this crazy PAR process, but the good part has been getting to meet amazing Burlington folks like you! Here’s to your good health and happiness – haven’t known you long but it seems like you deserve both!