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[ Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1999 ]
Defying the odds
Determination drives survivor to continue on
By PATRICIA TISAK
Collegian Staff Writer
When David Lys spoke to dancers at last year's Thon, he was in severe pain. Lys had undergone a total hip replacement six days before the weekend. With staples running up his right leg, he was barely able to walk on crutches. Although he was ordered to stay in bed for three months after the surgery, Lys (senior-kinesiology) had other plans. His goal was to speak to fellow students dancing at Thon, he said, and he was determined to do it. Now, a year later, the same determination is a driving force behind another one of his goals. After a year and a half of living with cancer, Lys is going to dance in the 1999 Interfraternity Council/Panhellenic Dance Marathon. "It was my New Year's resolution," he said. "The New Year is very important to me, since it really is a new year for me." Lys was diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma on Oct. 7, 1997, one of the most emotional days of his life, he said. Although Lys was 21 at the time he was diagnosed, he was eligible to receive aid from the Four Diamonds Fund because his cancer is pediatric in nature, he said. Additionally, Lys' involvement with the dance marathon through his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi, 328 E. Fairmount Ave., qualified him to be a Four Diamonds Fund recipient.
PHOTO: Mike Morones
David Lys, cancer survivor and Penn State student, speaks to a group of people at Acacia fraternity, 234 Locust Lane.
The money raised from Thon each year goes to the Four Diamonds Fund to benefit children with cancer and their families. People who receive the money have their medical bills paid for by the Fund.
This year is significant to Lys because on Feb. 2, he marked six months of remission. Lys was given a clean bill of health in August, a day he described as "nonchalant."
"I just sat there. Dr. (David) Ungar said, 'You look fine. Come back in three months,' " Lys said. "It really hit me when I was driving home. I just walked out of (the clinic) as I walked in -- with a smile on my face."
Lys said the best part about the day was when he found out he didn't have to go back to the Hershey Medical Center for three months.
"It's a big burden lifted not to have to go to the hospital all the time," he said.
If all goes well when he goes to Hershey in late April, he will be nine months into remission, he said. His cancer's remission, he said, has given him hope he wants to share with others by dancing at Thon.
His dancing partner, Amy Marquis (senior-accounting), of Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, said watching him in motion will be a source of inspiration for her during Thon.
"If I get down during the night, I can look at him. I know I'll be known during the weekend as Dave Lys' partner, not by my name," she said, laughing.
With Lys' health is back to normal, he should be fine at Thon, said his physician, Dr. Ungar. The only foreseeable problem, Ungar said, is if Lys' right leg starts to hurt. For the most part, Lys will have the same difficulties the other dancers have.
"He is somebody who has more energy than any other person I know," he said. "He's taken an experience that for a lot of people is negative and turned it into something positive, and he is to be commended."
Nowadays, Lys is focusing on recuperating from his battle with cancer. Part of the healing process, he said, is inspiring others to give to Thon.
"I can't give a million-dollar donation," he said, "but I can give a million hours of my life."
