VERITAS: TOUCHDOWN - STOIC DAD MAY HELP SAVE LIVES

We’ve addressed many times here the always delicate situation of ordinary folks suddenly thrust into the media spotlight due to a sudden, tragic death in their circle. I always say there’s no right or wrong way to respond: some prefer to maintain their privacy, while others will seize the opportunity to send a message in the aftermath and try and bring some good out of their loss. The latter was exemplified this week by Paul Frustaglio, whose 13 year-old son Evan died suddenly after contracting the H1N1 flu. Frustaglio did not hesitate to make himself available to media, to use his family’s terrible tragedy to drive home the potential severity of the virus and the importance of getting the flu shot. His grief was palpable, especially in a riveting interview with Bill Carroll on NewsTalk 1010 on Tuesday. Suddenly this H1N1 thing had a face – and it was that of an otherwise healthy kid in a hockey sweater. Everybody got the message, as evidenced by the huge spike in demand for information and inoculations.