Friends of primary-immunodeficiency victim follow through on last wishes
By Michael Picarella
Acorn Staff Writer

Monica and Mark Spiro

Now in its fourth year, Oak Park residents Mark and Monica Spiro continue to fulfill the last wishes of a dear friend by raising money in an annual triathlon to improve patient facilities at different hospitals. The Spiros’ friend, Dina LaVigna, passed away five years ago at age 33 after a lifetime of suffering from primary immunodeficiency (PI).

During LaVigna’s last few years, she expressed her desire to improve the lives of young children she met during her regular visits to Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York City, which serves much of the nation’s PI sufferers. In 1999, LaVigna’s brother Grant and the Spiros founded a triathlon/relay to raise money for what would be called the Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Fund to fulfill LaVigna’s dreams.

"We’re very close to (LaVigna’s) family," Monica said. "We would always have gatherings at her family’s house in Camarillo." Monica met LaVigna during college at UCLA and the two became more than friends.

LaVigna lived life to its fullest, according to Mark. She lived in Southern California, Washington, D.C. and Manhattan, N.Y. She traveled the globe and enjoyed being with her family, Mark said, which included her husband, Jeff Schmidt, and her 15-month-old (at the time) son, Zachary.

Through the years, LaVigna’s lung capacity diminished due to her severe illnesses brought on by PI. Her doctors eventually encouraged her to undertake a double lung transplant. LaVigna didn’t survive the operation.

The Spiros didn’t take the news well, they said. But they continued to spend time with LaVigna’s family. Her relatives are considered their extended family.

"We’re all very active," Mark said. "We go river rafting every year—we go skiing and running …" Grant came up with the idea to extend their extracurricular activities into a triathlon to raise money in hopes to realize LaVigna’s last wishes.

The first triathlon involved only two tri-athletes, Grant and Mark. And Monica was the support crew. Grant and Mark swam a quarter mile in the ocean in Ventura, biked 65 miles to Marina del Rey and ran 15 miles to Torrance. They ultimately raised more than $15,000.

The second triathlon in 2000 had a bigger turnout. This time, 12 friends and family members, including Monica, joined Grant and Mark and raised $30,000.

Last year, the triathlon was open to the public and more than 120 participants with support from the business community helped raise $80,000.

This year, the Spiros and Grant with assistance from many friends and family members spent a tremendous amount of time organizing this year’s Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Charity Triathlon.

"The idea was to do it once," Mark said. "But people would ask us if we were going to do it again. We hadn’t thought about it, but we said, ‘Yeah, we’ll do it again.’"

Planning the triathlon is a lot of work, Monica said. But it’s a labor of love. The preparations include planning the course for participants, getting permits from different government entities which have included the cities of Ventura and Oxnard, the Ventura Harbor District and the state beach’s office.

That doesn’t include the fundraising aspect and attaining corporate and business donors and any other details like insurance and police protection.

The Spiros and Grant managed to get an Olympic athlete involved this year.

The triathlon this year will be on July 7 in Marina Park in Ventura and will likely generate a record amount of money, the Spiros said.

The past monies have already been put to good use.

The Dina LaVigna "Breath of Life" room at the Mt. Sinai Hospital is up and running.

The "Dina Room," as it’s now called, includes reclining chairs, TV, VCR, two computers with Internet access and more. And the room has been updated with a nursing station with space to accommodate the mixing of pharmaceuticals, medical supply storage, room for patient files and other equipment.

"It is our intention to continue to sponsor this event," the Spiros said, "to encourage patient, family and healthcare worker interaction and provide a happy moment in a potentially dreary course of a patient’s experience at the hospital."

For more information about the triathlon fundraiser, log onto www.triforlife.com.

Donations can be made payable to the "Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Fund/JMF" and mailed to Monica Spiro, event director, at 53 Oakleaf Ave., Oak Park, CA 91377.