Pillitteri and crew brighten up Christmas for local teen

When Amber Dyck sent out a text asking for her family’s help upping their game with outdoor Christmas decorations, the response was pretty immediate.

She was hoping for extra decorations that friends might be willing to lend to them this season. But Joe Pillitteri’s reply went much further. “Consider your exterior lights taken care of,“ he said, promising to have a crew at their Virgil home the next morning, and a lift to do the trees in front of the house a well.

Amber said she sent the text because her 15-year-old daughter  Megan “has always said that our Christmas decorating outside is pretty dull,” and she was hoping to give Megan something special to enjoy this year. “She loves light, and she loves Christmas. Every year we put a few decorations up outside, and this year we thought we could speak to a few friends, borrow some lights and spice it up for her. And Joe said he was on it. He came prepared. He brought everything he needed.”

Megan didn’t know what was being planned, but when she woke up Monday, “she heard people on the roof.”

Amber told her it was Joe, and he that he was there because he wanted to make Megan’s Christmas special.

“We couldn’t wait for her to see it,” said Amber.

But the day came with its sadness, for Pillitteri and his crew, and for Megan’s family.

“No matter how magical it is, nothing could replace having more Christmases with Megan.”

The young teen is no longer being treated for clear cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer that has spread to other parts of her body. Her care is now palliative.

“Research wasn’t fast enough to find a cure for her,” said Amber,“ so we’ll take the lights this year, and pray that by next year, other families won’t find themselves in the same situation.”

Any awareness of cancer and funding for research it might bring will help others in the future, she adds. “That’s our deepest Christmas wish, that by sharing our story, no other family will have to go through what we are going through.”

Pillitteri said his crew from Lakeview Vineyard Equipment showed up at 8 a.m., and worked until about 3 p.m. But that wasn’t the end of it.

When he saw Amber’s text about decorations to brighten up the yard, “I offered our assistance. I welcomed the challenge.”

And one of his men, Mike Key, decided they could do a little more than requested.

“Mike’s role is see the harvester decorated for the tractor parade. So he decided to do that a little early, and when back to get the harvester.”

Then Erwin and Dorothy Wiens jumped in and they could get their little tractor ready with its Mickey Mouse ears, and the two vehicles arrived at the Dyck house after dark Monday, brightly decorated as they will be for the parade.

All that was important to Pillitteri and his crew, he said, “was to see Megan’s reaction, to see her smile, and her smile was awesome.”

“That was the most satisfying for all of us,” he said, “her smile, and finding a way to give back like that. That’s what stuck with me about yesterday, that everyone felt the same.”

Pillitteri said he is always so impressed by the way Megan and her family handle what they are dealing with, managing to stay positive in such difficult circumstances.

“They are a really strong family, and they have faith. Megan has faith, that she will be with God and she will be free,” said Pillitteri.

“The family are people who have always given back to their community in many different ways,” he continued. “They’ve shown that when you do that, you get all that back. When we give back, we get far more out of it than we give. I think that is the greatest lesson for our community.”

Although Pillitteri had no plans to talk to the press about yesterday’s events, wanting them to be something they could do quietly for the family, “Amber wanted to use this story as a way to fight for a cure, to benefit others.”

Amber has high praise for Pillitteri, his commitment to raising money through the annual Terry Fox run to end cancer, and all he has done for her family and many others.

“I’ve never met anyone with such generosity, kindness and compassion for others. When he says he’s going to take of you, you know he’s sincere. He really takes care of you. We’re so thankful, so touched to have him in our lives.”

She is also grateful to the many people in the community who have helped them, she says. “Our community is incredible.”

“The continued work of the Terry Fox Foundation and the support of communities like ours,” she continues, filled with people like Joe Pillitteri, committed to raising money for cancer research, “give me hope for better days ahead for those who face this terrible disease.”

“This community,” she adds, “is so much richer because of Joe.”

Pillitteri says donations are currently being doubled for the The Terry Fox Foundation until the end of they year by an anonymous donor from Toronto, up to $500,000, so any money donated to Team Pillsy, or to the tractor parade will be doubled, and will be very much appreciated. To donate visit https://run.terryfox.ca/55866/team/34459