By Mary Malloy
"We watched him come into work, do his job, and he still kept his spirits up," Officer Manager Carey Norris said of his friend and colleague William Mirkin. "We knew it couldn't be easy for him."
Mirkin's 17-year-old daughter, Anastasia, was diagnosed last October with medulloblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. Doctors operated immediately to remove the tumor, but because of its location, they were unable to remove all of it. "It was wrapped around nerves that had to do with her speech and her sight, so they couldn't get it all," said Norris.
After the surgery, Ana, as she is known to her friends and family, underwent radiation and chemotherapy, which she will finish in September. She is being treated at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
"We are all optimistic that she will win her fight over this terrible disease," said Unique employee Dianna Viglietta. "We had the idea for a fund-raiser because Lynbrook is tight-knit community, and everyone wants to help everyone else." Many of Unique's employees were born and raised in the community.
The company's president, Michael DiGiorgio, who is also a lieutenant at Lynbrook's Tally-Ho firehouse, had the idea to host a fund-raiser for the Mirkin family to help defray Ana's extensive medical costs. He and his employees set up a bank account in her name, and passed fliers around town announcing a fund-raiser at the firehouse.
Mirkin has worked for Unique for 12 years. He and his wife, Liliana, also have an 8-year-old son, Daniel. DiGiorgio said that Mirkin's commute back and forth to the hospital for Ana's treatments have made it difficult for him to work his regular hours, but he can "squeeze in a full week of productivity into a couple of days," DiGiorgio said.
Ana missed most of her junior year, and will have to repeat it. "She'll be getting a tutor," said Viglietta. "I hear she's feeling better after her most recent round of chemotherapy, and the next and last one is scheduled for the weekend of the fund-raiser."
The event is planned for Friday, Sept. 28 at the Tally-Ho Firehouse on Horton Avenue in Lynbrook, from 6:30 p.m. to midnight and will feature a popular local band, The Mystic, as well as 50/50 raffles, a sports memorabilia raffle, a Chinese auction, and food and drink. Donations are $ 75 per person.
If you are unable to attend, you can mail your donations to:Unique Restoration & Remodeling Inc., C/o Benefit for Ana Mirkin, 344 Hendrickson Ave., Lynbrook, N.Y. 11563. Checks can be made payable to: "Benefit for Ana Mirkin"
For tickets, donations and more information, call (516) 593-6517.
All money raised will go directly to the Mirkin family, said Norris.
Comments about this story? MMalloy@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 202.
