Colin's Angels Family, friends do best to keep boy's spirit alive

By Paul Janczewski Legal News This story does not have a happily-ever-after ending. How can it when Colin J. Dembo, a beautiful, blue-eyed 5-year-old boy, dies suddenly in his father's arms in a hospital emergency room after experiencing what appeared to be symptoms resembling the flu? But Mitch and Patrice Dembo hope that by spreading the word about viral myocarditis - through a memorial foundation in their son's name, a website honoring his too-short life and the efforts and medical research of Dr. Jeffrey A. Towbin, a leader in heart diseases of children - that other parents might never feel the emptiness, devastating sadness and permanent loss they did on Oct. 25, 2005. Their story begins much like any other family's does. Dembo, 48, a Genesee County attorney living in Grand Blanc, was born in Miami and adopted the day after he was born. He grew up on Long Island, N.Y. and graduated from the University of Delaware in 1984 with a degree in criminal justice. He came to Michigan to attend the Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, and midway through, met his future wife at a party given for students who were halfway through law school. Patrice had just finished getting a degree from Michigan State University, but was working as a bartender while waiting to return to school for a pharmacy degree. The two met at the party, and fell in love. Mitch graduated from Cooley in 1987, but decided to remain in Michigan. She was from North Branch, but the couple moved to Grand Blanc and were married in 1991. For the next 14 years, they were the picture of the perfect, average family. Mitch practiced law, Patrice was a pharmacist at a local Meijer's store, and they raised three boys - Tyler, 17, Evan, 15, and Colin, who was born in 2000. They did everything a normal family does. Taking the boys to various events, playing sports, camping and church. But they said Colin completed their family. "He was amazing," Mitch said. "He'd walk in and light up the room with his smile." They described him as happy, bright, and very precocious, would sing, dance and act to entertain everyone. "He'd go all day, and when he was tired, he'd just go to sleep where ever he was," Mitch said. "And he'd be the first one up in the morning, always in a great mood, and he'd get us all fired up for the day. Colin was the sparkplug for our family." When he finally started kindergarten, he couldn't wait to take the school bus. But after his first day, he came home and said, "I quit." But he got over it quickly and was anxious for Day 2. But their world began to crash in late October 2005. On Saturday, Colin became ill with cold-like symptoms. They took him to an after-hours clinic, and tried to relieve his fever with medicines after the doctor there diagnosed it as flu, saying it would run its course. Their other children had gone through the cold and flu bug, and this looked no different. On Sunday, Colin seemed fine, and acted normal. Still, Patrice kept him home from school Monday. Later that day, he threw up. On Tuesday, his lips began to turn blue, and he appeared listless and worn out. "But he felt cold," Mitch said, and they decided to take him to the hospital to get checked out. While checking him in and pulling out his insurance card, Mitch felt Colin slump, like he had gone to sleep. "But it felt like something else," he said. "His heart stopped." Doctors said Colin's body temperature had fallen to 94.7 degrees, and they worked on reviving him for two hours, to no avail. At 5 ? years young, Colin was dead. "It was the worst thing ever in my life," Mitch said. Instead of leaving the hospital with their son, they left with a bag of his belongings. Weeks later, after an autopsy, they discovered Colin died from viral myocarditis, which attacks the heart muscles. For the next several years, Mitch and Patrice tried to pull the family back together and launched a personal investigation to learn as much as they could about viral myocarditis "to solve the mystery." They were led to Towbin, a pediatric heart expert at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and he agreed to become involved in the Dembo family's awareness campaign. The Dembos, relatives, and Colin's godparents launched a website and a foundation, and in 2007 began the Colin's Angels Golf Outing. So far, the nonprofit foundation has raised more than $18,000 for Towbin's research of the illness. Another $4,000 has been donated to Cook Elementary School in Grand Blanc, where Colin attended kindergarten, for an annual literacy project. And Towbin has held two lectures at the Genesys Regional Medical Center, where Colin was treated, speaking to professionals in health care to educate them on the symptoms, treatment and prevention strategies for viral myocarditis. In some cases, when it is found early on, medications or other treatments can be used to fight it. Severe cases may require a heart transplant. He said even the best and biggest hospitals can miss the correct diagnosis. But there is hope, he said. Research advances have developed diagnostic tests that can identify a heart virus. "Twenty years worth of work is starting to pay off, but we've got a long way to go," Towbin said. For more information on the Colin J. Dembo Memorial Foundation, please visit www.ColinsAngels.org. Published: Thu, Sep 2, 2010

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