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MyspaceDave Damiano, marketing director for the Metropolitan Transit District (MTD) and two-term past president of the Downtown Organization board, died this Monday of liver failure at age 46. In addition to his marketing duties, Damiano was charged with planning bus routes and schedules. “It’s a lot to lose David for the district, but it’s a lot to lose him as a friend,” said Sherrie Fisher, MTD general manager. “He was the person to remind me of all the places I needed to be and to make sure we don’t forget who we’re serving and how we should communicate to them.”
When Damiano started with MTD in 1999, he knew little about transit districts. MTD was just emerging from under a cloud of community controversy over fare hikes and a previous executive discredited over conflict-of-interest allegations. In that context, Damiano emerged as a seemingly unlikely point person for the media and the community. He was quiet and reserved, yet he quickly established himself as a consistent presence in community affairs, someone who did the work without grabbing the headlines. He was active with the Downtown Organization board, serving two terms as president. When downtown merchants were clamoring for tougher laws restricting the homeless, Damiano led the charge in favor of the “Real Change, Not Spare Change” campaign designed to provide those inclined to give to panhandlers a less enabling alternative. That the campaign withered before bearing fruit cannot be attributed to Damiano’s lack of effort.
About a year ago, Damiano was diagnosed with a rare liver malfunction, Wilson’s disease, stemming from his body’s inability to process copper. The medications he was taking, he discovered late last week, had thrashed his liver; he would need a transplant. Damiano died before making it onto a transplant list. “He’s the best boss I ever had,” said Kate Schwab, who handled many marketing functions under Damiano. “I knew nothing about transit, and he taught me. He said, ‘You are good at this job, you belong here, and I will help you.’”
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Comments
This is a huge loss to our community...and humanity. David was a talented and effective colleague. His passing is very hard to accept. He made our community a better place.
robpearson (anonymous profile)
October 18, 2012 at 9:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)
How can you not make it to the transplant list in time? I don't understand. Very sad indeed.
bimboteskie (anonymous profile)
October 18, 2012 at 10:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
@bimboteskie - It's not so much making it to the top of list in time (though it appears from the article that he only had about a year from the time of his diagnosis of liver failure to his death) but more about the chances of a candidate to make it through the surgery, survive and thrive.
Liver transplants are some of the best resulting transplants of organs there are, in terms of long-term results. Even if you have non-functioning liver, in some cases, your liver can be partially grafted to a liver, even and you can regenerate enough for a good chance at a normal life span. But you still have to be a patient who has a good expectation of survival in order to be even put on the list and people who are younger and have no other complications will be on it before you.
Native1 (anonymous profile)
October 18, 2012 at 1:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)