If you are reading this blog for the 4th or 5th time, get your phone out, find someone you enjoy, admire, or makes you laugh. Find the person you have not talked to in years, and pick a time and a place to have breakfast. Each morning I have breakfast with some of the best people St. Louis and soon Chicago has to offer, and it is amazing how that feels. and Say you will do things when asked. I can remember exactly where I was when someone asked me to tutor for Leah. It was in the circle drive at Nerinx in front of the school/gym. I think it was probably my first year coaching at Nerinx, I had just begun to teach at Loyola.
I have talked to people who were there when it happened, a softball field, maybe just a JV game, where the only people at JV games are people that love you. Imagine watching a young girl go through something, an episode, a seizure watching the softball game that day, they just knew it was serious and there had to be such pain and empathy of the spectators that day. Leah has had brain cancer and has had 5 of these incidents in her life. I may not have all the details correct, but this is not about the details. This is about a stubborn young girl named Leah who I was blessed to tutor in 2002. After talking with her mom Sara, we finally worked out that there would be times during my time at Loyola that I could tutor Leah midday of the school year. Luckily both Tom Nolan and Frank Corley of Loyola thought this was a good use of my time and left it up to me to give Leah some of my day still be prepared for my guys at Loyola.
It was pretty early on, that I got to see Leah as Leah. She is stubborn and kind of a perfectionist, and I think that stubbornness made her a hero. Please have no doubt in my words, Leah is my hero and one of a handful of people in my life that I admire the most. But back to Loyola her mom, Sara, came to Loyola talked to the receptionist, found Mr. Magee, and sat down and read a book. Leah and I would work for at least an hour trying to do mathematics. Here you have to understand, Leah knew math and was a great math student, but it was like she lost part of her hard drive and could not access the files. She understood exactly what a square root was and all the square roots. She knew that the square root of 289 was 17, but her brain would not allow her to draw the square root sign. So we worked for long times, I would sometimes try to circle back to the beginning to help her recapture her knowledge, and she would just look at me with a grimace. Without words she told me that this was too easy for her, and she wanted to move on, she wanted to learn more.
Both Leah and I talked this morning that we are fascinated how the brain works, and I wish we would have taped some of our study sessions. It was fascinating to me how she was reconstructing her knowledge and her abilities, she was determined to regain what she had once had. Twenty years in there has never been another Leah, and I am kind of glad I do not know of another who had their brain taken from them in this way. But she worked, and worked, and was determined to get back to the student she remembered she was. We laughed probably every day, especially when I called her out for being stubborn, and it was fascinating to see glimpses of the student she used to be. Man, did that kid work and even when her brain or memory betrayed her, she reacted for just a couple of seconds, and then get right back to the learning. I realize that I need to share her story more with my current students. They have obstacles too, but they need the stubbornness of Leah to battle through their own obstacles. Leah was in the same Nerinx class as my niece, and it is amazing to see these young women move into adulthood with families and young ones of their own. I saw Caitlin's growth and transformation on a regular basis, but Leah I just heard about. I would ask anyone she knew to give me updates, and occasionally would run into her parents. Her younger sister, Livia, battled bamboo with Mr. Milford on a Biloxi trip and Livia had the same determination as Leah on that difficult task. So I followed Leah's life on Facebook, she got engaged (smiley face), she got married (champagne bottle) and she had her own child (what emoji is there for just pure happiness). Leah graduated from Saint Louis University while still having to manage her limitations. She know has a Master's and I hope one day will get her dream job. People with cancer, young families with young ones with cancer, can see and hear her story. Listening to Leah and hearing her story could be gold for the right people. I will start praying today to give her those opportunities. I want them to know her story. The story of my Hero.
I want to write a small paragraph about Jeff and Sara, Leah's parents. Jeff was usually at work so Sara would drive Leah to Loyola and then just sit and wait. I believe she had a book, but it was evident how much she loved Leah. I wonder if she ever read it, or just sat there thinking about her daughter and the obstacles ahead. Sara showed me what a mother's love was and it reminded me of my own mother who would do anything for any of us first. Sara was determined to get the best for Leah and there is no doubt the Leah got some of her determination (stubbornness ??) from her mother. And every time I saw Jeff he greeted me with genuine warmth and a smile. I am older now and I could not write the story without writing that is was the genuine love of her family and the continued love of her family that got her through these past obstacles and have already steeled Leah's reserve, she is ready for the next bad news and she will storm into like a superhero with one fist extended.
I said yes to a neighbor in the circle drive at Nerinx, so now I am a small part of Leah's story. I was in the first movie, but in the sequels it has been other who took the supporting roles. I am blessed that I was in the original.
Leah
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