Everyday Hearts book on sale

Hi Everyone!
It is wonderful that you're still checking Leeah's blog though not much has been going on.

The book Everyday Hearts (created in dedication to Leah) will be available for purchase again soon and can be ordered through Jackie Davis at jackiebmassage@cox.net. Proceeds will continue to go to the Elleanah and Drew Ploutz Trust Fund.
Copies compltely sold out at Leah's Memorial Party on July 25th, so Jackie is collecting orders for a second round. $25 for the book plus $5 for shipping. The inspirational book is a great gift and Christmas season is approaching!

Jackie is also considering making another book available next March, so stay tuned! Many people have shared the hearts they have found in unexpected places and it has been very inspiring.

Reminder

Everyday Hearts will be available for purchase at Leah's Memorial Event July 25th

Leah's Dragonfly Fun Run/Walk

Leah's cousin Sarah is organizing a fun run/walk the morning of the party - open to all who are interested!

Date: July 25th
Time: 9:30 am
Place: 151 Carriage Drive, Portsmouth RI
We will be running and/or walking starting on Carriage Drive, through the Aquidneck Land Trust (one of Leah's favorite spots), and around Oakland Farms.  The total distance is about 2 miles.
Feel free to wear a warrior t-shirt or a blue shirt for colon cancer.


Please sign up at the following link so Sarah can get a rough count of how many peoplw will be there.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0945afaf2ea1fb6-leahs/

Thanks for your support!!!!

Leah's Memorial Event July 25th

Leah's husband Bryan is hosting a backyard event in honor of Leah's birthday. This will be a time to remember and celebrate!

When: Saturday July 25, 2015 (rain or shine - there will be a big tent)
           starts at 1:00pm - come & go as you'd like during the day
Where: Ploutz House - 151 Carriage Drive, Portsmouth, RI (parking along street)
Who: Family & friends. If you're wondering if you're a close enough friend to attend, the answer is yes! They'd love to have you!

La Bella Musica (a string quartet!!) will start playing at 1:30pm

There will be food from Becky's BBQ! Barbeque pulled chicken and pork, corn on the cob, corn bread, baked beans, potato salad, and cole slaw.
If you'd like something else, feel free to bring a side dish to share or a dessert. Please use disposable dishes/platters or take home any dishes you'd like to keep.

There will be yard activities for the kids (playground, and maybe a water table & bouncy house)

A Facebook event was created to track RSVP's to get a rough head count. Here is the link:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1449775035340905/
It should be open to anyone but if you have trouble accessing it, let us know. You may also RSVP by commenting to this post.

There will be more information on the Fun Run later.

Everyday Hearts

Everyday Hearts - an inspirational photo book

Leah's friend, Jackie Davis, has created a wonderful photo book in memory of Leah. Details are below. It is a joy to "find" the heart in each photograph, and inspires me to look at nature more closely.
Please consider pre-ordering your copy by emailing Jackie at jackiebmassage@cox.net before June 13th so she can order enough.


So I finally put all those hearts I've been finding to good use. After losing my friend Leah in March I got the idea (though she had actually set it in motion before she passed away).

During Leah's battle with colon cancer I would send her texts with photos of the hearts I found. She used to tell me I should make a book with my heart photos. After going over the idea with her husband Bryan I decided to do just that.

I created a book called 'Everyday Hearts.' It features over 35 photos of the hearts I've found with stories that go with them. The book is dedicated to Leah and proceeds from its sale will go to the Trust Fund that has been set up for her young children Elleanah and Drew.

'Everyday Hearts' is $25, will be gift-wrapped and include a bookmark. It's a 5.75" x 7.75" hardcover book with 20 pages of photos.

It will be available at some local businesses in Bristol. I'll have copies as will Kim McCarthy. And they'll be available at Leah's event in July.

Books can be shipped for a fee of $5. If it's a gift I can ship it and include a hand-written note to the receiver on your behalf.

I'd like to know who is interested in purchasing a book so I can be sure to order enough. I can ship it to you or set aside for you and have it at the event in July. Or Kim or I can coordinate it being picked up.  They will be ready within the next two weeks or so.

I can be reached at: jackiebmassage@cox.net

Thank you to my husband Tim, Leah's husband Bryan and Leah's friend Kim for all their help!
~ Jackie Davis

Save the Date! Saturday, July 25th

In honor and remembrance of Leah's birthday July 22, there are some fun events scheduled for Saturday July 25, 2015.

Family and Friends Fun Run in the morning, organized by Leah's cousins.
Memorial Party the same day in the afternoon, hosted by Bryan.

Details to be determined.

Leah, fair Leah

Matt Atwood (and family) wrote 5 songs for Leah and shared them with her during her journey. They are embedded below, and here is the direct link: https://soundcloud.com/basement-audio-lab/sets/leah

Leah the prankster

[read this post to see what the memory sharing is all about] 

At the end of Leah's memorial service on Friday March 27 at the Atlantic Beach Club, there was time to publicly share Leah-memories. Leah's friend Sarah McLean lives in Los Angelos, California so she recorded this video that was shared on the projector that day. The text version is below for those who can't watch the video.

My name is Sarah Mclean, also known as "TV Sarah", and I worked at SEA CORP for 6 years alongside Leah. I wanted to

SHOWING UP FOR LIFE: A legacy

[read this post to see what the memory sharing is all about]

I remember when Leah was first diagnosed. It was pretty surreal for us all within and of itself, but then added was the backdrop that we already had a family member with cancer. This surely could not be happening. Because of the initial surgery and outcome I remember saying to Leah that it seemed like she had cancer with the “small C.” (I will never use that term again) This was a result of my own denial and chastisement, in part, but also the beginning of how this disease and its course invaded Leah’s body and the lives of those who loved her. No small part of this initial assessment of mine was the additional optimism one needs to feel when given a cancer diagnosis, test, and surgery results.

Blog September 28, 2012:

Surgery was completed at 5:15pm. Surgeon says it all went as planned, there was just the 1 tumor and he got it all. 18 inches of colon removed and many nodes for testing. Determined that no bag would be needed! All in all it's the best news we could expect at this point. She's waking up soon.

We thought we were on our way to chemo and wellness.

October 26, 2012, blog post:

 PET scan results

Well thank God for the yay list because we have bad news. I just got off the phone with the oncologist and the scan results are in. The PET is 99% accurate and it showed that the nodule is cancer and that there are also other several other tiny spots around it that are cancerous as well. The staging is now changed to stage 4 cancer. The plan is still to use chemo to treat the cancer in the lungs, so thank God for Chemo!

This news hit us all like a ton of bricks to the head. I remember taking a call from my sister,

"Seacorp daughter"

[read this post to see what the memory sharing is all about]

I met Leah the first day she started at SEA CORP. She and I shared an office with another new employee. We quickly became friends and had many discussions on everything under the sun. Leah was the same age as my daughter and our friendship took on the aspect of a Father and Daughter. At some point she started referring to me as her East Coast Father. As time passed, my company “Daughters” increased to five. They began calling me their SEA CORP Dad and included me in almost everything they did. A few years ago Leah had my daughter take one of my company jackets and she had “Dad” embroidered underneath the “SEA CORP” logo. She called me and said the ladies were having lunch together and I should come over. When I got there, they presented me with my “new” jacket and I was at a loss for words. That was how I got my “SEA CORP Dad” jacket. Leah was like that, thinking of how to make other people happy. She did that for everyone she knew.

We had many talks/ discussions on various subjects over time and it got to the point where she had a chair designated for me and put a sign above it that said "Rudy’s Chair". That sign followed her around when she moved offices and I always got a smile when I would go to her office and see the designated chair.  We celebrated birthdays by going out to lunch and occasionally we just went out to break up the day. When Leah and Bryan set their wedding date, she couldn’t wait to tell me it was on my birthday. Our lunches continued after her diagnosis and became more frequent.  Leah was always upbeat when we met and she was very open with what was going on and the treatment she was receiving. Occasionally we would set a lunch date and she would call or text saying she really didn’t feel like going out so we could have lunch at her home.  She would ask me what I wanted and I would tell her the same as she was having. So I would have my Vegan lunch. 

Leah was a kind, caring and gracious person.  I am thankful that I could spend time with her as a friend (Daughter) and will always remember her and will miss her every day. 

-SEA CORP Dad

Leah the teambuilder

[read this post to see what the memory sharing is all about]

I met Leah on a ski slope a little over 12 years ago.  During a lift ride I learned that she was a new college graduate, had family in and around Newport, and that she didn’t have a job.  My initial impression, which later grew substantiated, was that she was humble, motivated, hardworking, positive, active and enjoyed having fun.  I thought about how hard it was to get a day off and figured she might be someone that could potentially help with that.  I invited her to send in a resume and to come see us at SEA CORP.    The interview soon followed and we signed her up to help us with the ongoing engineering work.  She quickly became embroiled in developing the designs to put new systems on the submarines.  She didn’t have a ton of confidence but she wasn’t afraid of anything. You could tell her what you needed done and she’d have her little half smile that was more of a grimace, raise her eyebrows, and would say a hesitant “OK” and then she’d go back to her desk.   When she finished she’d unveil her work expecting that it was all wrong.  She would be disbelieving when I said that I thought it was great.  “It is?” she’d say with a bit of surprise and would raise her eyebrows.

She was great person to work with.  She had a great work ethic and a playful sense of humor. It was so important to her that she create a positive atmosphere and to be part of a team.  She didn’t get easily rattled.  It almost felt like she trusted me more than she trusted herself.   If I told her that she could do something, she would believe me and she would do it regardless of how difficult.   You could ask her to do something, that maybe sounded impossible, and she’d just accept it, maybe give you a facial expression saying “this isn’t going to come out so good” and then she would go do it.  

We went to a ship check near Seattle, WA and she talked me doing some hiking around the area. It made me more aware of what the area had to offer and I found more hikes on subsequent trips.

She is the kind of person that makes life enjoyable.  The kind that you try to find in the world and then

Leah the fabulous baker!

[read this post to see what the memory sharing is all about]  

I'm about to make my first loaf of cinnamon swirl bread and I'm thinking about Leah.  I wish I could call her and ask her how she made hers so amazing.  She usually made it for me for my birthday.  Sometimes she would just have it at her house when we came over for a play date.  Now that all the services are over, I'm left with those moments that I wish I could call her, or have another play date with her.  I miss you Leah.  - Sarah Atwood

---

Hi Kim,
Thank-you so much for helping everyone to continue sharing Leah stories!

Whenever Leah made us her delicious and healthy vegan banana muffins, she knew our entire family all loved them, so she made sure to give us the recipe for us to make them ourselves. After she baked the muffins and gave them to us, she would text us to make sure we each ate at least one while they were still warm. They won't ever taste the same without her touch, but we wanted to share the recipe just as she gave it to us with her changes and handwriting. Now everyone can enjoy her recipe and more of her "sweetness".

Love you Leah!

The Colman family (Judy, Drew, Hadley and Paige)

 

Leah's laugh

[read this post to see what the memory sharing is all about]
This memory was shared by Matt Ploutz.

One of my favorite memories of Leah came in the days after she and my brother were engaged at the top of Castle Rock, on Blue Mountain Lake.

The engagement ring came in one of those boxes with a little battery powered light to reflect off the diamond and make it sparkle.  Leah discovered that an amazing reuse of this box was to project light on the wall of the cabin we were staying in, which was a perfect backdrop for shadow puppets.

Since we were in the Adirondacks (and because they're hilarious creatures), I decided that my character would be a moose.  There really is nothing THAT funny about a shadow puppet moose with an ultra-deep voice speaking mostly in grunts, but I never heard Leah laugh harder than when I was "performing" as that character.  As anyone who spent time with Leah knows, her laugh was contagious, and before too long, everyone would be holding their stomachs and out of breath from uncontrollable laughter.

I would've shared this one at the Memorial Service, but 1) Someone would have coerced me into doing the moose voice in public, and 2) While it would have been one of the more lighthearted stories, I would still have had a hard time keeping my composure.  It's really hard to face the reality that Leah's laugh only lives on in our memories.