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