Mom speaks at St. Jude pickleball event in Henrico: 'Thank you for the gift of my daughter'
A pickleball tournament in Henrico on Saturday raised money for cancer research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, with organizers hoping to hit a $25,000 fundraising goal.
The first "Love Pickle — Stop Cancer" St. Jude Pickleball Tournament at Performance Pickleball supported patients like Leah, who was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia as a baby and was told she would not live past 36 weeks.
Leah was diagnosed with AML leukemia at 18 months old at the end of 2010. Her subtype was described as very rare. She did not respond to chemotherapy, but St. Jude pioneered a parent stem cell transplant, using her mother's stem cells to defeat the cancer. Leah recently celebrated 15 years in remission.
Today, Leah is a junior in high school, plays field hockey as a goalie and is looking at colleges.
Her mother, Kate Duggan, said she was faced with the possibility of only having 36 more weeks with her child and never paid for a single plane ticket, meal or treatment during their time at St. Jude.
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