Leelanau Conservancy in Ladies Home Journal
A touching story highlights the work of The Leelanau Conservancy in the September issue of Ladies Home Journal.
September 10, 2009
By Ladies' Home Journal
www.lhj.com/volunteering/memorial-for-cancer-victim/Fighting to Live
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In one of Bridget Lamont's favorite photos, her son Jeff -- sporting a crown that sits low over his ears and wearing a tuxedo that doesn't quite fit -- presides over the 2005 homecoming festivities at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School, in Springfield, Illinois. The 19-year-old and his queen, radiant in white satin, look like the quintessential high school homecoming couple.
But maternal pride isn't the only reason Bridget cherishes this photo. For her it's an emblem of her son's courage and stoicism. Beneath the tuxedo Jeff weighs just 90 pounds, and under the crown all that's left is just a wisp or two of his flaming red hair. Three years earlier doctors had diagnosed alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer that almost exclusively strikes children and adolescents. They gave Jeff only months to live. Yet after his initial treatment he was in remission for more than two years. Then in late 2004 the cancer came back. Still, Jeff is smiling. Continue Reading
