Not letting illness get in her way

JORDAN MOSHE

Leigh – who is one of a triplet – was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2005 at the age of six. She underwent radiation treatment in July of that year, and chemotherapy from March 2005 until October 2008. Her illness meant she had no choice but to miss many days at Crossroads School in Victory Park, Johannesburg. In fact, for a while she seldom managed to complete a normal school day.

Because of the time she missed, Leigh was kept back a year. This, she says, created a wedge between her and her tripletsiblings Bev and Mark, both of whom grew closer to her older siblings, Shiann and Brendon, and left her feeling left out.

“I felt some resentment towards my siblings, because they were all getting on with school and spending time together without me. But my parents were extremely supportive, and therapy also helped me deal with the challenges.”

Leigh says she is proud of the fact that she maintained a strong sense of self and independence despite her difficulties. “I was often bullied at school for being different, for being the girl who was absent all the time and was so apart from everyone else. But I learned how to be independent, and with the support of my parents, I managed.”

Leigh was 11 years old when she went into remission. She then moved to King David Victory Park in 2012 to attend high school.

Although she had completed her course of radiation therapy in 2005, she says its lingering effects took a toll on her memory.

“As soon as I had completed my treatment and got into the higher grades, I noticed it was hard to memorise the larger content of the work. I couldn’t understand why I found it so hard to remember the work until I was in Grade 10, when my mom explained what was causing it.

“Until then, I found it very difficult to prepare for exams, and I was still being bullied by the boys in the grade for being different.”

Leigh refused to let this get in her way, and she blossomed in senior high school. While she chose business studies, geography and drama as matric subjects, it was in the extramurals that she excelled.

She took part in sports and cultural activities. The lead roles that she assumed in one-act plays, along with her participation in soccer, tennis, netball and swimming, helped to quell her stress and boost her confidence. 

She landed parts in King David’s productions of Fiddler on the Roof and A Chorus Line, andwas captain of the tennis team in matric. Along the way she made wonderful friends and maintained her connection with her closest friend since Grade 1, Daniel Olivier.

Leigh says she wasn’t overly stressed by the demands of the matric year. “I’m going to study foundation phase teaching. I’m relieved it’s over and that I got a varsity pass. But overall, matric was not as terrible a year as many expected.

 “Of course, I felt left out when my siblings started varsity a year before me, and I was the only one still in high school. But I’ve learned that you need to be yourself and make your own path. I’ve made it through high school, but also through life.”