By Rick Wright

Staff Writer

Leah De Cesare, a 15-year old sophomore at South Portland High School, is trying to go from beneficiary to benefactor.

Last year she had major back surgery at the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland. To show her gratitude for the hospital’s care and to help other children, De Cesare wants to give something back.

She’s trying to raise $5,000, and hopes to present a check to hospital officials March 5 – the one-year anniversary of her surgery to fix a broken bone in her lower vertebrae. The surgery required an eight-day stay at the hospital and kept Leah out of school for 12 weeks. 

De Cesare said she and her mother, Sue, came up with the fundraising idea. They are conducting the campaign as a team from their South Portland home.

“There are many great things about the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. The nurses are terrific,” said Sue.  “If you have to be someplace in a hospital for your child, it’s a very happy, cheery place to be. So we wanted to do a fundraiser to support their great efforts.”

Using the telephone, e-mail and letters, the De Cesares will reach out to family, friends, relatives, school officials and the public in the next few weeks.

“We want to go after everyone and anyone we know,” Sue said. “I work in Biddeford. I have a lot of people down there that are going to ask for donations and share our story.”

Sue works for the Biddeford Adult Education Office as a community adult education leader.

The De Cesares believe this is a good time to hold a fundraiser for a children’s hospital. 

“I was hoping to do it around Valentine’s Day when people think of love and their loved ones. So here we are,” Sue said.

Sue hopes some of the money will be used to replace a Wii console for computer games stolen last year from the hospital’s teen center.  Leah would like to see a portion of the funds used to purchase stuffed animals, which she thinks are very comforting to children.

“When I was in the hospital, the thing that helped me was getting stuffed animals from different people. It really meant a lot to me,” Leah said.

Sue is very familiar with the hospital since she’s twice had to take her daughter and her son, Bruce, to the facility. Leah and Bruce both had their appendix removed when they were younger and Bruce went to the hospital to have a pin removed from his hand.

Leah has had more than her fair share of health problems throughout her life. Over the past three years, she’s had 37 doctor appointments for everything from a sprained ankle to migraine headaches to arthritis.

On Feb. 17 she was scheduled to have surgery at Maine Medical Center’s cardiac ward for a condition that caused a growth on her first rib near her neck. The growth must be removed because it restricts blood circulation in her arm.

For this surgery, Leah said she’ll be in the hospital for “only a couple of days.” Leah will miss one week of school, her mother said.

Despite her medical problems, Leah maintains a positive attitude and an achievement-oriented lifestyle. At South Portland High School she is an honor student, cheerleader and member of the Interact Club – a community service organization.

Sue is not daunted by the prospect of trying to raise $5,000 over the next few weeks.

“It’s a huge goal,” she said. “Maybe people will look at it and say instead of $5 dollars they’ll give $10 dollars.”

Leah knows that fundraising can be a time-consuming and labor-intensive job, but she is determined to help others.

“I don’t really care about all the hard work because I know in the end it’s going to pay off. I know that I’m going to help people who are just like me,” Leah said.  

Anyone who wants to make a donation to the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital fundraiser may call Sue or Leah at 799-5320. 

All donations will be deposited into an account at Town and Country Credit Union.

Rick Wright can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 237 or news@inthesentry.com.