In Memoriam
James D. Leahy, MD

Dr. James D. Leahy, 50, Overland Park, KS, died Friday, October 15, 1999 at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Mass of Christian burial will be at 10 a.m. Monday, October 18, at Church of the Ascension, 9510 W. 127th, Overland Park, KS; burial in Johnson County Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Sunday, where a Rosary will be said at 6:30 p.m. at D. W. Newcomer's Sons Johnson County Funeral Chapel, 11200 Metcalf, Overland Park, KS, 66210. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to Rockhurst High School or to Medical Missions Foundation c/o the funeral home.

Dr. Leahy was born October 17, 1948, in Park Falls, WI, the son of Dr. James J. and Katherine (Lillestrand) Leahy. He attended Creighton University in Omaha, NE, where he received his B.A. and then received his M. D. from the University of Nebraska. He served his residency in general and plastic surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center and had a private practice in Overland Park, KS, for 15 years. Dr. Leahy was a member of the Church of the Ascension, active coach in the Blue Valley Junior Athletic Association, traveled overseas with the Medical Missions Foundation and was an Eagle Scout. Dr. Leahy also served in the United States Army. He married Marjorie A. (Cartella) Leahy on August 7, 1971, in Kansas City, MO. She survives of the home. Other survivors include three sons, Paul J. Leahy, and fiancé Juli Paugh, Eric J. Leahy, all of Overland Park, KS, and Scott J. Leahy, and his wife Jami (Nelson) Leahy, of Phoenix, AZ; three brothers, Kevin Leahy, of New London, CT, Robert Leahy, of Carrollton, TX, and David Leahy, of Omaha, NE; three sisters, Jody Filipi, Janet Janda, and Marcia Regan, all of Omaha. He is also survived by Dr. Bruce and Mary Ann (Cartella) Cappo, of Overland Park, KS; and many loving relatives and friends. (Arrangements: D. W. Newcomer's Sons Johnson County Chapel)

The Kansas City Star // October 17, 1999 // Section B, page 7

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IN MEMORIUM
James David Leahy, M.D. (1948-1999)

On October 15, 1999, the Medical Missions Foundation lost a loyal and valuable member of its surgical team, Dr. Jim Leahy. It was a sudden and shocking loss, for he was such a young, dedicated and talented physician.

In 1996, Dr. Jim Leahy was the only plastic surgeon on the Foundation's inaugural medical mission to the Philippines. Dr. Leahy not only reconstructed birth defects in poverty-stricken children, he performed the best possible operations for the best possible results. Again in 1997 and 1998, the children of Guatemala and Vietnam respectively were the recipients of his care and attention. As we go to Bohol, Philippines on November 4, 1999, we will miss him deeply.

Jim's dedication to his family and his work had far-reaching implications. He brought his son, Paul, now a medical student at KU medical Center, on both Medical Missions Foundation's Missions, instilling in him his own selfless, caring nature. Jim was a fun person to be with and a marvel to work with," Armi Holcomb, R. N. recalls. "Jim stayed past midnight to care for a Filipino girl after surgery, missing an official party given in our honor."

Dr. John Romito, another member of the team remembers Jim, "He was a sincere, giving, caring, and devoted person. He always prepared himself well for his patients' care."
Upon his passing, Jim's wife, Margie, sons Paul, Scott and Eric, and daughter-in-law, Jami, designated the Medical Missions Foundation as a recipient of memorials in lieu of flowers. The donations will be matched by the Foundation to create an endowment fund known as "The James D. Leahy, M. D., Travel Grant Fund." Proceeds from the fund will allow nurses to attend future missions to the impoverished countries that Jim visited and served. Donations are still being accepted for this Fund.

received from Medical Missions Foundation
912 Burning Tree Drive
Kansas City, MO 64145
6 November 1999
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JAMES LEAHY MEMORIAL MEDICAL MISSION
THANH HOA DECEMBER 2-12, 1999, Project Vietnam American Academy of Pediatrics chapter 4 & Medical Mission Foundation

The medical mission was named after Dr. James Leahy, a plastic surgeon from Kansas, who traveled with the team to Ninh Binh in November 98. Dr. Leahy performed reconstructive surgeries in many third world countries and Vietnam was his last mission when he passed away suddenly in November 99.

1. PARTICIPANTS: 43 VOLUNTEERS
§ Surgery team: 3 Plastic surgeons, 1 Ophthalmologist, 3 Anesthesiologists, 1 Nurse-anesthetist, 5 Operating room Nurses, 3 Recovery room Nurses and 3 Engineers.
§ Gynecology team: 2 Gynecologists, 1 Nurse-midwife, 1 Pathologist and 1 Oncologist
§ Medical team: 5 Pediatricians, 1 Family Practitioner and 1 Internist/Preventive Medicine, and 2 Pharmacists.
§ 7 Volunteers and 1 Photographer.

2. ACHIEVEMENTS
· 96 children receiving corrective surgery : 45 Cleft lip/palate, 51 Ophthalmic procedures (cataracts, ptosis, strabismus)
· 450 patients treated during 2 Health clinics at Minh Khoi and Truong Trung Communes, district of Nong Cong, and at Trung Linh Hospice
· 200 Hearing screenings done at Thanh Hoa hospital and Day care. There is no known study or data on incidence of Hearing loss in Vietnamese children while advanced ear pathology is prevalent.
· Medical Education:
- lectures at the National Pediatric Institute for 100 pediatricians & pediatric specialists (Issues in Cleft lip/palate repair, Advances in Pediatric Ophthalmology, Acute Respiratory Diseases, Update on Pediatric Asthma)
- lectures at the National Cancer Institute in medical oncology by Dr. Jerome Block.
- lectures at Thanh Hoa General Hospital for 50- 100 staff physicians
(Cleft lip/palate Surgery, Common Pediatric Ophthalmic problems, Hypertension, Pediatric Asthma, Pediatric Respiratory Diseases, Newborn problems)
- lectures at Thanh Hoa Women’s Hospital for 50 staff physicians & midwives
(Laparoscopic surgery, Infertility, Symposium on Breast Cancer, Symposium on Cervical Cancer, Obstetrical problems during prenatal period, labor and postpartum, Newborn Resuscitation & perinatal problems)
- lectures at Ninh Binh General Hospital for 100 staff physicians & nurses on Hypertension & Pediatric Asthma
· Training for staff physicians at Thanh Hoa General Hospital in the departments of stomatology, ophthalmology, anesthesia, pediatrics, medicine through surgeries in the operating room and medical rounds.
· Training for staff physicians at Thanh Hoa Women’s Hospital in the outpatient clinic, operating room, and inpatient rounds. 75 patients with suspicious cervical lesions were screened by colposcopy and biopsies were taken.
· Training for 40 midwives at Thanh Hoa Women’s Hospital in the clinic and labor/delivery.
· Training for 7 nurse practitioners from Trung Linh Hospice (Man Coi Sisters) and from Thanh Hoa Convent (Sisters of the Holy Cross)

3. DONATIONS
* National Pediatric Institute, value $1,500
Peak Flow Meters, Inhalation solution for nebulizer, Pediatric Stethoscopes, Medical Handbooks.
* Thanh Hoa General Hospital, value $24,500
Equipment : 5 Oxygen Concentrators, 1 EKG monitor, 1 Defibrillator, 1 Respirator, 2 Nebulizers, 1 Suction Machine
Instruments : 1 set for cleft lip/palate repair, 1 set for strabismus repair, 1 Otoscope, 1 Microscope, 2 Stethoscopes, Peak flow meters
Supplies : cautery tips, recovery room supplies & misc. surgical supplies.
Medicines : Antibiotics, Inhalation solutions, Asthma Inhalers, various meds & injectables.
Office machine : Fax machine
Medical books.
120 gift packages to patients (stuffed animals, toys, coloring books & crayons, toiletry items etc), a Nintendo set and toys for the Pediatric ward, toys and large stuffed animals for Thanh Hoa Hospital Daycare.
Cash donation $500
* Women’s Hospital, value $15,000
Equipment : 1 Colposcope, 1 Fetal heart rate Doppler,
Instruments : 1 set for cervical biopsy, 1 Microscope, Speculas, 2 Fetoscopes
Medical Supplies
Office machine: 1 Slide projector
* Ninh Binh General Hospital, value $1,500
Nebulizer, Peak flow meters, Inhalation solutions & Asthma inhalers
v Communes of Minh Khoi & Truong Trung, Trung Linh Hospice, Thanh Hoa Holy Cross health clinic & Hanoi Homeless children project, to each $1,500 value:
Instruments : Stethoscope, Sphygmomanometer, Speculas, Glass syringes
Medicines : Antibiotics, Asthma Inhalers & Spacers, Antacids, Vitamins, Iron, Analgesics, Antifungals, Dermatologicals, Nasal sprays.
Cash donation of $1,500
* Quang Binh province, for flood relief, value $3,000
Medicines : Water Purifier tablets, Water Purifying Pump, Antibiotics, Antidiarrheals, Analgesics, Asthma inhalers, Nasal sprays, Antacids, Vitamins, Iron, Anthelmintics, Cold & cough meds
Instruments : Speculas, Resuscitation equipment & Bulb syringes
Cash donation $1,500 to affected commune health centers

5. EVALUATION
¨ The surgical team worked harmoniously together, the surgical repairs were successful, anesthesia and recovery uneventful. Thanh Hoa surgeons for MaxilloFacial and Ophthalmology showed excellent skills.They worked constantly side by side with our surgeons, and by the third day Dr. Prepas was supervising 2 ongoing eye procedures.
¨ The gynecological team worked very well with the staff of the Women’s Hospital in the outpatient clinic, on rounds & in surgery or delivery. Two separate tracks were conducted, for physicians and for midwives.
¨ Thanh Hoa Hospital and the Women’s Hospital leaderships were enthusiastic, organized and flexible. Their cooperation promoted very productive interaction with the staff and successful medical education conferences.
¨ Primary care departments (Pediatrics & Medicine) show great needs and little resources. Pediatricians were treating very sick patients with absence of even basic diagnostic tools (no otoscope or ophthalmoscope), and minimal laboratory studies. We have committed to provide the department with a lab on site for essential diagnostic tests.
¨ Vitamin K deficiency leading to intracranial bleeding in the newborn is a common problem, yet routine neonatal vitamin K injections are given only in large provincial hospitals. We shall work towards adoption of vitamin K after-birth as a national policy, to prevent the serious current neonatal morbidity.

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Speech presented by Christian Regan

(The speech is for English class and is part of the National Civic Oration Contest sponsored by The Modern Woodmen of America. I will give it as part of the school competition some time in March. Depending on how I do there, I could go on to the district level.)

I don't think a real American hero is someone who does the right thing to be famous. It is someone who does it because it's right. A real American hero doesn't burn in the fires of peer pressure. It is someone who puts out the fires of peer pressure to do what is right even if his only supporter is God.

A real American hero doesn't have to be the president, a fire fighter or a police person. Heroes are everywhere. A real American hero can be as simple as someone who plays with someone who is feeling left out, or babysits his little brother or sister while his parents visit a sick friend. So a real American hero is someone who sets a good example and does what's right no matter what.

You might be asking yourself, why is someone who hangs out with someone who is excluded or does a favor for his parents a real American hero? I'll tell you. They are the people who set a good example for America. People who do these things for pride, fame or money set a bad example for America.

Though lots of doctors may be considered heroes, I know of one who truly represents what it means to be a real American hero. He was a plastic surgeon, but he didn't just perform operations to help the rich and famous look younger or more beautiful. He traveled to economically challenged countries, where he gave of his time and talent to help physically disfigured children, who would never have been allowed to live normal lives without his help. These children, with cleft lips and palates were made fun of, not allowed to go to school, and were many times forced to stay inside of their homes. He also treated patients who had been severely burned and left with horrible scars.
Without my uncle Jim and the others who traveled with the medical missions, these people might never have even seen a doctor! Over 100 children in the Philippines, Guatemala and Vietnam were given a brighter future. But my uncle Jim did more than operate. He brought his son, now also a doctor, along on two of the mission trips, training another American hero, and I'm sure that had my uncle not died suddenly, he and my cousin would be making more of these trips together.

If more people followed his example, America would be a better place. I hope that one day we can prove Mother Theresa's statement wrong when she said, "America is the poorest nation in the world." She didn't mean that we lack money, she meant that we lack people who do the right things because they are right.

Though people doing what is right because it's right has greatly increased since 9/11, we still need to work on increasing the number of people who do what is right just because it is right, and decrease the amount of people who do the right thing for pride or money.

Can you imagine how much greater a nation America would be if all people did the right thing? And how much happier people would be if they didn't do the right thing just for money or pride.

If you look at sports players, they make millions of dollars and so many people want to be like them and consider them heroes. You might be thinking, money can make me happy, and that's true. Money gives you a skin-deep feeling of happiness, but just doing the right thing for someone because it's right gives you an inner feeling of deep joy. In my opinion an inner feeling of deep joy is much more pleasing than a skin-deep feeling of happiness. Money doesn't make a hero. Heroes are made by people taking responsibility for their actions and not hiding behind their fame or their money.