Leah Still is more determined than ever to beat cancer. The little one, along with her father, recently wrote a book called I Am Leah Strong that shares her story.
“Get your copies now,” shared Devon Still on Instagram. The star athlete also uploaded a picture of the book’s cover that features an animated Leah standing strong in the hospital room. The little one is wearing a Superman emblem around her neck, and has her guardian angel beside her who is also dressed like Superwoman. “Beat cancer,” wrote Devon.
The Cincinnati ‘Bengals’ player tells media that his daughter conceptualized the story, and he simply edited it. “That book was written by her,” says Devon. “I just had an outline of questions I wanted to ask her. Whatever answers she had I wrote in book form.”
Leah certainly has a story to share as her battle with pediatric cancer has been intense. The 4-year-old underwent surgery last year in hopes of doctors eliminating all cancerous cells from her body. She and her father presumed the operation was successful, but were later informed that Leah still had cancer. Although not the news that Devon wanted to hear, the NFL star remains strong for his daughter.
“We’ve come this far,” says Still in a recent interview with Delaware Online. “We fought hard for this long, and we’re going to continue to fight until we get all of the cells out of her body.”
When reflecting on the beginning stages of his daughter’s illness, Devon tells the press that life was very challenging after learning of Leah’s diagnosis. “A lot of times, I wanted to leave the hospital and go get a hotel room just so I didn’t have to sleep on the cots in the hospital and mess up my back even more,” says Still. “But I didn’t want my daughter to wake up and not see me there, so I decided to suck it up. I mean, it took a toll on me.”
Devon’s performance on the team suffered greatly as a result of his daughter’s diagnosis, even to the point of the ‘Bengals’ releasing him from his contract. The team later re-signed him as a member of the practice squad, which allowed Devon to retain his health benefits.
“It was a huge relief,” says Still. The NFL star tells media that his daughter’s medical expenses totaled $1 million at the time. “It continued to show me how much they cared about their players, and that it wasn’t all football to them.”
Although her fight with cancer has been intense, Leah Still is optimistic about the future. She is looking forward to many days ahead and has the goal of visiting Disney World “100 times.”
Learn more about Leah and Devon’s book at IAMLEAHSTRONG.COM.
Photo: The News Journal
