Becky Woods Includes the MMRF in Estate Plan
to Advance Cancer Research in Honor of Her Son

Christopher Leahy was a typical only child—an overachiever—and his penchant for hard work was obvious from an early age. An Eagle Scout, Chris maintained a high GPA and always held a side job. He was especially close with his mother, Becky Woods, who lovingly recalls her son and best friend as someone who “worked so hard and was so friendly and mannerly. He made an impression on everyone he met.” 

Chris made parenting easy. As an example, Becky tells the story of how he managed five different pools simultaneously while in high school. “One day, he called me at work because he had been fired for putting in too many hours. By the time I got home, he had already networked his way into three new jobs,” she laughs. “Chris took them all, telling me that these people believed in him and helped him when he asked them—he couldn’t let them down. That’s just who he was.”

As a high school senior, Chris learned about the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation essay contest and the generous college scholarship awarded to the winner. He applied—and won—with an inspiring essay that discussed how Becky overcame every obstacle as a single parent to protect him and set him up for success. With the win came entry to the Coca-Cola Scholars community; Chris, of course, leaned in with as much dedication as he did in every other pursuit. Beginning the following year, he returned annually to review the new essay submissions and select a winner in addition to raising money to support new scholarships and mentoring younger Coca-Cola Scholars.

Chris went on to attend Emory University, where he earned his bachelor of arts in political science and accounting and proudly served as the captain of the track team. By the time he was 36, Chris was a partner at the RAI Insurance Company and in the process of buying it out, all while buying his first home, organizing four basketball leagues, and maintaining a healthy social calendar. An avid outdoorsman, Chris loved running, biking, and hiking, often vacationing at a Crystal Lake, Michigan, lake house that he shared with some cousins. His age and health-conscious lifestyle made his multiple myeloma diagnosis that much more difficult to comprehend.

Becky remembers that it came on suddenly, “We met for lunch. Even though he was olive-skinned, he looked so pale. There was something in the timber of his voice. I knew something was very wrong.” Becky persuaded him to go to an urgent care, where they ran some quick blood labs that revealed his platelet count was 4—well below the standard range of 150-400. She rushed him to the local hospital’s emergency room, which ultimately transferred him via ambulance to a larger state hospital. There, doctors repeatedly tried to extract a bone marrow sample; unable to pull a clean sample without bone fragments, they tested what they had. It was multiple myeloma, and his disease was very advanced. Becky remembers that a doctor callously told them that it would be on his death certificate. “After they left, Chris and I walked the hospital all night trying to process his diagnosis," she says. “We committed together to fighting this with everything we could, no matter what.”

As Chris’ “mama bear,” Becky took family leave and stayed by his side. She worked to research the best treatments and identify the best myeloma doctors. She found the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation® (MMRF). Together with Chris’ college roommate and best friends, she took advantage of every MMRF resource—scouring the article library, attending patient education webinars, and searching for cutting-edge clinical options through the Clinical Trial Finder tool. She took Chris to as many appointments as she could, traveling to four different academic medical centers to consult with myeloma experts and find the best precision medicine strategy.

Then, on his 37th birthday, Chris developed a blood clot and had to go into surgery. While he was recovering, he began to have issues walking. They rushed to the hospital and found that he had developed a tumor on his T4 vertebrae, but the window for emergency surgery had passed. The nerve damage was irreparable, and Chris was a paraplegic.

From that day on, Becky spent every moment ensuring that Chris was comfortable and finding joy. She admitted him to a beautiful hospice facility and brought him his favorite foods as well as photos of his favorite places. Becky also started a letter-writing campaign, asking everyone in his address book to email him their favorite story about him. His friends, classmates, clients, coaches, coworkers, and teachers didn’t hesitate to send their stories. “I remember the day he started getting them,” she says. “I was sorting through the mail, and he looked at me and said, ‘MOM! Are you behind this email campaign? It is the best gift you’ve ever given me.’ ”In his final days, Becky said it was evident that he had made the world brighter, as loved ones from across the country dropped everything to fly in, pay their respects, and say goodbye in person.

Chris passed away in 2018 at the young age of 38. His memorial was standing room only. In his honor, Becky chose to include the MMRF as a beneficiary of her estate. “The doctors gave Chris only a few weeks to live, and he outlasted that—but no one should have to go through what we went through,” Becky says. “If there isn’t a cure in my lifetime, I want to advance the MMRF’s efforts to speed better treatments and benefit future patients. I know that it’s what Chris would want me to do.”