Columbia mom faces tough road to recovery after firework almost killed her

When Leah McCleskey was born, her mother, Susan DuPlessis, saw a quality in her baby girl's eyes — determination. It's a quality the mother still sees in her daughter even as her grown child sits in the intensive care unit.

"I think that’s going to do her well in this really difficult recovery she’s got to make," DuPlessis said of her 36-year-old daughter's strength.

Many know McCleskey as a member of the Richland Library team or as a babysitter around Columbia. "Sweet" is the word DuPlessis always hears people use when they describe her daughter. While McCleskey's kindness still exists, life will be different now for her and her family.

Following a devastating incident on July 4, McCleskey faces years of recovery. Even within this horror, good has appeared, people around her say. McCleskey's character, along with an outpouring of community support, have already started her toward that eventual healing.

McCleskey and her family — her husband, Jon, and 4-year-old son, Connor — gathered with other families to celebrate the Fourth of July near Hand Middle School in the Shandon neighborhood. It was a normal holiday with fireworks, cheerful kids and parents. McCleskey's son had just left her to go have his father light a sparkler.

Life changed for McCleskey and her family in an instant, her mother said.

McCleskey's husband heard the loud explosion. He saw his wife lifted three feet off the ground. She was on fire. He believes she was hit by a mortar style firework. She was taken to the hospital and eventually transferred to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia. Third-degree burns covered her body.

While the incident is painful and traumatic, what's come to define the moment for McCleskey's family isn't that hurt, but what DuPlessis calls the "reaffirming ... love and generosity" of the Columbia community and those from afar.

“We got people around the state responding," DuPlessis said. "It reminds you of the goodness of the state and community out there. ... It’s really phenomenal, and I think it speaks to how respected and loved Leah is as a caring human being.”

A crowd funding page was set up for McCleskey and her family to help, as it says, "to take care of the mundane things in life like the mortgage and car payment." She and her husband won't be able to work for the foreseeable future as the recovery process begins.

The community help began only seconds after the accident, her husband remembers.

After he smothered what he could of the flames and got the fire off his wife, others joined him. A doctor, a nurse, and an EMT all responded immediately. They worked together to help McCleskey. It happened in what seemed like seconds, Jon explained. The ambulance arrived in minutes, and in less than 10 minutes, she was in a hospital, Jon said. He wishes he could shake everyone's hand who helped. Others from afar are coming to the aid of the McCleskey family.

“You expect people you see everyday to be there for you," Jon said. "But people you haven’t seen in years, old high school friends [and others], come out for you. It’s heartwarming."

He also knows that his wife would have done anything she could if the accident happened to anyone else. Her desire to help others is her defining quality, Jon explained.

“Leah always likes to help other people," he said. "She’s willing to do something for people she doesn’t even know.”

McCleskey often helps others with their child care, particularly professors and staff at the University of South Carolina, where she's known as a reliable babysitter. McCleskey's worked for numerous charities, her husband said. She also used to work for the Jewish Community Center in Columbia. For the last year, she's been part of Richland Library. She works at their main branch on Assembly Street, where she delivers books to people who can't make it into the library because of their conditions.

“Having Leah show up with books and someone to talk to, that has more to do with it than getting the books," Jon said. "She’s real good about that, taking care of other people.”

Richland Library spokesperson Emily Stoll offered support for the family from the library, calling McCleskey "a valued member of the team," and saying, "We love Leah."

Because McCleskey is such a giver, her friends, Emma and Elizabeth McLean, felt compelled to reach out to others about McCleskey and her family's circumstance. They began the crowd-sourcing campaign with the thought that the help it generates would allow the McCleskeys to focus on recovering.

"Leah is one of the most genuine, caring, and generous people I know," Emma said. "She reaches out to those in need and always thinks the best of people. She cares deeply about children and the community that supports and nourishes our children."

Jon is looking for anyone who might have information or video to better determine if what happened was truly an accident or possibly intentional. Leah is in stable condition and is communicative. She has undergone three surgeries with another planned. She'll be hospitalized for weeks.

The recovery doesn't end in the hospital. Trauma will linger for Leah, Jon and their young son who witnessed the ordeal. Healing will take years, doctors and her family say. The time for wholeness will come through the resilience that Leah's mother has seen in her daughter's eyes ever since Leah was born.

“She’s very strong," DuPlessis said. "Strong in spirit and physically. That strength is going to have to come into play now.”

Donations for Leah McCleskey and her family are being taken through a GoFundMe page.

A fundraiser for Leah is being held July 15 at Hunter Gather at the Hangar. 1402 Jim Hamilton Blvd

This story was originally published July 7, 2018 at 12:40 PM.