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Running For A Cause

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By BOB BELLONE The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

LITHIA - Shurla Lewandowski was overcome with emotion as she watched her little girl racing to victory in the mile run.

The Nativity Catholic School fourth grader could have finished dead last that day seven years ago and still left her mother in awe.

'Tears were going down my face because I just really couldn't believe that she was out there running that mile,' her mother said. 'I'm still amazed that she pulled through and has done as well as she does.'

Meaghan Lewandowski, now a 16-year-old cross country and track athlete at Newsome High, considers herself blessed to have a running heart.

The junior honor student was 2 years old when she was stricken with transient erythroblastopenia of childhood, a blood disorder that required a series of transfusions. Soon afterward, Lewandowski began a grueling battle with leukemia at St. Joseph's Hospital, enduring chemotherapy treatments for more than two years.

'It was extremely difficult,' her father, Severin, said. 'Anytime you encounter the unknown in your child's life, it poses certain issues. You definitely think of the worst, but then hope springs eternal and you have to think of the best.'

The next-best thing may lie ahead for his daughter, whose ordeal prompted her to decide while still in elementary school to make a career of helping children with cancer.

'I've always wanted to do it,' she said. 'For as long as I can remember.'
Lewandowski hopes her strides in high school academics and athletics will open doors for her to study pediatric oncology nursing at the University of South Florida. She is eager to encourage future patients and their families with her story.

'Even though I had cancer, I'm still doing well,' she plans to tell them. 'I can still do the things that everyone else can do. Don't give up when you think it's going to end.'
Lewandowski is not waiting for a college diploma to begin her outreach, participating regularly in fundraising events that support the fight against cancer.

While two serious medical conditions are far behind her, she remains petite and somewhat fragile.

Once a passionate soccer player, Lewandowski was forced by her mother to give up the sport two years ago after breaking a collarbone for the fifth time. Her first damaging fall occurred on a school playground, the next four in AAU soccer matches.

'Finally, I just couldn't handle seeing her out there on the field, bawling and crying,' her mother said. 'I said, 'Meaghan, Hon, we've got to find a different sport. I can't take this any longer.''

Last year, Lewandowski debuted in cross country and quickly earned a spot on the varsity roster. She helped Newsome capture district and region championships en route to the state meet.

The Wolves began this season by hosting and winning the seven-team East Hillsborough Invitational on Sept. 11. Lewandowski paced her team four days later to a first-place finish among 15 schools in the Don Bishop Invitational at Brandon High, setting the tone for another run at a state bid.

As a former Olympian for Barbados, Newsome coach Orlando Greene is an inspiration to his team. In turn, he holds up Lewandowski as a role model for her peers.

'I try to use her and people who are in unfortunate situations as examples to the kids,' he said. 'I try to encourage them.'

Noted physician Cameron Tebbi, who has been treating Lewandowski since diagnosing her blood disorder, also envisions the positive impact she can have on cancer victims.

'They can look at her and say, 'Look at this: She has made it as a wonderful athlete, so this is not a disease that is going to stay with me for life,'' Tebbi said. 'It's very heartening for little children who have just been diagnosed to look up to her and see how well she has achieved.'

Reporter Bob Bellone can be reached at (813) 259-7303 or bbellone@tampatrib.com.

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