Family man Leigh fought illness with a smile on his face

smile with ease

Jun 22 2010 by Alex Terrell, South Wales Echo

WHEN Leigh David Sugar passed away aged 44, it marked the departure of a beloved husband, a father and a loving son.

An entrepreneur, he established and grew the Tynant Garage in Beddau, near Pontypridd, into a respected business in the community.

It is testament to his positivity that Leigh – a beloved son to parents Margaret and Graham – held the business until recently.

Those closest to Leigh will say that he had the alchemy to make people around him laugh and smile with ease.

He would go out of his way to make a witty remark and it provided family, friends and acquaintances with a unique feeling of assurance.

His wife Barbara and daughters Kayleigh and Jodie have always been Leigh’s muse, a source of love and a reason for action, even when illness took hold. They loved to holiday, jetting off to the sunshine of the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Cuba. Leigh beamed at both his daughters’ ambition at school and university.

A keen horseman, Leigh rode hunts in his youth throughout the Pontypridd area.

It was here that Leigh met his sweetheart Barbara. Her father employed Leigh in their stables and they dated until their marriage in 1990.

Younger cousin David recalled how Leigh would always make him the butt of the jokes, teasing but including those around him in the fun. Leigh once repaired the car of David’s brother in a matter of hours, so nobody could tell that David had earlier driven it into a bollard – such was Leigh’s way with cars and generosity to his family.

A haemophiliac, Leigh died from liver cancer, a complication from Hepatitis C which he was given through contaminated blood products then prescribed to improve his condition. Haemophilia reduces the blood’s ability to clot and can result in internal and external bleeding without warning from a bump or bruise.

Leigh was one of 4,800 haemophiliacs in the UK to be given Hepatitis C through defective blood products, drawn from the blood of American prisoners, prostitutes and homeless patients to fuel a private enterprise.

These were injected into British patients in the 1970s and ’80s, people are still dying as a result.

Aged 26 when he discovered he had Hepatitis C, his relatives remembered how it forced him to seize what was left of his life. He refused to let it stand in the way of securing a future for his family and business. He was still fun to be around, still cracking jokes and lightening the mood, despite the uncomfortable side effects of his treatment plan.

In the pursuit for better treatments, Leigh’s family rallied, searching all over the world for advice. They even managed to get him a pioneering drug from America, and he shared his treatment experiences with other contaminated blood victims.

Barbara told relatives she recently received a letter from an elderly widow, a Tynant Garage customer, thanking Leigh for his fantastic personal service. Nothing was too much trouble for Leigh in his business, nor in his life.

Tainted Blood is a campaign for victims of contaminated blood products. The group will be conducting a protest for the campaign on June 30 in front of Parliament to urge the Government to address the issue and remember those who have passed away.

For more information visit http://www.taintedblood.info/

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2010/06/22/family-man-leigh-fought-illness-with-a-smile-on-his-face-91466-26696766/