LeAnn Thieman -
100 little
babies in cardboard boxes strapped in the belly of a gutted cargo jet.
It was 1975, Saigon was falling to the communists, and LeAnn Thieman
was "accidentally" caught up in the Vietnam Orphan Airlift.
An ordinary person, she struggled through extraordinary
circumstances and found the courage to succeed. Incredibly, in the
midst of the chaos, a baby boy crawled into her arms, heart, and
family.
Twenty years later she co-authored a book detailing the drama of
the Airlift. After reading This Must Be My Brother, readers and
meeting planners alike urged LeAnn to share life-changing lessons
learned from that adventure.
Now, as a nationally recognized professional speaker, author, and
nurse, LeAnn inspires audiences to balance their lives, truly live
their priorities, and make a difference in the world.
LeAnn's dramatic signature story and Airlift photograph was
featured in Newsweek Magazine's Voices of the Century Issue.
Her Airlift experience was brought full circle when in June, 2000,
former President Gerald Ford, who had authorized Operation Babylift,
asked to meet her. She shared with him the joy his courageous decision
brought, not only to adoptive families, but to this nation.
She is also the co-author of the recently released Chicken Soup
for the Nurse’s Soul. Most nurses didn’t choose their careers
because of great hours, pay and working conditions! In her
presentation to nurses, she reminds them why they did.
LeAnn and Mark, her husband of 31 years, reside in Colorado where
they enjoy their "empty nest". Their two daughters, Angela and
Christie, and son Mitch have "flown the coop" but are still drawn
under their mother's wing when she needs them!
