Tributes have been paid to a brave Dundee University student who lost her battle with cancer last week.
Leona Reid, from Londonderry, was studying Spanish and Law at Dundee University, where she was fashion editor and deputy editor of the university’s Magdalen magazine.
She had been due to enter her final year at university before she was diagnosed with non-Hodkins Lymphona in September and wrote about how she hoped to return to complete her studies later this year.
Despite her illness, the 22-year-old continued writing a personal blog until shortly before her death.
Dominic Younger, Dundee University Students Association vice-president of communications and campaigns, said: “As her own blog stated, Leona was ‘a girl with a passion for life and all things beautiful’.
“She was a truly gifted student and through her time as fashion editor and then deputy editor of our sister publication the Magdalen, she brought endless fun and wit to her peers.
“She was heartbreakingly taken before her time. Leona will be terribly missed by all who had the pleasure to know her.”
Despite the seriousness of her condition, Leona refused to be cowed by cancer.
In January she posted a picture of herself on the social media website Instagram receiving treatment in hospital.
It bore the caption “All you need is a wig and a touch of lipstick”.
She died at her home in Drumahoe near Londonderry on Friday.
On her blog, she wrote about how pleased she had been to return home after hospital.
She said: “I am beyond grateful for all the help and support I received in the ward, but being at home has done wonders for my stress levels.
“In hospital I would find myself descending into panic mode for no apparent reason – it would just come out of nowhere.
“Obviously I still have my moments where I feel vulnerable and helpless but they are soon overridden by the sense of safety I have being in my own environment and most importantly, being with my family.”
She is survived by her parents Stephen and Janice and her brother Craig.
Her funeral will take place on Wednesday at Roselawn Crematorium following by a service of thanksgiving in Ebrington Parish Church.
