'Flipper' star helps Westland woman make a splash

'Flipper' star helps Westland woman make a splash

BY PATRICIA MONTEMURRI • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • March 22, 2009

For Marie Leinonen, who depends on kidney dialysis to stay alive, a chance this month to swim with dolphins represented another accomplishment in her goal to live a full life in spite of kidney disease.
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With help from her family, and an assist from onetime child actor Luke Halpin, who starred in the 1960s TV show "Flipper," Leinonen frolicked with dolphins on a recent visit to Miami Seaquarium.

"It was the most beautiful experience I ever had," said Leinonen, of Westland. "Not only did I get to swim with the dolphins, it was my birthday. It couldn't have been any better. It was like a double-fudge chocolate birthday cake."

Leinonen, who turned 46 on March 7, celebrated by feeding herring to the dolphins, and held onto one as it pulled her across a pool.

Before a disease known as focal sclerosis hardened the kidney tissues that filter impurities from her blood, Leinonen used to scuba dive in the Great Lakes. She dreamed of exploring other waters, and fantasized about visiting with dolphins up close. Plus, she said, she's a natural lover of waterlife, since her zodiac sign is Pisces, symbolized by two fish.

Dolphins are actually mammals, and their intelligent, friendly nature was highlighted in "Flipper," which ran from 1964 to 1967. Halpin, who played older brother Sandy Ricks in the series, lives across the street from Leinonen's father, Al Bogaert, in Florida.

When her dad told Halpin about her daydreams, Halpin volunteered to arrange a complimentary trip for her to swim with the dolphins at Miami Seaquarium's Dolphin Harbor, a package that can cost about $200 per person.

Leinonen starting lifting soup cans to build up her arm strength.

"I did repetitions of 10 and worked up to 60, so I could make my arms strong so I could hang on to that dolphin," she said.

Even being tethered to a dialysis machine for 3 1/2 hours three days a week, Leinonen said, doesn't mean a kidney patient has to hold back on dreams and goals. Leinonen has struggled with constant setbacks and complications, including two failed kidney transplants.

"She's like the Energizer bunny. She just keeps going," her sister, Jean Powe, said.

Leinonen's sons were only 2 and 5 when she first went on dialysis. Now divorced, but still close to her ex-husband, she worked as a hairdresser for many years. Her family has sustained her, she said, including her mother, Arlene Young, "who's been at my side through every step."

"I've had wishes granted. Life is good. I've seen my sons grow up. I've got a granddaughter. I swam with the dolphins," says Leinonen. "Life deals you some lemons, but I've made lemonade."

Contact PATRICIA MONTEMURRI at 313-223-4538 or pmontemurri@freepress.com.