Her physical therapy work is described by clients like the Williams sisters and Shaun White as life-changing, going beyond muscles and into matters of the soul. Now, facing down death, she’s learning to look within, too.
After she learned she was dying, Esther Lee had to make some calls. She spoke with Venus and Serena Williams, her brother and her sister, her friends and some other clients. One of the last and most difficult was Shaun White. Esther was standing in a field in the heat somewhere in Los Angeles in late July 2020. He answered quickly, excited to hear from her, but then she told him her news, and he started crying.