UCLA Surgical Team lead by Dr. Timothy Donohue (my right) and Surgical Team Member Dr. Joseph Hadaya (my left). PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA CEJA
It was 1997; I was 19, working three jobs that didn’t pay much and had no benefits. One morning, I woke up and had a horrible toothache. I needed a dentist, but I had no money or dental insurance. My friend said she knew a dentist who would treat me and let me pay a little each month. This was no way to deal with a dental problem and it was no way to live. A few months later, I was at Local 761 in Burbank, California, with the prospect of getting a good job with good pay and more importantly a dental plan. The UA was the way to a better life and better teeth. After five years of working in the field, taking classes, and learning everything I possibly could, I journeyed out and began working on projects all over Los Angeles. One day my business manager said they needed people in West Los Angeles, where they were building a brand-new hospital. So, there I went.
I worked on the hospital alongside other UA tradesworkers for almost one year. My job was to install medical gas lines and supervise other aspects of the construction. I crawled around in the false ceilings, between the walls and under floors, installing fixtures, pipes and gas lines. I was proud of my work. One day, my little brother or should I say younger brother, because he is 6-6, visited me on the job site and we took a picture to commemorate the occasion. At a time before cellphone cameras, I took lots and lots of pictures because I knew how important this project was. I knew it was a hospital, the UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital, and I knew lives would be saved here.
As the years went by, I would occasionally drive past the hospital with friends and family and I would brag, telling them, “I built that!” Of course, “I” had built it with a couple hundred other UA tradesworkers but I would always leave that part out.
Fast forward about 20 years, my husband and I had finally moved from Los Angeles to our new home in rural central California. We spent weeks unpacking and throwing out boxes of junk, putting everything in its place, but one day I didn’t feel so good. My husband had just unpacked the last box and hung the last picture on the wall. He walked into the living room, where I was lying on the sofa, and said, “Honey, we’re finally moved in!” And I said, “That’s great, but I need to go to the hospital, I’m in a lot of pain.”
We drove to the nearest hospital, which was 15 miles away, and were quickly taken into an examination room. The doctor had an ultrasound technician examine my abdomen and back where my pain was focused. When the tech came into the room, she was smiling, but when she left, the smile was gone, and the mood quickly shifted from lighthearted to gloom and doom. They found two tumors, one on my liver and another on my pancreas, coupled with 20 pounds of weight loss in about a week, the prognosis was not good.
My husband and I went home that day and planned for the worst. We spent the next three weeks going from one doctor to the next, one test or procedure to the next. Thankfully, with each visit and each test came better and better news.
After all the tests and procedures, we were finally told to go back to Los Angeles and were referred to Dr. Timothy Donahue, who would perform lifesaving surgery on me. As it turns out, Dr. Donahue is the best pancreatic surgeon in the world. While some surgeons may perform the occasional pancreatic surgery, once or twice a month, Dr. Donahue performs three or four of these complex and delicate surgeries a week! After reviewing my case, Dr. Donahue said, with a big smile on his face, “Don’t worry, I can fix this.” That same day I was scheduled for surgery, which brings me to how the skilled professionals of the UA saved my life.
In a twist of fate, my surgery would take place at the UCLA Ronald Reagan hospital; the same hospital that “I” had built 20 years earlier. The operating room in which Dr. Donahue saved my life utilized the same medical gas lines my UA brothers had installed. I was drinking water from the fixtures my UA brother “Bob-Bob” had set and finished. I was kept at the right temperature by the HVAC systems that my UA brother “Wild Bill” tested and balanced.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAURA CEJA
I spent a week recovering in the same area of the hospital where two decades earlier I had begun my life as a journeyman. I spent the whole time showing the medical staff the pictures I had taken of the other UA guys and me building the hospital. Each nurse or doctor that came on duty wanted to see what we, indeed “we,” had built 20 years previously. With nothing else to do for a week but reminisce, I kept thinking about working in the crawlspaces of the very room in which I was recouperating. I could never have imagined that the UA, and the work my UA brothers performed would save my life one day.
If you didn’t understand that the work of skilled and licensed professionals in the plumbing, pipefitting and mechanical industries saves lives, I hope you do now. In my case, the hardworking men and women of the UA made it possible for me to be here sharing this story with you. I guarantee the work you are doing today will one day save the life of someone you love.
Finally, I want to thank the amazing staff at UCLA Ronald Reagan Hospital, especially Dr. Donahue. He said he could, “fix it” and he did. He saved my life; he is the best!
I have never been more thankful to be a member of the UA and a part of the this incredible industry of skilled professionals. It’s great to be back. It’s great to be at the UA! Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and support.
Laura Ceja is the National Recruitment and Outreach Coordinator for the United Association (UA) of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry’s Education and Training Department — and a proud, lifelong plumber.
She has contributed her expertise to numerous IAPMO committees, serving from 2010 to 2014, and held a seat on the Education and Training Committee from 2010 to 2024. From 2014 to 2016, she also served on IAPMO’s Board of Directors.
Last modified: November 3, 2025