Help Lauren Heal: Four Surgeries & Counting

Hello, I am writing here today in hopes of helping my best friend, Lauren Forest. Unfortunately, Lauren has been battling a long health journey that has left her unable to work or provide for her family. Lauren is also needing help with some medical bills due to insurance not covering all of the doctors she will be needing to see in the future.

Lauren's journey first started in March of 2024 when she had her first heart surgery. Her first surgery left her in the ICU with a long healing process ahead of her. Not even a week after her first surgery, she was hospitalized with both lungs filled with fluid and one almost collapsing. After her lungs and heart healed from the first surgery, she ended up needing a second heart surgery to correct her heart problem. Unfortunately, that surgery was not a success either, and she was left in the hospital with issues walking on her own.

About a month later, she thought things were looking up for the better, but that was not the case. Lauren just had her fourth heart surgery on March 31st, 2025. Since having her fourth surgery, she has been hospitalized three times now and is currently in the hospital. After surgery, Lauren's heart became very swollen from the procedure and was diagnosed with pericarditis, which left her not able to do much besides lay in bed and do very minimal things. As she was trying to recover from pericarditis, she started having numbness and weakness in her legs, affecting her ability to walk. At first, she was recommended to see a rheumatologist, but before being able to get in to see one, she was hospitalized again due to her legs.

After having a neurosurgeon, neurologist, and hospital doctor all on board, they finally came up with a diagnosis of Guillain-Barre syndrome. Now she will have to battle this autoimmune disease along with a heart problem that is not fixed. Lauren is currently in the hospital getting IVIG treatments, hoping that this will cure the autoimmune disease for now, even though it will never go away.

Lauren is not asking for much, but if you could donate anything at all, it would help her tremendously. She doesn't just have to take care of herself but her three little boys as well. Thank you!