Ashley Lon Erin Mosely and Kathryn Ring are organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Laura Dart and Jake LaPointe.

We are sure that many of you will feel as connected to Jake and Laura’s story as we are and want to wish them well. We invite you to post a loving message on this page for them to read when they are ready. We thank you on behalf of Laura and Jake for your love and support. We know they will be incredibly grateful for any and all words of kindness and support they will receive.

To know Laura Dart and Jake LaPointe is to love them deeply. Laura has one of the most selfless, compassionate, humble, and loving souls that she uses to bring healing and peace to the lives of her family, friends, and the children she serves through her work. She is THE MOST talented occupational therapist who goes out of her way to serve the most vulnerable mental health populations to try and make the world a better and more accepting place for all. Jake has spent the last few years working as a police officer in Florida and has been supporting both his family and his community through providing safety and support for many in some of their darkest, most challenging times. Together, they have built an incredible family that wakes up daily and contributes to this (sometimes unforgiving) world around them, while unconditionally loving one another, and those lucky enough to be in their lives.

On June 2nd, 2022, Laura was in a serious car accident that resulted in injuries to her spine, leaving her forced to take medical leave from her true passion of pediatric occupational therapy. Laura continues to support children from afar by participating in the rehabilitation process in other ways, however surgery may be needed to return to her full capacity, as her rehabilitation progress has been slow, challenging, and potentially ineffective long term. With Laura out of work, Laura and Jake moved back to Georgia where they have been temporarily living with family, providing Laura with some time to heal her body.

Some joy returned to their household when Laura and Jake found out that they were expecting their first baby earlier this year. They were ecstatic to share this journey together and bring a beautiful baby girl into this world, creating a family to make cherishable memories with over the years.

On July 15th, 2023, amidst the already chaotic healing period, Laura and Jake’s three-legged, furry bundle of joy, therapy dog JoJo, suffered a severe injury to her one and only front leg and was rushed into emergency surgery. JoJo continues to heal, however her progress is being monitored and she may need another surgery in the future.

One week later, on Friday July 21st, 2023, Laura and Jake received the devastating news that their 4.5 month old baby girl has a diagnosis of triploidy (a chromosomal abnormality that is incompatible with life) and that they would very likely lose the pregnancy before their child would be born. Laura continues to carry their strong-willed, fighter of a baby girl now 5+ months into pregnancy, however their doctors have confirmed that she has stopped growing and is predicted to soon pass away. Laura being the strong person she is, is trying to spend her time giving her baby the best life it can have in-utero, including making her Christmas and Thanksgiving dinners so she can experience her first holidays before she passes.

Their family has been through a tremendous amount of love, loss, pain, and uncertainty in the past year and those who know and love them most are left desperately searching for ways to ease their pain and support their healing process, the way that they have supported all of us for so long. A few family members and friends alike are now asking their community for contributions in hopes to raise enough to cover Laura’s medical expenses, therapeutic support, including mental health care, time away from work and daily life responsibilities to grieve, heal, and try to get back on their feet. We would also like to sponsor a butterfly garden in their baby girl’s memory and create other memorabilia for the journey Laura and Jake had with their first child.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support for our sweet Laura and Jake. Every little bit helps more than you know and will, hopefully, bring them the strength they need to carry on.