Laura Lange Brain Surgery Fundraiser

As most now know, Laura Lange was recently diagnosed with a large, complex brain tumor near the Cerebellopontine Angle (near the brain stem) after undergoing an emergency MRI due to experiencing blurry/double vision (Laura’s MRI scan pictured below). Edwards Hospital in Naperville reviewed the MRI results and due to the complexity, location and size of the tumor, referred her out to Northwestern in Chicago for treatment with a team of top rated neurosurgeon specialists in the Midwest.

Unfortunately, Northwestern is out of network with Laura’s current health insurance. Additionally, due to her job as an independently contracted mental health therapist, she does not have paid time off and/or FMLA, therefore will not have her share of household income for the foreseeable future after surgery and during recovery. Since her diagnosis, Laura’s fight has begun physically, mentally, and spiritually. Coming to the realization that this complex surgery is out of network with her insurance has only added more stress to this challenging road ahead of her.

Laura’s brain surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, August 17th 2021 at Northwestern Hospital in Chicago and is expected to be about 10+ hours long and require extensive brain mapping throughout the duration. She is expected to stay in the hospital following surgery for observation/complications, then transition to a rehabilitation center to work on fine and gross motor skills that may be affected during surgery. During this time, she, her husband and families will be anxiously waiting for biopsy results to determine whether this tumor is cancerous or not. Following rehabilitation, radiation is most likely to follow as the specialists don’t believe they’ll be able to remove the entire mass during surgery.

Needless to say, this entire diagnosis has completely shocked us all. Laura has so greatly appreciated the outpour of love and support as she’s shared her updates online with family, friends and colleagues. Many have asked what they can do to help. After much consideration, with the unknown of how long Laura will be unable to work, it felt appropriate to set up a GoFundMe to help Laura cover her lack of income and hopefully towards the extensive medical bills anticipated ahead.

Any donation, no matter the size, will be a huge help. Seeing as Laura has dedicated the past 10+ years of her career helping others, whether it be substance users, the homeless, severely mentally ill or working closely with non for profit organizations within the community, asking for financial help herself is a position Laura never imagined she’d find herself in . Please feel free to share this GoFundMe with others. It is our goal to help lighten the burden for Laura as much as we possibly can at this time. We will update this page as updates are available regarding Laura’s surgery, recovery and expenses involved with this battle she is facing. Thanks so much for reading and please keep Laura, Mike and their families in your prayers.

**If you’d like to make a full donation directly to Laura (without gofundme transaction fees) please send directly to her
Venmo: @lauralangelcsw