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Some of you may know my cousin Lauren Howell and you may have heard that she was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. That sounds shocking to me even as I recite that sentence in my head. For those of you that know Lauren or even those that don’t know her but know of her story I want to share a little bit more with you about who she is and the journey God is currently taking her, and our family, through.
Lauren is my cousin, she is 21 years old, and she is a real estate agent with Allen Tate. She recently got engaged to her high school sweetheart, Nathan, and they have a wedding planned for May 2020. Over the past few months we have had many talks about her upcoming “big day” and all the exciting things little girls wait their entire life for. In the midst of all of this our girl got the most life changing news anyone could receive. Just two weeks ago, my sweet Lauren had a seizure and passed out in her apartment. Her sister, Abby, took her to Presbyterian hospital expecting to hear it was a minor medical issue or something medicine could fix. Unfortunately, that was not the case. We were told that Lauren had a 4cm mass on her brain and the devastating words “brain tumor” were spoken for the first time. Our family immediately began to cry out to God and rally around our sweet Lauren. In the following days Lauren’s parents, Chris and Dianna, were able to secure an appointment with Duke neurosurgeon, Dr.Friedman. Initially, the surgeon believed the tumor to be inoperable, it was as if the hope of healing we were clinging too was slowly being ripped away but even in the midst of this storm God was bringing us through. After a functional MRI was performed the surgeon called again and said he believed he could operate and remove the tumor. This alone is a miracle! Lauren will have a craniotomy in which she will be awake and during the operation the surgeon will also biopsy the tumor to determine if it is benign or malignant.
As of today, the surgery is scheduled for next week. God is working a miracle in Lauren. She had a seizure, but we see this as God’s intervention to heal her, the seizure brought the tumor to light. The tumor went from 4cm on the original scan to 2.5cm just days later, from inoperable to operable in just a few days time as well. These are not coincidences, these are part of Lauren’s testimony about the goodness of the God we serve. What Satan means for evil, God will turn for His glory ❤️
I am humbly asking from my heart for your prayers for Lauren. That is what we need most. I am also reaching out because many of you have asked how you can help. The insurance will cover 80% of the cost, but that still leaves 20% that has to be paid. That cost does not include the follow up visits, the hotel stays (her and her parents will be traveling to Duke and must stay in the area post-surgery) and additional post-surgery care costs. As you can see, God has made a way for our family so far, and he will continue to make away. Please join me in building Lauren’s testimony and helping her through this journey.
Lauren is my cousin, she is 21 years old, and she is a real estate agent with Allen Tate. She recently got engaged to her high school sweetheart, Nathan, and they have a wedding planned for May 2020. Over the past few months we have had many talks about her upcoming “big day” and all the exciting things little girls wait their entire life for. In the midst of all of this our girl got the most life changing news anyone could receive. Just two weeks ago, my sweet Lauren had a seizure and passed out in her apartment. Her sister, Abby, took her to Presbyterian hospital expecting to hear it was a minor medical issue or something medicine could fix. Unfortunately, that was not the case. We were told that Lauren had a 4cm mass on her brain and the devastating words “brain tumor” were spoken for the first time. Our family immediately began to cry out to God and rally around our sweet Lauren. In the following days Lauren’s parents, Chris and Dianna, were able to secure an appointment with Duke neurosurgeon, Dr.Friedman. Initially, the surgeon believed the tumor to be inoperable, it was as if the hope of healing we were clinging too was slowly being ripped away but even in the midst of this storm God was bringing us through. After a functional MRI was performed the surgeon called again and said he believed he could operate and remove the tumor. This alone is a miracle! Lauren will have a craniotomy in which she will be awake and during the operation the surgeon will also biopsy the tumor to determine if it is benign or malignant.
As of today, the surgery is scheduled for next week. God is working a miracle in Lauren. She had a seizure, but we see this as God’s intervention to heal her, the seizure brought the tumor to light. The tumor went from 4cm on the original scan to 2.5cm just days later, from inoperable to operable in just a few days time as well. These are not coincidences, these are part of Lauren’s testimony about the goodness of the God we serve. What Satan means for evil, God will turn for His glory ❤️
I am humbly asking from my heart for your prayers for Lauren. That is what we need most. I am also reaching out because many of you have asked how you can help. The insurance will cover 80% of the cost, but that still leaves 20% that has to be paid. That cost does not include the follow up visits, the hotel stays (her and her parents will be traveling to Duke and must stay in the area post-surgery) and additional post-surgery care costs. As you can see, God has made a way for our family so far, and he will continue to make away. Please join me in building Lauren’s testimony and helping her through this journey.
Organizer and beneficiary
Amber Hughes Lukowski
Organizer
Iron Station, NC
James Howell
Beneficiary