What doesn’t kill you, makes you a fighter. Fight to rebuild. Fight to strengthen. Fight to believe. Fight to dream. And fight to survive.

After losing her brother, Cameron, in a car accident in 2016, Lara and her family began the long road of recovery - struggling every day as they tried to make sense of why someone so dear to their hearts was taken away too soon. Lara, then only 15 yrs old, somehow managed to find the strength to push through the darkest moments and believe that brighter days MUST lie ahead. 4 years later, through hard work, talent, and dedication to her love of music - Lara’s dream of pursuing a degree in music therapy became reality. She was to begin her first semester at Arizona State this month. 

A long, but exciting adventure lied ahead. As Lara, her boyfriend Liam, and her little Pomeranian Desi made the 24 hour trip from Illinois to Arizona - the unthinkable happened. Friday evening, only hours from their destination, a driver headed from the opposite direction tried to pass a semi truck. Without enough room to finish the pass, the car collided head on into Lara and Liam’s vehicle. Lara’s mother, Anna, only 10 minutes behind their vehicle - came upon the accident. A moment no mother every wants to experience. Anna somehow found the ability to stay as calm as possible, painfully waiting for the rescue team and helicopter to arrive - talking to each of them, keeping them alert and assuring them that help would be there soon and everything was going to be ok. 

Liam was taken by helicopter - he broke his L2 and L3, very close to his spinal cord. Lara was taken by ambulance and has a crushed talus bone in her right foot. Little Desi has swelling to the brain. Since Friday, Lara has had two minor surgeries to her foot to reduce swelling before they can do reconstructive surgery on Thursday. With COVID regulations, Anna was not able to be with Lara until Sunday, when she was moved to a pediatric wing of the hospital. Liam is still undergoing evaluation by the doctors - hopefully a surgical plan will be decided on soon and his mother will be able to be see him! 

As all of you close to the La Tour family know, they have had their share of heartache and tragedy. Now as they fight for Lara, and her recovery - physically and mentally - we ask that you assist in any way possible to lessen the financial burden that lies ahead of them. A new year also brings a new insurance year. With a $10,000 deductible to chip away at, the medical bills are already overwhelming. Lara has yet to go undergo her major surgery and lengthy physical therapy treatment. Desi, too, has mounting medical bills from the vet and animal hospitals. Anna is unable to return to work for at least a few weeks, as she manages the health and wellness of her daughter in Arizona. Jim, Anna’s husband and Lara’s dad, has joined them in Arizona - his travel expenses adding even more unneeded stress to the situation. 

Let us all now fight for this family, so that they can be there for Lara, without the constant worry of financial burden that weighs greatly on top of their inevitable emotional stress.

The kindness that we can all give the LaTour family now will help them to once again rebuild, strengthen, believe and FIGHT to make Lara’s dream reality again!