Stand by Laura: Cancer Return

Current:

Due to the recurrence and spread of Laura's breast cancer, she had to have emergency spinal surgery. She had her T10 and T11 vertebrae removed and a metal cage inserted to stop the diseased bone and the tumor from pushing painfully on her spinal cord. In the lead up to the surgery, Laura lost feeling and control in both her legs so she will now have to relearn how to walk and function on her feet. She will need to spend significant time in an inpatient rehabilitation facility, which will inhibit her ability to work. She can't climb the stairs in her house to get to her bed or even get to her shower. Nevertheless, Laura is delightfully stubborn and one day after surgery, she has already stood using a walker. She looks forward to the challenge ahead of her, but knows she can't do it alone.

January 2025

Laura's cancer is back. At the beginning of this year she started to have back pain and her oncologist ordered an MRI which found a tumor in her spine. Her T11 vertebrae is fractured and she's in a fair amount of pain from it. After a PET scan they found the cancer is also in her shoulder and liver. She ended treatment in February of 2024 so having recurrence this fast is pretty devastating. If you want to support her family this is a great way to help them as she'll have added medical expenses and needs to prepare her family for their future.

Right now she's being treated with radiation to her shoulder and next week she'll get radiation to her spine. Hopefully after that they can use bone cement to repair her fractured vertebrae and alleviate some of her pain. We're still waiting on blood results to find out what type of chemo she'll need. We'll try to post updates here as time goes on.

March 2023

Laura has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Because the cancer is aggressive, she’ll be in treatment for at least a year and it will be difficult for her to work. All of the money raised will go directly to Laura’s family to help provide for medical expenses and basic needs while they aggressively treat her cancer. She has an uphill battle ahead of her and will be receiving 6 months of chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, removal of her ovaries, and radiation treatments to heal her body. A donation of any size is the best way to show her some love as she fights this!

Laura’s family has an intense history of cancer. Her mom and brother passed away from cancer when she was 20 years old after a 2 year battle against it. After that, she became a surrogate mom to her sister Annie. Annie has Down Syndrome and at the young age of 21, Laura took over her daily care and well being. Laura attended her IEP meetings, made sure she had lots of social time, and kept her integrated in mainstream classes as much as she could. Because of this, Annie was homecoming queen, attended community college after high school, and has been working as an assistant preschool teacher for the past 7 years. Annie leads a full and happy life.

Annie still lives with Laura and her family. Laura is only 36! It definitely feels like she is too young to have cancer. She is a devoted mom to her kids ages 11, 8, and 6. She and her husband have been married for 16 years and have the most loving family.

Because of Laura’s background in education, she created an in home preschool to give her kids the best education she could. During her 7 years teaching, she’s been an influence in so many families’ lives. She’s created a safe and gentle space for her students to learn and for their families to create meaningful friendships.

Laura has spent so much of her life serving others. She’s quick to find ways to help everyone she meets. In 2020 during the ice storm in Austin, TX, many families lost power and were without clean drinking water for weeks and some without water at all. During that time, she helped raise $12,000 and delivered hundreds of gallons of water, diapers, and food to families in need.

The thing that would help Laura’s family the most during her treatment is funds so they can pay rent, electric, and basic necessities to keep their lives afloat. We want Laura to be focused on healing so she can be around to take care of her family for years to come. Please consider giving even a few dollars to their family or sharing this GoFundMe with your friends and family. Thank you so much for your generosity!