04/27/2021
In 2017, Lauren shared the news that she was going to be a mom! She was a beautiful mother to be and everything seemed to go smoothly with the arrival of her beautiful daughter Ella. It wasn't until a few months after Ella was born that Lauren ever mentioned she had been worried her baby might have cystic fibrosis. Lauren and her husband had found out during her pregnancy that they were both carriers of a genetic mutation that could lead to CF but they had hoped those genes would not be passed to their child. Unfortunately, a few weeks after she was born, Ella was diagnosed with CF. Sharing her story of CF with the Blue Caboose community, Lauren wrote about finding out Ella’s diagnosis:
"I’m so sorry. This is the worst part of my job. Your daughter has cystic fibrosis.” I will never forget those words; those are the words that, as I write this, still cause a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. As I silently cried over my sleeping baby, I made her a promise: that I would fight for her until my last breath."
And true to her word, Lauren has fought.
Cystic Fibrosis, as many conditions and diseases tend to be, can be costly and Lauren never questioned going back to work. She wanted to be able to provide Ella with the best care, and to her, that meant being financially stable, with both parents having income and insurance possibilities. She has excelled at not only at her job but also raising a child and all of the extra needs that are part of living with CF - and she has still found a way to immerse herself in raising both money and awareness for the CF community.
As far as being a mom to Ella, Lauren has never let CF get in her way of raising her fun and sassy daughter. Lauren is one of the most organized people you could ever meet and she doesn’t miss a thing when it comes to Ella’s care. She is on top of all of the medications, clinic appointments and dietary needs that come with CF – and she never complains about any of it! She also makes sure Ella leads as normal a life as possible and fills her days with friends, play and learning. Lauren has so many great women in her life from her grandmother to her mom to her aunts and friends – she pulls from all of their strengths and wisdom to give Ella an amazing life.
I have seen a quote passed around that always makes me think of Lauren: Fate whispers to her, 'You cannot withstand the storm.' She whispers back, 'I am the storm.' While I wish that Lauren's sweet Ella did not have to know what it's like to have CF, I know that on the day Lauren received the phone call of her daughter’s diagnosis, the fight against CF gained one of that strongest warriors it could ever ask for.
