tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-191924712007-03-03T18:15:37.854-06:00LauraLaughlinBlogger701tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19192471.post-63584246152445225752007-03-03T18:12:00.000-06:002007-03-03T18:15:37.897-06:00

Laura Kathleen Laughlin (12/12/79 - 2/20/07) "An angel has left our presence, for now" If there were words capable of justifying our family's complete appreciation for the love, support, and encouragement displayed during this struggle, they would surely be inserted here. Unfortunately, there aren't any. What is certain is this; your love continually lifted us up, helped us to keep going, and

LauraLaughlintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19192471.post-1165925755505651472006-12-12T06:15:00.000-06:002006-12-12T06:15:55.516-06:00

LAURA LIFE LESSON #17 – 27 years full of life Twenty-seven years of purpose Twenty-seven years of commitment Twenty-seven years of passion Twenty-seven years of caring Twenty-seven years of strength Twenty-seven years of loyalty Twenty-seven years of compassion Twenty-seven years of generosity Twenty-seven years of love Twenty-seven years of service Twenty-seven years as an example For

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #16 – Taking responsibility We are fully accountable and responsible for our own lives. Undoubtedly, the temptation to blame circumstances, situations, and others exists. The results and current state of your life is a product of you, not the other outside junk. To be effective, you cannot allow factors outside your control to steal your single largest God given freedom, the

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #15 – Be branded, a giver We all enjoy having people with a sincerely generous spirit in our lives. There are many reasons why people give and many reasons why they don’t. It is unnecessary to understand these reasons. What is important? Deciding if you desire to be this person and realizing, you can be. Giving is much more than financial. An act of generosity can include time,

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #14 – A spirit of thanks It seems appropriate to borrow language from a true American patriot and icon, Abraham Lincoln, and his proclamation of Thanksgiving, "…announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand, which preserved us in peace and

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #13 – Opening doors It must not of been easy for God. He faced an infinite amount of tough decisions in creation. Should He provide us with a free will to choose? We know God is all-powerful, but giving us free will would transfer a great deal of power, at least initially, to us. To identify our love as pure and not obligatory, we would have to CHOOSE Him. There had to be both

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #12 – Believe for better, believe for more Would you be considered a person full a belief or more consumed with doubt? Many of our battles can result from the struggle among these opposing forces. This fight can produce results or stagnate the growth of our journey. Forgetting our doubts is exceedingly difficult. We have all been hurt or let down. We battle insecurity and

LauraLaughlintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19192471.post-1162296121869655272006-10-31T06:01:00.000-06:002006-10-31T06:02:01.883-06:00

LAURA LIFE LESSON #11 – Be an encourager People love having “an encourager” in their life. Think of the person doing this for you in your life. They are irreplaceable, right? So, why is it we often find ourselves prone to complaining, criticizing, comparing, or judging? Many reasons are given, but they all fall short. We may believe if someone else achieves more or has more, than we are inferior

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #10 – Become a person of action Our thoughts, while necessary, are only the starting point. Real change, progress, and personal development are the products of our thoughts executed through real action. In a way, we are all defined and ultimately judged by our actions. We have many choices; positive action producing growth, negative regrettable actions that hinder, limited or

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #9 – The power of your thoughts This lesson will refrain from deceiving you by saying, “all you have to do is think positive thoughts and everything will be rosy.” Countless lives throughout history are a witness to this unfortunate misconception. Instead of focusing on what positive thinking lacks, let’s focus on the truths of our thoughts. All actions and behaviors, arguably,

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #8 – Making a difference Everyone touched by the story and struggle of Laura is aware of the impact of her life both before and after July 2005. A top priority and dream for Laura has always been to make a difference in the lives of people. And now, we marvel at the large scale of her unquestionable influence. Obviously, it wasn’t always to this level. The sting of overwhelming

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #7 – Constructive criticism and the other kind One of Laura’s favorite things was our periodic “relationship retreats.” This gave us an opportunity to pause from the busyness of life and discuss our short-term and long-term goals for our relationship. We were both required to give specific examples of what we were happy about and what we were not so happy about. You should have

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #6 – Overcome your fears As we walk through our battlefields, we try everything to negotiate the landmines (our fears) in our lives including avoidance, rationalizing, and even outright denial. Why don’t we identify our fears, face them head on, and leave them (once and for all) in the rear view mirror? Unfortunately, we must face intense challenges, overwhelming difficulties,

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #5 – Love first Regardless of the complexities of life and supposed metrics of success, we are in fact defined by our relationships. Busy schedules and other commitments often lead to limited and brief moments of social interaction. It is in these moments, the greatest opportunities are available to form the bonds of true friendship. Everyone, on different levels, yearns to be

LauraLaughlintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19192471.post-1158024680760732682006-09-11T20:30:00.000-05:002006-09-11T20:31:20.770-05:00

LAURA LIFE LESSON #4 – Listen well It is tough to have good listeners in your life. It is even tougher to be a good listener for others. What draws people magnetically to Laura is this unique listening ability and the sense of truly being heard. She cares about what you are saying and isn’t afraid to show it. Laura’s favorite place to be is always right there, with you. She never allows her

LauraLaughlintag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19192471.post-1157436719317735672006-09-05T01:11:00.000-05:002006-09-05T01:11:59.326-05:00

LAURA LIFE LESSON #3 – Care about the little things It was several minutes before the ceremony in which we would be pronounced husband and wife. Laura, of course, was a big believer in us not seeing each other before her long awaited walk down the aisle. I waited nervously in a back room of the church preparing for this once in a lifetime moment; palms were sweating, mouth dry. Moments before we

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #2 – Be yourself and have fun One of Laura’s amazing qualities has always been how comfortable she is in her own skin. She loves to have a great time with friends and families. One of our favorite stories happened in her college days at Mizzou. After a football game, we (a bunch of Laura’s friends and a few of Jeff’s buddies) headed to Harpos for a little post game fun. We were

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LAURA LIFE LESSON #1 – Live for others Narrowing down all the stories for this topic to one is nearly impossible. Laura, in my eyes, lives this principle every day. For those who know Laura, she is absolutely obsessed with holidays and birthdays. When a big holiday or anyone’s birthday approaches, Laura gets all excited about going out of her way to make others feel important. Her eyes light up.

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This may be the toughest update to write of yet. At its conclusion, a year essentially void of Laura will have passed. As from the beginning, the commitment, in both time and energy, is to God and Laura. At this time, Laura desperately needs her family’s complete focus. What does this mean? It is time for us to take an extended break from the updates. It will not be permanent, but temporary.

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Our plan is to provide all of you with video footage and/or pictures in the near future (maybe after the big race day when things slow down a bit). There isn’t a great deal of change to report in her condition. Her muscles and level of control of those muscles has improved. We are hoping to get a better read on her level of cognition over the days and weeks ahead. By cognition, meaning

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After several weeks with no changes worthy to report, we finally have received positive news from the many therapists working with Laura. The theme or terminology has been noticeable change in posture, demeanor, and participation. She has been gaining a bit more strength and control, particularly with her legs. We were told these movements, at least some of them, might be intentional and not

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Not too good of a week to report for Laura, sorry! She spent the larger portion of the week dealing with either the flu or stomach issues. Whatever you call it, it is difficult to witness and tough on her poor system. We have made a family decision, at this point, to put an end to the “drug therapy.” In the beginning, it was our belief the potential benefits would outweigh any possible side

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Laura is holding steady as we passed through the 11-month mark. No major problems or significant developments to report. Check out the newest videos and pictures of Laura recently posted to her website. The plan is to provide more consistent visual resources for all of Laura’s friends and family to view. We realize the difficulty in finding time and the lack of availability in her daily schedule.

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Laura’s medication is in a small “holding” pattern. It is a slow and difficult process to determine the proper amounts and appropriate combinations, all while evaluating Laura’s tolerance levels in terms of side effects. No real changes this week in her condition or with therapy. Many of you have commented lately on her improved physical appearance. We thank you for the continued support and

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Have at look at what Laura’s neurologist has to say about the bromocriptine medication: “We have observed that in some cases, this class of medication has been associated withimproved function. Our hypothesis is that there are some neurons in her brain that are neither dead nor working normally, but instead are in a kind of ‘hibernating’ state. Dopaminergic medications such as bromocriptine (and

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