BC shows its love for Laetyn

For Andrew and Kayla Lawrence, it was possibly the best early Christmas present they could ask for after just two months earlier receiving news that any parent would dread.

This past October, the couple noticed that when their 12-year-old daughter, Laetyn, would walk, it looked as though she was dizzy.

“We kept asking her if she was OK and she’d always say yes,” Kayla said. “She started getting annoyed at me for always asking if everything was fine.”

They had thought maybe she wasn’t getting enough vitamins, rest or water. But they decided to go the doctor and there, they did a walking test, then blood work. An MRI of her brain was ordered and shortly afterward, Kayla received a phone call.

“That’s when they said that ‘your daughter has a tumor and you need to take her to the ER,’” Kayla said, holding back tears.

They checked into Sunrise Hospital in Las Vegas and were told almost immediately that they were unable to handle the surgery. So later that evening, the family was flown on a medical airplane to Salt Lake City. There, another an even-more advanced MRI was taken of Laetyn’s brain and spine. The next day she underwent a nine-hour surgery to remove the tumor.

“Those nine hours felt more like nine years,” Andrew said.

Because the doctor’s appointment, to diagnosis, to surgery happened so quickly, Andrew and Kayla did not have a lot of time to think about or process what was going on.

“I was scared and I knew something was up,” Kayla said. “But I never even considered it may be a brain tumor. It was outside the realm of possibility. But she has had the best attitude throughout all of this, always saying she knows she’s going to get better. And she hasn’t cried or felt sorry for herself.”

Andrew agreed.

“Laetyn has always been a healthy kid,” he said. “I got the phone call from Kayla and by the sound of her voice, I knew something was wrong. When she told me, it’s like facing your biggest fears. I dropped to my knees and prayed that she’d be OK.”

They told their family members and made arrangements, not knowing they’d be away from home for two months.

While they knew she had a tumor, what wasn’t known was whether or not it was cancerous.

“Up until we found out, I was asking if she was going to die and if so, how long did she have to live - weeks, months?” Andrew said. “I started going down this really negative, dark path. But we soon turned that around and started having hope. It was definitely the scariest time of my life.”

Now the good news

The family arrived the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Oct. 14 and would not return home until Dec. 12. And while they knew Laetyn would have a long road of recovery ahead of her, the good news is, the tumor was benign. Doctors originally thought the tumor was the size of a golf ball but it turned out to be the size of a softball. But they still don’t know the cause. What they do know is that it was a slow growth. An MRI just before returning home showed no new tumors in her brain.

The family was told that even though the tumor was not cancerous, that some things in Laetyn’s life could take weeks, months and even years to fully return to normal, such as walking, talking and eating. When Thanksgiving came around, the entire family enjoyed dinner at a local Salt Lake City buffet and Laetyn’s appetite began to return.

“I ate what I always eat, macaroni and cheese and green Jell-O,” she said.

While it was determined that Laetyn’s tumor was benign, she will need another MRI in four years and then possible years ahead as an adult.

Back at home

Both Kayla and Andrew said the fact they were able, as a family, to return home in mid-December, was a Christmas gift unto itself.

“I really wanted to be home by Christmas Eve,” Laetyn said.

The return home was made even more special by the fact that the community, which had shown its support through a variety of fundraisers and personal donations, placed pink ribbons along Adams Boulevard and other streets in town. Students at both elementary schools welcomed them home with posters and cheers.

“It’s been incredible,” Kayla said of the outpouring of support and love they have received. “When we turned down Veterans Way and saw all the ribbons, we all started to cry. My aunt said, ‘It looks like you live in a Hallmark movie.’ It’s true, it feels like we live in our own little Hallmark town.”

Missing her fellow Bobcats

Laetyn, who is in the seventh grade and a cheerleader, is doing some schoolwork at home and goes to rehabilitation therapy several days a week. It’s not known when she will be able to return to school. But what is known is that she misses her friends and schoolmates at Garrett.

The feeling is mutual.

“The whole Bobcat community is cheering Laetyn on every step of her journey,” said Principal Melanie Teemant.

“We wish her continued strength and progress and look forward to welcoming her back to Garrett and to our Bobcat family.”

Laetyn is hoping to someday be a cheerleader again and recently suited up and cheered while in her wheelchair with her teammates at a home basketball game.

“I only have three volumes to my voice… a whisper, a loud talk and yelling,” she said as she demonstrated all three with a grin.