The Unseen Battle: A Mother's Journey

This conversation delves into Laura's journey as a mother navigating the complex medical challenges faced by her daughter, LewLew. From the early struggles with her son Hayden's health issues to the mysterious illness that struck Lewlew, Laura shares her experiences of advocacy, the search for answers, and the importance of community support. The discussion highlights the emotional toll of medical challenges, the fight for proper diagnosis, and the empowerment that comes from sharing stories and building connections with others facing similar struggles. Laura also discusses her upcoming book, which aims to inspire and empower other mothers dealing with health issues in their children.A Message from Laura: Hello to all! I am Laura Zimmerman Whayne. Have had a long life of pain to purpose that ultimately led me to being able to get help for my son who had a rare immune deficiency. From helping my son, I learned that my instincts were right and it gave me the confidence to fight like hell to figure out what was wrong with my daughter, LewLew, when she got very sick in 2017. This journey led to battle after battle and helping over 5000 girls around the world. It took being creative, patient and headstrong to figure out how to get LewLew tested in a way that would show why she could not eat or drink. Once discovered, we were on a long and scary and ferocious battle for her life and others. Once the ABC news story aired (see attached) I was able to reach so many moms and girls around the world and it went from there. My job as a project manager for a custom building company actually led me to figure out a few things regarding LewLew's health. I was able to juggle working 40+ hours a week with project managing renovations and new builds in addition to high end real estate sales with RE/Max United along with fighting for thousands around the world. I founded a private group called Mama Lions (attached) to have a safe place to vent all of our worries, prayers and thoughts. LewLew is now in Grad school at UNC for public health. There is not a day that I ever take for granted that she is with us as in October 2021 we were told she probably would not survive. UNC calls LewLew their miracle kid. We do, too. https://www.facebook.com/share/g/17qNwSGot5/https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BmEYFjPVY/ https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1Bh5yMJUF5/https://abc11.com/post/moms-persistence-leads-to-diagnosis-for-chapel-hill-teen-with-rare-disorder/4504717/