Lauren suffers from multiple health and developmental problems that include the following :

  She has an as yet undiagnosed condition that is suspected to be genetic, extremely rare and possibly unique. She  has a form of Leukodystrophy, a condition that is characterised by a lack or loss of myelin, the protective fatty substance that surrounds nerve fibres. This means that her nervous system cant function efficiently.

Lauren is eight years old but she still has the brain of a newborn child.

  She has reached none of the normal stages of development. She cant speak or communicate, sit, roll, support her body weight or have any control over her limbs.

  She cannot eat or drink orally, her feeds and medication pass through a gastrostomy tube directly into her stomach.

  Lauren cant use her bladder. A catheter tube is inserted into her bladder to empty it.

  Lauren often suffers from constipation and requires laxatives and stimulation to resolve this.

  Lauren has frequent muscle spasms that at times can be quite distressing and have been particularly difficult to control with drugs.

Lauren has developed a curvature of the spine, which could result in breathing problems. She cant cough or clear her airways so she depends on suctioning to keep her airways clear.

At night she is sedated to allow her to sleep.

Lauren has suffered from gastric reflux, her stomach contents have at times entered her lungs resulting in aspiration pneumonia. She has had many respiratory infections over the last four years. On many occasions she has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Childrens Hospital in Melbourne.

Lauren gets very unsettled and distressed if left alone so she is invariably being nursed in some ones arms for comfort and security.        

Despite the complications of her fragile existence, Lauren has endeared herself to all those who have known or cared for her. To experience one of her irresistible smiles makes all the care and sacrifices for this special little girl so worthwhile.

    A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF LAUREN'S MEDICAL HISTORY CAN BE SEEN AT:

                             https://phillipslauren.tripod.com/medhistory