The campaign can be found by searching for her name on Gary White can be reached at or 86.ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society research students from across our cohorts are presenting their research across two days of talks. Sometimes I'm, like, ‘I’m really not that worthy.’ ”Ī GoFundMe campaign has been created to help cover Laura Pinner's medical expenses. And how difficult sometimes it is to perceive that. It's kneecapping, in a way, how kind people have been. “The outpouring of the community in Lakeland has been so incredible,” Pinner said. As of Tuesday, it had raised nearly $50,000 toward a goal of $100,000, but Pinner has already spent much of that. Pinner’s sister, Jennifer Pinner Whitehead, created a GoFundMe campaign to help cover her costs. She wonders how those of lesser means cope with the need for care. Pinner must pay out of pocket for round-the-clock caregivers, and her disability payments will soon end. She has become close with a woman in Bartow whose ALS has left her unable to speak.īeyond its physical cruelties, ALS inflicts a heavy financial cost. Pinner has found a new network of friends through online ALS support groups. 'Glad it’s coming back': Lakeland orchestra returns with new name, varying venues Through the foundation, Pinner has “voice banked” herself, creating a synthesized version of her voice for later use through a speech-generating device, like the one the late astrophysicist Stephen Hawking employed. If it's not OK, it's not the end.’ Isn’t that awesome?”Ī friend told Pinner about Team Gleason, a nonprofit created by Steve Gleason, a former pro football player diagnosed with ALS in 2011. She then quoted John Lennon: “ ‘In the end, everything will be OK. That's my practice, to live in the present moment.” “I can still use this (right) side of my body, which is really good,” she said. years, and she focuses on the powers that remain to her. ALS can also affect thinking and brain function, and Pinner sometimes struggles for memories, saying her head feels foggy.īut she also recalls precise details of stories from her L.A. Pinner acknowledged the likely progression of the disease, which eventually takes away the ability to talk. “That's just the darn truth.” Focusing on present “When traditional medicine doesn't work and they don't have a cure, you will search high and low for something to give you hope,” Pinner said. She said she considered entering a clinic in Miami, but it costs $3,000 a week and doesn’t accept insurance. She draws comfort from a friend’s description of a blissful, near-death experience.Īt one point, Pinner suggested that she expects to walk again. Pinner said she is trying to be faithful and to recognize all the love and caring that she has received. 'I just can't believe it': Four family members die in September, three from COVID-19 “He emphatically told me that, ‘There is hope, Laura. “And he gave me just such peace,” Pinner said. Though she attends another church, Pinner has long known McEntire, and her older sister, June Edwards, is a superintendent with the denomination. David McEntire of First United Methodist Church in Lakeland. Soon after her diagnosis, Pinner received a call from Rev. At the urging of a woman she met on that project, Pinner took the bold step of moving to Los Angeles in 1999. While doing that, she landed a role as an extra in “The Waterboy,” an Adam Sandler movie shot partly in Lakeland. Remembering their service: World War II memories remain clear for 100- and 102-year-old Lakeland survivors of 'Greatest Generation'Īfter graduating from the University of Florida - where her older brother, Pat, played football - Pinner returned to Lakeland and belatedly entered the realm of beauty pageants, frequently winning Miss Congeniality titles.Ī friend advised Pinner to pursue acting in commercials. She became a cheerleader at Kathleen High School. She recalled tap dancing for her family at age 4 and joining with a friend, Wendy Profit, to conjure dance productions for fellow students at Medulla Elementary School. Pinner, a Lakeland native, is a preternatural extrovert and entertainer. 'Nobody's neutral': Polk County parents' thoughts on kids' COVID-19 vaccines vary widely Memories of L.A. COVID by the numbers: Polk's COVID infections dip slightly vaccinations flatten
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