Laura's Memorial, a Celebration of Her Life And Love

Today marks one week since Laura's passing. And with so much that happened in that time, it feels as if many weeks have passed. Much of Laura's family and friends from out of state traveled to Cottage Grove to attend. It was great to see them even on this tragic occasion.

Joanne, Anastasia, Thomas, Alyssa, Brandaleen, Wes and Brad

Wesley Meador

Keith Dilling, Laura's honorary third brother

Randy saying hello to Brad and Wes

Mary, Laura's Mother, with her sister, Laura's Aunt Lisa

Brandaleen, Laura's childhood friend, and Bradley

Laura's cousins Leah and Adrienne with Tom, Laura's Dad

More cousins, Trina, Allison, Elena and Peggy

Randy, Laura's friend, and Allan, Laura's brother queuing up music

The memorial was beautiful and there are no words to express our gratitude. The sheer amount of people that attended was touching in itself. There were many boards and tables with remembrances of Laura. My personal favorite was Laura's high school scrapbook where she predicte her future husband would be 80's TV star, Richard Grieco.











And then the memorial began. Keith Kessler facilitated the memorial. Gary Mowrey said a few inspirational words. Cousins Allison, Adrienne, Elena and Trina sang. Tom (father), Mary (mother), Thomas (brother), Allan (brother), Chad (ex-husband) and Randy (boyfriend) went up to share their memories of Laura. We watched a photo slideshow of Laura with a song by Sheryl Crow. Then, Trina and Alison sang one of Laura's favorite songs "Heart Will Go On" from one of her favorite movies "Titanic". I remembered the whole family seeing that movie when it came out and everyone coming out with tears in their eyes. The young romance in the story struck a chord with our ever-romantic Laura.

Keith Kessler, facilitating the Memorial beautifully

Gary Mowrey, saying a few inspirational words

Cousins Allison, Trina, Elena and Adrienne singing acapella

Tom Dye, Laura's dad

Mary Devlin, Laura's Mom

Thomas Dye Jr., Laura's older brother

Allan Dye, Laura's older brother

Chad Meador, Laura's ex-husband and father of Bradley and Wesley

Randy, Laura's boyfriend

Slide show title screen, taken from Laura's online journal

> Trina and Allison singing "Heart Will Go On" from the movie, "Titanic"

After the memorial ended, the family went back to Laura's house. Some of us caught up and others were introduced for the first time. Laura would have loved to have been there. Everyone misses her so much.

Allan, Randy, Mary, Thomas Jr., Tom Sr.

Perry, Adrienne, Don, Allison, Alice, Allan, Peggy, Thomas Jr.

Alyssa, Brandaleen and Joanne, Laura's childhood friends

Joanne, Chad and Brandaleen

Everyone has returned home...although we (Laura's immediate family) will be returning to Cottage Grove next week to spend the holidays with Chad and the boys.

There will be at least one more post on this blog regarding the contribution account for donations to Laura's two boys, Wesley and Bradley. We will all focus on taking care of them and making sure they will have a bright future and feel loved. They could not have had a better start because Laura worked very hard to raise them well. They are two of the smartest and sweetest kids you will ever meet and we will always remind us of Laura and her shining love. Goodbye, sister. We will all miss you.



I want to acknowledge Judy Evitt, Theresa Martindale, Krista Parent, Chris Parra and the staff of Lincoln Middle School, the South Lane School District Administration Team and Cottage Grove High School that rallied to create this amazing tribute to their fun loving, hard-working and much loved coworker. You have our gratitude.

A call for stories, pictures, and anecdotes about Laura

Thomas here. I am beginning work on a full-color book about Laura's life. It will be a joyous, funny and uplifting chronicle of her journey from her youth in Las Vegas to proud motherhood. It will be profusely illustrated with photos and mementos. The hope is to create a permanent testament to the light that she brought into everyone's lives.

But I can't do it alone. I need your input!

If you knew Laura and have a funny, happy or exciting story to share about her... send it my way! If you have a picture of Laura that brings a smile to your face or warms your heart... send it my way! I want to include as much as I can of Laura so that her children and her future grandchildren will have something to remember her by. The more people who contribute, the more well-rounded a portrait we will obtain of our wonderful Laura.

The target date for publication is July 29, 2010... her 38th birthday!

I will regularly post updates about the book on this blog. If you have something to contribute, please send it to sunflowermemories@gmail.com.

Thanks so much! I hope that, with your help, I can create the definitive book about a woman who has been an inspiration for so many.

Goodbye to our beloved Laura

I can't really bring myself to write too much, but today, December 9, at 4:50AM, Laura left this Earth. She was peaceful and sleeping, when she took her last breath. The only thing harder was seeing her in pain. She looked peaceful, beautiful and angelic. We will miss her so much.

A memorial is being held in her honor on Saturday, December 12 at 2PM at the Cottage Grove High School Cafetorium 1375 S River Rd, Cottage Grove, Oregon 97424.

Flowers for the memorial may be sent to:
Bradley and Wesley Meador
236 W. Madison Ave.
Cottage Grove, OR 97424

Well-wishing from Lincoln

Today wasn't a great day. Laura had her first actual radiation treatment which went ok. She also was given another boost of steroids. The radiation is to shrink the tumor. The steroid is to reduce the inflammation which is also responsible for the pressure in her head. The radiation treatment is performed at a clinic a couple miles from the hospital so for now, Laura has to be transported via a bumpy ambulance ride which isn't fun when you are struggling with pain. Unfortunately, Laura is suffering from a very intense and persistent headache. Back in the hospital, everyone takes turns sitting by her side, holding the ice pack and rubbing her forehead (which seems to help). Randy has slept in her room since the ordeal began to watch over her. It is heartbreaking but doctors warned us it will take time for the treatments to be effective, so we are praying, crossing our fingers and anything else we can think of, that something will go our way.

I want to thank all the people from Laura's work at Lincoln Middle School. The outpouring of love is overwhelming. Laura has been sent flowers, food, cards, and notes from the kids. The above image is from a booklet of notes from the kids. Sorry...I'm taking shots from my iPhone and tend to be fuzzy and shadowy.

Dad reads the notes from the kids

Many teachers and coworkers have shown up to visit Laura. Lately, we've had to ask people to wave from the doorway because Laura needs her rest. Judy, a counselor there, has also been an amazing friend comforting and counseling Laura and the rest of us through this hard time. We are so grateful for what Judy has done for Laura...and the rest of us!

Kelly (left) and Judy (right) friends from Lincoln

Tomorrow is another day and we hope Laura's recovery will turn the corner. More later!

Just because they are cute, the boys hang out in the hospital lobby

Waiting for first treatment

They removed the tube from Laura's nose last night, thank god. It was driving her crazy. Unfortunately, that discomfort just was distracting her from some pretty bad headaches. So far she's not having a good day. She is still weak, medicated and sleepy and frustrated. Dad, Mom, Thomas and I are taking turns holding an ice pack to her forehead. The nurse has reported all her vital signs are normal. She is on track for her first treatment this afternoon. We're hoping her energy starts returning by then.

I want to take a minute and mention Laura's friend, Randy Miles. Recently, in the last few months, Laura and he have been hanging out. Playing tennis, going hiking, visiting the coast. From the time Laura began to feel ill, to entering the hospital Randy was there for Laura and has been at her side constantly. If he leaves and returns, Laura's eyes and tone immediately seems more relaxed and content. This is a very awkward time to introduce him to the family, but there aren't any words to express how important he became. In this scary time, he provided much needed comfort. More later.

Back from the clinic

Today Laura was transported to the clinic where she will receive radiation treatments and then they brought her back. At the moment this process is a bit of an ordeal because she is still recovering from surgery (can't bend and her stomach is in pain), plus she still can't move on one side of her body. At the clinic they fitted her with a mask to align the radiation zapper (the technical term) to target the correct areas of her head. She will receive a total of 10 treatments over the next two weeks. We hope that the treatments shrink the growth and gives her back her mobility. If it could be taken away so fast, maybe it can be given back.

Today, of everything else in the universe (as she puts it) all she wants is for them to remove the tube from her nose. We just went through this with Mom's unexpected surgery last June. That was all Mom wanted as well. Hopefully it will be out tonight.

Laura's room is starting to be decorated with flowers and gifts from people. Plus she has a stack of get-well notes from the school that she will get to read soon! Thank you everyone for your love and well-wishes. It means so much.

Laura is on schedule for the brain treatment

We've been told that Laura is on schedule to be transferred to the clinic where they will treat her brain tumors. She has also been moved out of the ICU to a regular room. If you'd like to send a card or flowers, her room number is 8131 at the Sacred Heart Medical Center, 3333 Riverbend Drive, Springfield, Oregon. Be aware that at the moment she's still woozy trying to recover from surgery. Despite that, she is still very tired, she gave me a thumbs up today, so make of that what you will. We're all still here for her. More information as it comes.

Laura is out of surgery

Laura with one of her closest friends Anastasia. When they are together they are always laughing.

Doctor Sideman, the surgeon for Laura's intestinal surgery, came and reported to us that everything went well. He basically went the length of her bowel and identified the lesion causing the bleeding. Apparently it was the size of a pea. He removed the wedge of bowel and reconnected it. He also found other tiny lesions that were probably NOT the issue at hand but made sutures to cut off their blood supply for good measure. Because of the surgery and her previous blood loss, she was given more blood transfusions, which can make clotting tricky, but with other medication it should be ok.

Hopefully that's not too graphic for you, but the upshot is, that she is in the recovery room and her recovery is expected to go smoothly.

We hope that by tomorrow, she will be able to get the radiation treatment to shrink the growth in her brain causing the paralysis. When I talk to Laura, her biggest concern is to be able to move both sides of her body again and walk. And she is determined to get that part done above all else so she can feel more in control of the situation. My observation is that the main coping mechanism that has taken over, is that she is fighting for control and not letting anyone take over for her. We all find that a very good sign.

Before the surgery, the two boys came in and gave her good luck kisses, and there were tears but she kept it light and happy. They were very sweet to her and demanded multiple kisses. It is this that gives us all strength and hope. More later.

Hello Friends And Family!

Hello everyone! Allan - the brother -here. Dad, Thomas, Mom and I are staying at a Holiday Inn Express next to the hospital where Laura is currently receiving treatment. Like everyone, we heard Laura checked into the hospital for a stomach ache around Monday. Before that, Laura thought she had a bit of the stomach flu and it messed up her Thanksgiving holiday. At first it was assumed that her anemia stemmed from internal bleeding somewhere in her digestive system. As this got out, we all tensed up but it sounded like a manageable problem. However, as they began testing her, the news started going from bad to worse to unbelieveably worse. They found tumors in various organs including her brain. Then, as if on cue, one of the brain growth became inflamed and caused her to lose the use of the left side of her body. That's when everyone dropped what they were doing and came to Oregon to be with her.

We will post as much as we can, but for now will not go into the minute details of her medical situation. Except that she has a three step plan right now. Control the bleeding in her intestines. Then use radiation to zap the tumor in her brain causing the paralysis. Then, start a cancer treatment program which will include chemotherapy.

Today, she is going into surgery to stop the bleeding in her intestine. I just left her as she was getting her hair washed. She was bumming on how dirty her hair is although she looks surprisingly healthy considering the situation. We talked about how we would entertain the boys while she's in surgery. And maybe shopping for cute hats for Laura.

I am going to look into another site that provides care pages to provide a more thorough medical assessment, but that will be password protected for the top-clearanced relatives :)

For now, I will continue to post general updates, and info about Laura's life here. I'm hoping that she will take over when she is feeling better.