It was a long awaited and special day for Los Alamitos High School junior Lauren Mihkelson who attended a recognition breakfast on Friday, March 14, at Bowers Museum that honored 28 students from throughout Orange County for their accomplishments while facing adversity.
They recognized the teenager for her courage and outstanding academic accomplishments throughout her young life in the wake of major health issues. Proud parents Brian and Christi Mihkelson attended along with Los Alamitos Board of Education Member Meg Cutuli, Assistant Superintendent Andrew Pulver, LAHS Counselor Tina Heeren, and LAHS Assistant Principal Gregg Stone.
Lauren’s story began when she was 5 years old and her parents’ excited anticipation of her first day of kindergarten. The family decided to take a final summer vacation to Catalina as a way to celebrate her upcoming first day of school.
Little did they know, the trip would bring major changes Lauren’s life. While having lunch at a local eatery on the island, Lauren realized there was something wrong with her hamburger and that it tasted differently. She quickly became very ill, as the burger was tainted with E.coli bacteria.
Lauren was admitted to the hospital on what would have been her first day of kindergarten in August 2002. Upon returning home, her body shut down and she was rushed to Long Beach Memorial Hospital with little hope for survival. Thus began a 12-week rollercoaster of her pulling through one crisis only for the next organ or body system to falter.
In January 2003, Lauren returned to Hopkinson Elementary School for her first day of kindergarten. Taking 26 pills per day through an ulcerated digestive system caused burning and vomiting for Lauren on a daily basis, but this did not deter her from attending class. Teachers Livia Flynn and Kelly Hairrell visited the hospital with Flynn becoming Lauren’s home teacher.
Her Middle School years started out relatively normal for a girl who had not seen many “normal’ happenings in her life thus far. However, Lauren’s health took another major downward turn during her eighth grade year. Her severely damaged kidneys could no longer function normally.
Her mother and younger brother sat in the hospital waiting room as the two people they loved most were undergoing major life altering surgeries. Lauren received a kidney transplant with her father as the donor on December 6, 2010. This is when McAuliffe Middle School teacher Marlys Davidson took a deeper interest in Lauren.
“Lauren is one of the most amazing people I have ever encountered,” said Davidson, who was her homeroom teacher for the rest of the eighth grade. “She has an indomitable spirit that cannot be matched.”
As high school registration loomed, LAHS Counselor Tina Heeren entered Lauren’s life. There was an immediate bond between the two of them. Lauren was dealing with a new kidney and Tina had a mother deteriorating on a daily basis due to kidney failure.
With no special accommodations and determination not to be treated any differently than any other freshman, Lauren finished her first year of high school with a 4.0 GPA.
Her sophomore year began with her taking on a rigorous academic schedule in preparation for college. Health issues caught up with her mid-year and she returned to home teaching in the spring of her 10th grade year.
But Lauren was able to maintain her stellar academic performance. Chemistry teacher, Kathy Currie, was instrumental in helping her master the content and skills of the class while making accommodations for Lauren to complete the labs at alternate times.
Lauren began her junior year of high school in August this year and seemed to be as healthy as she had been in quite some time. But this was short lived for her and she turned very ill again with major concern that her body might be rejecting the new kidney. The new kidney was functioning fine, but Lauren had developed diabetes. Determined not to miss school, Lauren asked her mother to come to school daily to check her blood sugar.
Happily, the LAHS junior is now thriving both academically and socially.
“She is a young woman who genuinely is more interested in how someone else’s day is going than her own,” said Heeren. “While we as educators are supposed to be inspiring and impacting our students, Lauren is the one inspiring and impacting us.”
