Laura Kucera

Laura Kucera was just 12 years old when she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer. At the time, doctors told her family that she would not live past the age of 20, but against all odds, Laura survived and lived on to experience every day of her teenage years and early twenties. Sadly, as she approached her 25th birthday, the cancer returned and Laura passed away in early December at just 24 years old.

Diagnosis, Determination and Dedication

Laura Kucera was a vibrant, intelligent woman with a promising future. At the age of thirty-five, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Laura underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments for two years before discovering that the cancer had returned and spread to her liver.

The doctors told her that she had only months to live. They were wrong. Laura battled through an additional year of treatment, including one more round of chemo and a liver transplant, which ultimately failed. One year after diagnosis, she died at the age of forty-six. Laura wanted people to know about her story so others would not give up hope when facing cancer. Laura Kucera is my aunt, who died from ovarian cancer in 2003.

I’ve always been interested in her story because I’m studying Health Care Management at Ohio University. Laura went into remission twice from the disease and lived over a year past when they said she wouldn’t survive. What fascinated me most about her story was how determined Laura was to live on no matter what obstacles got thrown her way. There are many things we can learn from Laura Kucera, especially that perseverance is key to life.

Making the Most of Life

Laura Kucera was a teenager when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. But, against all odds, she survived. In her memoir, she shares her story and talks about what it means to make the most of life. The purpose of life is not to do the impossible, Laura writes. It is to use our time here wisely and lovingly.

I never realized how much I would need faith in order to survive this battle, Laura wrote in her book. I also never realized how many other people rely on that same faith for their daily lives. Faith allowed me to see past my suffering-it gave me hope that someday things would be better.

Now Laura has shared this wisdom with readers everywhere. The main message is really just learning from your mistakes, said Laura during an interview. Everybody makes mistakes; they’re inevitable part of being human. Her words are well taken-for if there is one lesson we should learn from Laura Kucera’s story, it is that we should never give up hope because miracles can happen at any time!

Never Give Up

Laura Kucera was a college student who was in an accident that left her paralyzed. Doctors told her she would never walk again and she’d be on a ventilator the rest of her life. Her parents encouraged her to give up, but Laura refused to give up on herself and found a way to live without using a ventilator.

Six months after the accident, she taught herself how to breathe, went home with nurses, and found ways to stand up using braces on her legs. Ten years later, Laura died of pneumonia at age 31 due to complications from spinal cord injury. But while she was alive, Laura became an inspiration for many people with disabilities who felt there was no hope for them in this world.

When Laura accepted her new reality, she found a new life as one of the first disabled athletes in Europe competing internationally. For decades, Laura had been sharing her story with others, especially those in wheelchairs or living with paralysis or other disabilities and chronic illnesses – because it wasn’t about giving up when you knew your limitations; it was about getting back up every time you fell down.
We must take these words to heart today as we remember Laura Kucera, whose strength lives on through the lives she touched around the world.