Doctors can’t believe that 22-year-old Plant City resident Laura Vazquez is still alive.
It’s been a long road for Vazquez and her family since she had a rehabilitating stroke three years ago. Now, the community is helping to make sure she remains on the road to recovery.
Vazquez was just 19 years old when her brained swelled to an almost fatal point. The pressure caused a stroke, which left her paralyzed and unable to speak. At the time, she was just a freshman at Hillsborough Community College, studying to be an elementary teacher.
“She was a good girl,” Esther Ortiz, her mother, said. “She got good grades, went to college right after high school.”
When she complained of painful headaches in 2010, Vazquez visited the doctor. She went to Tampa General one day later. There, she had a stroke.
Vazquez was diagnosed with a rare form of meningitis. It was thought to have been dormant since she was a high school student at Plant City High. Instead of spreading to the lungs like most cases, her infection spread to her brain.
Vazquez spent eight months in the hospital. Then, she began her rehabilitation process to try and regain some movement. Before she entered rehab, Vazquez couldn’t even lift a finger.
“She started out by moving her finger,” Ortiz said. “Now, she can lift up her left arm and feed herself.”
Although Vazquez has trouble speaking, Ortiz said she still has her memory. She watches TV and loves to browsing the Internet, often laughing at funny stories and comics.
When a bone infection formed, she started therapy with the hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The treatment also helped Laura with her speech skills. Because of this, Ortiz wants to continue treatment for her daughter. But the treatment is expensive — about $4,000.
When Vazquez got sick, Ortiz had to take time off from her job to take care of her.
“Before, I had a good job, (and) my husband had a good job,” Ortiz said. “I’m not the kind of person to ask for money, but we need it.”
Because of the family’s hardship, St. Clement Catholic Church has started a raffle for four Disney World tickets to benefit Vazquez and her medical expenses. The congregation has been selling the tickets for the past six months.
“The church has done a good job at buying the tickets,” organizer and Knights of Columbus member Joe Moore said. “She’s such a good kid.”
A family friend has also set up collection canisters at Hungry Howie’s Pizza and Fred’s Market. One anonymous donor gave the family $1,000.
“It’s a sad story, but we’ve been blessed in a lot of ways with all the people who have helped us,” Ortiz said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
HOW TO HELP
• Donate to Laura Vazquez at Suncoast Schools Federal Credit Union, (813) 752-4266.
• Visit Fred’s Market, 1401 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., or Hungry Howie’s, 208 N. Alexander St., to drop off a donation in the collection canister.
• Make a donation to St. Clement Catholic Church, 1104 N. Alexander St., in Laura’s name.