BY CHRIS MAYHEW and ANDREA TORTORA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FLORENCE -- Lauren Gabbard had a special spirit, one that enabled her to love life for what it is -- a simple chance to be herself.
Lauren Gabbard, 12, knew how to live. After a heart transplant at the age of 4, the petite blond-haired girl never slowed down. Just before she died Wednesday of coronary artery disease, Lauren was worrying about an upcoming cheerleading competition and hoping her mom would let her start gymnastics.
Lauren's physical heart gave out after eight years. Her spiritual heart is what people will remember most.
"She did not give up," Gray Middle School Principal Tom Hummel said. "That was one of the things her friends most admired about her. She never gave up on anything. And she didn't ask for sympathy from anyone."
A sixth-grader at Gray, Lauren was a cheerleader for the Boone County Steelers. She played clarinet in the band. She was always singing. She was a basketball player at Ockerman Elementary.
"(Lauren) got a lot of living done in the short time she was with us," said her aunt, Cathy Breslin, of Fort Thomas. "She understood the value of a lot of important things in life that it takes most of us a lifetime to learn."
Lauren took advantage of her donated organ, and her family hopes that those who knew her will realize the importance of organ donation.
"She was pretty proud; she would tell everybody," her mother, Rhonda Gabbard said. "I think she knew it was a special thing. I honestly think she was proud and felt special. And we were very proud of her. I don't think she ever let it get her down."
Lauren wanted to work in a hospital doing blood tests. Instead, she will live on in other ways. Her parents donated her corneas and part of her inner ears.
The decision to donate was easy for the Gabbards. Someone else's same act of kindness helped Lauren live.
"It helps everybody in so many ways," Mrs. Gabbard said.
Lauren lived with cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. The disease killed her sister, April Gabbard, in 1984. April was 2 when she died.
Six weeks ago, doctors noticed the arteries around Lauren's heart starting to weaken. That often happens in children who receive heart transplants. Doctors thought Lauren would be stable for eight months.
Her closest friends are now struggling with Lauren's unexpected death. Boone County Schools' crisis counseling team and Audry Kennett, Gray Middle's guidance counselor, are helping students understand their emotions.
"The biggest theme is that it's not fair. At this age they don't see the fairness of someone dying so abruptly or so young," Mr. Hummel said.
Students are working with teachers to develop a memorial. Lauren's mother said she wants Lauren's friends to remember her daughter as happy and healthy, always cheerful.
Survivors include her parents, Tom and Rhonda Gabbard of Florence; two brothers, Tommy and Tyler; her grandparents, Ginny and Wayne Vires of Elsmere and Dorothy Gabbard of Fort Thomas. Her sister, April Gabbard, and her grandfather, Dr. Tom Gabbard, preceded her in death.
Visitation is 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday, at Linnemann Funeral Home, Erlanger. Service is 10 a.m. Monday at the funeral home. Burial at Floral Hills Memorial Gardens in Taylor Mill.
Memorials can be sent to the American Heart Association, 2936 Vernon Place, Cincinnati, Ohio 45219; the Ruth Lyons Children's Christmas Fund, P.O. Box 59, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201-0059; or the Lauren Gabbard Memorial, care of any Northern Kentucky branch of the Bank of Kentucky.
