Laurie Jean Shaw

July 27, 1962 - August 29, 2015

We made it through our first Thanksgiving and Christmas without this little lady.  We all enjoyed each others company but, at the same time there was this pain that each of us were feeling and yet it went unspoken as we gathered to give thanks and show the love we have for each other by exchanging gifts representing the gift God gave us all in Jesus.  It was always the time of year that Laurie enjoyed most as she enjoyed being with family.

Growing up Laurie was small in stature and we always just thought she took after our maternal Great Grandmother who was under 5 foot tall.  It wasn't till later in life that she found out she had Turner's Syndrome, a disease that stunts the growth of girls and much more.

In May two years ago she had open heart surgery to have her valve replaced and had a double bypass at the same time.  The valve is a known issue for the ladies with Turner's.  We all gathered around her, Dad, my brother Tim, sister Mindy and I accompanied to Ohio State University Heart Center for the procedure, after a couple little bumps she recovered and life went on.

Most folks including doctors know very little about Turner's.  Mindy & I started looking up things online.  Laurie had all the earmarks of the disease,  One thing we found that took our breath away was that the life expectancy was around 50 years. Our thought, she had beat the odds as she was over 50 at the time.

On August 29, 2015 I received a call from Dad who she lived with saying that Laurie was in the hospital but she should be home later that day.  She had gone to her cardiologist on the 28th and after tests they found a blockage in an artery.  A few hours later Dad called again to say they were Life Flighting Laurie to OSU and she was rushed into surgery.  Mindy & I headed to Columbus from Cleveland, a two hour trip, we had only been there a short time when three doctors came to us and let us know that our sweet little sister had not survived her ordeal.

Laurie was a sweet,gentle,and tenderhearted soul.  She never married, never had children of her own, but loved two generations of nieces & nephews.  When we arrived at Dad's the night she left us we found gifts she had already purchased for a new great niece that was due to arrive in October. 

We all had this protective thing going on when it came to Laurie, but we couldn't protect her from this. We also know that death is a part of life and we will all make the journey at some point, however, we are never ready for it to visit our family and for my siblings and I it was our baby sister. 

We love and miss you,we know that you mounted up on wings of eagles and made your journey to the other side to join those who have gone on before us. Although your departure has left a huge hole in our family, we can only imagine the joy you experienced as you stepped through the gates of heaven.

Fly high Punky, fly high!!