![]() ![]() Many people stricken with ALS eventually lose the ability to speak, a particularly brutal prospect for someone as extroverted as Pinner. Pinner, 53, was diagnosed two years ago with ALS. ![]() Laura Carpenter is one of many friends who regularly visit Laura Pinner at her home in South Lakeland. It’s part of what happens with this damn disease, and it's not your fault.’ It's just awful.” “And I go, ‘Anybody that knows you knows you're not drinking. “She's very self-conscious about the loss of being able to enunciate her words and pronounce them,” Fenton said. While Pinner remains mentally sharp and thoughtful, her voice has softened and her speech has grown less precise. The progression of ALS kills motor neurons, including those that control the muscles used in speech. But I always have that knowing of what I'm waking up to.” Speech becomes harder Pinner said she typically remains in bed well past the time she used to rise, saying, “I wake up, I guess. She holds to the positive while also acknowledging the darkness the disease has brought into her life. Pinner often tears up as she reviews her life, finding parallels to the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” “But I just wanted a full and exciting life - and a meaningful life.” “Not that all of that really even matters,” she said of those directors’ credits. And she talked of working with Tony Scott, the “Top Gun” director, when she appeared in the 2005 film “Domino.” She recalled meeting Forest Whitaker - “the kindest man” - when she played a small role in “First Daughter,” a movie he directed that starred Michael Keaton and Katie Holmes. Pinner finds comfort in reminiscences about her time in L.A. And the more you do it, the less afraid you become.”Īttorney accolades: Lawyer at Lakeland firm earns second honor from Florida Bar for volunteer work ![]() “I'm thankful I wasn't afraid to take chances,” Pinner said, adding that she was “willing to be bold and try to do things afraid. A gregarious extrovert, she left her native Polk County for a career in modeling and related pursuits, living for seven years in Los Angeles. The crushing reality of her condition has heightened Pinner’s appreciation for the life she lived before her diagnosis. Pinner is now under hospice care and has a “Do Not Resuscitate” order posted in her bedroom. And not wanting to have to depend on people for things, especially like the everyday things, has just been extremely tough for her to deal with and accept that.” It’s been tough for her because she was always such a goer. “And I wouldn't doubt that they were absolutely accurate in that because it's over the last three years it has been just a rapid, rapid downturn, and in the last six months or so it has been even more rapid,” Fenton said. Stan Fenton, a close friend who talks to Pinner by phone every day, said doctors told her when she was diagnosed that she seemed to have an aggressive form of ALS. Despite the loss of most physical abilities, she tries to remain positive and welcomes frequent visits from friends. Longtime friend Laura Carpenter visits Laura Pinner at her home in South Lakeland. She relies on the Siri application to make phone calls and send text messages by voice command. No longer able to lift her hands, she requires help to position her right thumb on the controller of her power wheelchair or her iPhone screen. Her condition has declined markedly since The Ledger published an article about her in November 2021. Pinner’s diagnosis two years ago at age 51 came after months of puzzling episodes in which she felt weak, experienced numbness in her left foot and had her legs give out. It’s a lot - a lot of grief and loss, juxtaposed with a lot of joy and hope.” She added: “I just want people to know about this disease, that literally, it takes out the patient. “It takes away every morsel of my independence, yet I need it,” she said of the assistance from family, friends and hired caregivers. It means appreciating the care she receives while mourning the losses that make her thoroughly dependent upon others. Again - both/and.”įor Pinner, 53, “both/and” means finding reasons to smile and laugh when there are so many reasons to cry. “Laughter is the best medicine,” she said. She has retained her self-deprecating humor despite all the hardships and losses the disease has forced upon her. ![]() “I’m like a cow going through the air,” Pinner said on a recent afternoon. ![]()
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