Person:Laurie Cole (1)

Laurie was born when Cynthia Kenney was involved with foster children who were in a program being tested. They were babies that slept in a special crib with wires in the mattress that recorded all their movements when they slept. The people studying the program came to the house often to change the paper tapes that were recording the data. They started telling Cynthia about a baby that was born into the program that they could not use. She had a muscle problem and it made her like a rag doll. She was lying in a big Boston hospital somewhat neglected.Cynthia finally got her.

She came to us about 2 months old. Limp as a rag doll. Half of her face flat, as she couldn't turn her head over by herself. Prognosis was she wouldn't live long, would never sit or walk. Well by the time Laurie was one year Robin and I had worked enough with her that she could sit. I remember my mother having to do exercises with Laurie that would hurt her, and she would cry and beg her to stop. After Laurie learned to sit she found she could get around by scooting along on her bottom. Believe it or not that got her many places.

As she approached the age of six she went to live at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton, Massachusetts. Her disease was finally diagnosed a Benign congenital Hypotomia. Benign meaning doesn't change, Congenital meaning born with, and Hypotomia meaning poor muscles. She was a Brownie and a Girl Scout with her friend, Sandy Harrington.

Sandy died in November of 1975 and Laurie died January of 1976. a daycare was started a the hospital school and named the Cole-Harrington Center. All gifts given when my Dad and Laurie died were given to the hospital school for their pool they were building.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Cynthia Ann Redden Kenney Phelps, contributor.