![]() ![]() ![]() A first doctor focused on her resulting spinal injury, but Pinner later went to see a neurologist at the University of South Florida. While roller skating at Skate World in Lakeland, she toppled backward and smacked her head onto the pavement. She was diagnosed earlier this year with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a disease that causes the progressive loss of muscle control. Laura Pinner spent seven years in Los Angeles, working as an actress and model. And she began having falls, which she at first attributed to menopause. Walks around Lake Hollingsworth with friends became slower and then stopped altogether when her left foot went numb. Pinner began feeling wave-like pulses in certain muscles - fasciculations, or disruptions of the signals between nerves and muscles that occur with ALS. “It's hard to believe that it's happening to you.” “I was in such denial about it because, I mean, I've never had anything like this before,” she said. She began struggling with buttons and snaps on costumes and needed help from the crew. Having trouble with her balance, she switched from high heels to flats. Some of the first indications that Pinner’s body was starting to fail came on the set of HSN shoots. Petersburg, modeled clothing and makeup for its TV productions.Ī family's tragedy: Loss of both parents illustrates how COVID-19 has wracked Latinos in Polk CountyĬoming back: Prominent pastor Jay Dennis returning to pulpit at new church Before long, she became a model for HSN (formerly Home Shopping Network), based in St. ![]() Pinner entered a new phase in the early 2000s as a model at auto shows, and after seven years in L.A. Pinner, a Lakeland resident, is now coping with ALS, a disease that causes the progressive loss of muscle control. Laura Pinner introduced herself to actor Matthew McConaughey at a party while she was working as a model and actress in Los Angeles. At the urging of a woman she met on that project, Pinner took the bold step of moving to Los Angeles in 1999. While doing that, she landed a role as an extra in “The Waterboy,” an Adam Sandler movie shot partly in Lakeland. Remembering their service: World War II memories remain clear for 100- and 102-year-old Lakeland survivors of 'Greatest Generation'Īfter graduating from the University of Florida - where her older brother, Pat, played football - Pinner returned to Lakeland and belatedly entered the realm of beauty pageants, frequently winning Miss Congeniality titles.Ī friend advised Pinner to pursue acting in commercials. She became a cheerleader at Kathleen High School. She recalled tap dancing for her family at age 4 and joining with a friend, Wendy Profit, to conjure dance productions for fellow students at Medulla Elementary School. Pinner, a Lakeland native, is a preternatural extrovert and entertainer. 'Nobody's neutral': Polk County parents' thoughts on kids' COVID-19 vaccines vary widely Memories of L.A. I feel like George Bailey sometimes” - the protagonist of the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life." “For me, it's a wonderful life.”ĬOVID by the numbers: Polk's COVID infections dip slightly vaccinations flatten And to be thankful for the smallest victories and glories in life. And I'm learning to take it moment by moment. Thinking ahead last week to Thanksgiving, she said: “Oh, I will be delighted to be with my family. She was still driving less than a year ago, but she has since lost the ability to walk or use her left arm. Pinner was diagnosed in March with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, a disease that causes the progressive loss of muscle control and bodily function. Pinner requires help to slide out of her hospital bed and into the black wheelchair she affectionately calls “Darth Vader.” She controls the power chair by moving a knob with her right hand, the one that still follows her brain’s commands. Instead of walking perhaps 10 steps from her room to the dining room. The circumstances, however, are now vastly different. Pinner, 52, will spend this Thanksgiving with family members in the South Lakeland home she shares with her parents, Bill and Frances Pinner, as she has in most previous years. Pinner, formerly a model for HSN productions, was diagnosed in March with ALS, a disease that causes the progressive loss of muscle control. Photos of Laura Pinner competing in the Miss Florida Pageant are among the mementos displayed on a wall of her family's home in South Lakeland. ![]()
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