Alive and Thriving: After Cancer Scare, Alumna Cherishes Every Day with Family

Gaby Laurent Shares from Her book, ‘Wrinkles Welcome,’ at Dimensions on Feb. 11

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—A month after graduating from Gardner-Webb University in 2014 with her Master of Arts in school counseling, Gaby Laurent, 26, received both joyous and heartbreaking news. She and her husband, Joseph, were expecting their first child. However, through routine bloodwork, doctors discovered she had acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer normally found in 70-year-olds.

Realizing the unborn baby saved her life by finding the cancer early, Gaby had a difficult decision to make about treatment. She shares about her faith, her choices, and her cancer journey in a new book, “Wrinkles Welcome.”

At 17 weeks of pregnancy, she started chemotherapy, a course of action her doctors had never attempted on a pregnant woman. Family and friends prayed, and her husband prayed as the bags of chemo were administered. “Through faith and determination, I survived, and my son thrived, leading the oncologists at Atrium Health Wake Forest (N.C.) Baptist to use the term: medical miracle,” Gaby affirmed.

After their healthy baby was born, the Laurents made another complex decision. “We later adopted a child affected by the opioid crisis,” Gaby related. “The story takes an unexpected turn when our adopted son’s birth mother passes away from cancer.”

Gaby will describe her experiences and share from the book as she speaks to Gardner-Webb students during Dimensions on Feb. 11 at 9:30 a.m. in Tucker Student Center. “This book explores the complexities of life, the universal nature of our struggles, and the power of love and faith,” she noted. “For this reason, it is called: ‘Wrinkles Welcome.’ If I look in the mirror and see wrinkles, it only means one thing: I am alive.”

Gaby and her husband met at Gardner-Webb, and they live in Oak Ridge, Tenn. When they were students at GWU, they participated in a mission trip that included visiting an orphanage in Guatemala. The experience touched their hearts about adopting a child of their own someday. They chose to adopt a baby going through opioid withdrawal from their desire to share their family’s love with a child in need.

Gaby earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Gardner-Webb in 2011. “My education at GWU gave me the confidence to know that I could write a book,” she affirmed. “The most impactful professors being Drs. David and Laura Carscaddon.”

David Carscaddon, professor and director of the School of Psychological Science and Counselor Education, inspired her to major in psychology. “His compassion for students and helping us to understand how complicated life can be drove me to want to be a great listener and helper,” she reflected. “His classroom atmosphere was always cozy and full of learning. Whether it was from a textbook or personal anecdote, those lessons felt powerful and lasting. Much like Keating’s classroom in ‘The Dead Poets Society,’ it felt like a safe space to ask questions and receive clear and honest answers. I still know the German word for butterfly, Schmetterling, from one of his lessons.”

Laura Carscaddon was her advisor and professor in the school counseling graduate program. “She took our cohort under her wings and mothered us toward proficiency in the school setting,” Gaby described. “Toward the end of my program, my husband and I had to move away from Boiling Springs, and Dr. (Laura) Carscaddon moved mountains to make sure I could still complete my degree, many years before remote learning and working were the norm. I am forever grateful to have had both Carscaddons be a part of my education and life.”

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event.  Please call 704-406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

About Dimensions

Gardner-Webb’s Dimensions program seeks to enhance the spiritual, intellectual and cultural life at the University and to promote a sense of community. Learn more about Dimensions.

About Gardner-Webb

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.