Mother of Barbara Bloomquist Barbara Bloomquist was born in Hawaii in 1946. Her mother was Geraldine Laughter -- born in Memphis, TN or Mississippi -- DOB unknown. Geraldine was still in the army (following WW II) at Barbara's birth and, under rules then in effect for women in the military, gave her up for adoption. Later, Barbara's adoptive parents deserted her. Barbara had three sons -- Steven, Richard, and Thomas -- and then discovered that she is a carrier of a rare disease, Chronic Granulomatous Disease of Childhood, or CGD. CGD WAS a sure childhood killer, effecting mostly males. (Barbara doesn't have it, she's a carrier.) I emphasized WAS because they are now learning how to prolong the lives of CDG patients. [There's a lot of information on the Internet about CGD. Copy and paste Chronic Granulomatous Disease into an Internet search box.] Barbara's son Steven died from the disease at age 20 in 1993, and she lost her son Richard at age 27 in 1995. Her son Thomas has the disease and lives with her in Maryland. They live there to be near treatment provided by the National Institute of Health (NIH). I don't know about you, but by now I'd be a basket case. But Barbara proves she's from sound stock. . . She's upbeat and deals with the situation one day at a time. An important part of Barbara's story is that she's excited to discover that she has REAL cousins and would like very much to learn more about her lineage. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated. - - - - - - - - Frank Laughter
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