Teen graduates before heart ailment cuts her life short

On the night before she died, 17-year-old Chanel Lauderdale called her mother from her room at the UCLA Medical Center where she was awaiting a heart transplant.

"She was telling jokes and saying that she wanted to have a party," Mary Lauderdale said about the call her daughter placed to their Las Vegas home. "She was in very good spirits. That's why what happened next came as such a shock."

Later that night the Rancho High School honor roll student called a nurse into her room and told her she was scared that she was going to die and asked if she could leave her light on. At 2 a.m. she complained of chest pains.

At 3 a.m. Chanel stopped breathing, but doctors were able to revive her. Eight hours later, on June 27, Chanel's courageous seven-month battle with a pneumonia-induced heart ailment was over.

Services for Lauderdale, who three weeks before her death fulfilled her dream of graduating from high school, will be 1 p.m. Friday at Mount Sinai Missionary Baptist Church at 1025 Balzar St. Palm Mortuary handled the arrangements.

"My daughter was very dedicated to school and was excellent at academics," Mary Lauderdale said. "After she was diagnosed with the problem in December, she would say that she used to take life for granted, but now each new day was a blessing."

After seeing heart specialists in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, Chanel was put on a list in March for a new heart, but a suitable donor was not found.

The Make-a-Wish Foundation gave Lauderdale a laptop computer that enabled her to complete her school assignments at home after she could no longer attend classes because of failing health.

Chanel received her diploma but was unable to walk with her classmates at the June 5 graduation ceremony because she was in a local hospital.

"Teachers and fellow students took a liking to Chanel from the moment they met her," Margaret Wilgar, Rancho High's school nurse, said.

"She had looked forward to not only graduating high school but also going to the community college. She had definite goals in life and was very appreciative for the things that others would do for her."

Born Nov. 18, 1981, in Pascagoula, Miss., Chanel was the youngest of nine children of Eugene and Mary Lauderdale. They moved to Pasadena, Calif., when Chanel was 6 months old and to Las Vegas in 1989.

On March 21, 1993, Eugene died of throat cancer, and the family has since lived on Social Security and his retirement benefits.

"Chanel was so nice -- she would do anything you would ask her to do," said Faye Williams, a director of the Frontier Girl Scout Council. "Chanel and my niece, Miysha, were good friends and they would help me by going door-to-door in different neighborhoods to recruit members for the Girl Scouts."

Chanel also loved music and was a big fan of the pop group 'N Sync.

She was an honor roll student at Von Tobel Middle School and later at Rancho. Mary says she keeps her daughter's Rancho diploma among her most prized possessions.

In addition to her mother, Chanel is survived by three brothers, Dwight Lauderdale of Las Vegas, Eugene Lauderdale Jr. of San Diego and Derrick Lauderdale of Washington, D.C.; five sisters, Veronica Lauderdale and Andrea Lauderdale, both of Virginia, Felicia Lauderdale of San Diego, Erica Lauderdale of New York and Veria Lauderdale of Houston; a grandmother, Ann Henson of Las Vegas; 12 aunts; five uncles; and two nephews.

The Make-a-Wish Foundation has set up an account at California Federal Bank to help the Lauderdale family defray costs of medical bills and funeral expenses. Donations can be made to account No. 882-4048063.

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