Spring Break
Grad student recovering after injuries in house fire
Issue date: 4/26/07
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When Laura Blom's parents in South Dakota were called about the house fire that had critically injured their daughter, they were told she might not make it until they arrived. "They didn't think she was going to be there," Lynn Blom, Laura's mother, tearfully remembered.
Today Ms. Blom is well on the road to recovery at Kernan Hospital. Although she currently has a trach tube, she will eventually be able to speak and return to her studies as a Ph.D. candidate in Italian Renaissance art history. As Mrs. Blom pointed out, "[My daughter] could have gotten brain damage, she could have gone blind; we are so incredibly lucky."
During of the terrible ordeal Ms. Blom and her family have experienced, they said the unified support from the Hopkins community has been inspiring. Dean Susan Boswell quickly arranged housing for Ms. Blom's parents, and Mrs. Blom described the Hopkins security team as "above and beyond."
From waiting at the airport for two hours because of a flight delay, to hauling groceries up six flights of stairs to just making sure everyone in the family was getting all the assistance they needed, the security team has made Mrs. Blom "feel like Laura was the only student in the University." As Ms. Blom said, "I am completely humbled by the outpouring of support, concern and care shown by the Hopkins community, not only for me, but for my family as well. Hopkins has gone out of its way to look after me."
Ms. Blom's colleagues in the art history department have also been there to lend their support. "The art history department is very small, and they've all bonded together over Laura," Mrs. Blom said. Stephen Campbell, History of Art Department chair, expressed his sympathies with Laura's struggle and is confidant that the "terrific work ethic" he has seen in her academic work will help her in her rehabilitation.
Campbell described Ms. Blom as someone who "knows her own mind, and I think her strength will help her to pull through. This is clearly very difficult for her, to put her life on hold. It's going to be frustrating, and she's had to postpone a very prestigious fellowship in London, but I've been very impressed by her strength and determination."
Today Ms. Blom is well on the road to recovery at Kernan Hospital. Although she currently has a trach tube, she will eventually be able to speak and return to her studies as a Ph.D. candidate in Italian Renaissance art history. As Mrs. Blom pointed out, "[My daughter] could have gotten brain damage, she could have gone blind; we are so incredibly lucky."
During of the terrible ordeal Ms. Blom and her family have experienced, they said the unified support from the Hopkins community has been inspiring. Dean Susan Boswell quickly arranged housing for Ms. Blom's parents, and Mrs. Blom described the Hopkins security team as "above and beyond."
From waiting at the airport for two hours because of a flight delay, to hauling groceries up six flights of stairs to just making sure everyone in the family was getting all the assistance they needed, the security team has made Mrs. Blom "feel like Laura was the only student in the University." As Ms. Blom said, "I am completely humbled by the outpouring of support, concern and care shown by the Hopkins community, not only for me, but for my family as well. Hopkins has gone out of its way to look after me."
Ms. Blom's colleagues in the art history department have also been there to lend their support. "The art history department is very small, and they've all bonded together over Laura," Mrs. Blom said. Stephen Campbell, History of Art Department chair, expressed his sympathies with Laura's struggle and is confidant that the "terrific work ethic" he has seen in her academic work will help her in her rehabilitation.
Campbell described Ms. Blom as someone who "knows her own mind, and I think her strength will help her to pull through. This is clearly very difficult for her, to put her life on hold. It's going to be frustrating, and she's had to postpone a very prestigious fellowship in London, but I've been very impressed by her strength and determination."
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