People You Should Know

BY LIESEL SCHMIDT

Millions of people across the U.S. are uninsured, lacking the health care coverage that they so desperately need to afford the treatment they need to stay healthy—and oftentimes stay alive. For Laura Vendetti, being uninsured meant that her diagnosis of stage II breast cancer in September of 2018 brought her face-to-face with the reality that she might not be able to get the aggressive treatment that could save her life. And yet, the woman with the heart of a warrior and the soul of a diva never wavered in her belief that she would get through it and come out stronger the other side. “I have warrior DNA and was raised by WWII veterans,” says Vendetti. “I never doubted I had the discipline and fight to win. Thankfully, Vendetti gained the support of Victory Health Partners—which proved to be a crucial weapon in her arsenal. “They got me diagnosed immediately. But I was uninsured, so lived in silence with the tumor for four months,” she recalls. “Victory gave me hope by giving me an appointment and showed me dignity the moment I walked in. Ultimately, they brought me healing by getting me to an oncology team. I told them, ‘I will do anything, anytime, anywhere, and I happen to have public speaking skills!’ I owe them my life.”

Four days after her first chemo session, Victory called on her for her first speaking engagement, making her a spokesperson for the organization which would prove to have a profound effect on her listeners. But for Vendetti, making an impact— and leaving an impression—seems to be ingrained in her personality. “I believe the world is but a stage, so I went into character on treatment days,” she says. “I would strut across the treatment room floor as if I was on a fashion runway, choose a chair, and settle in to meditate. Few people saw me without a wig! In fact, I wore a blonde wig into surgery. Radiation was five days a week, and the treatment room had low lighting, so I brought a lavender eye pillow and pretended I was getting a spa treatment.”

Still, Vendetti had a secret: “I was more afraid of the treatment than of the cancer and death itself.” Six rounds of chemotherapy, a lumpectomy, and 24 rounds of radiation brought her to remission in March of 2019—and four days after her last treatment, she once again spoke as an ambassador for Victory. In 2021, Vendetti reprised her role as speaker to an audience of 1100 at the Mobile Civic Center. “It was a powerful experience,” she says. “It's important for people to know what the uninsured American looks like! A lot of us are normal, hardworking people who either work for a corporation but do not have enough hours to be insured or are self-employed individuals who have aged out of anything affordable. I want to inspire people to donate to Victory and spread the word to people who, like myself, are hoping for a solution.”

Three years of being cancer-free have come with a great deal of reflection—not to mention countless realizations for Vendetti. “The biggest lesson I learned was that the body is a machine!” she says. “Because my body was temporarily incapacitated and I refused pain meds, I learned to meditate out of the pain. I learned that the mind, body, and spirit are separate things, but they still work together.” In addition to being a dynamic speaker, Vendetti has another side—something almost magical. “I was an open water swimmer before my diagnosis and got side lined during treatment,” she notes. “I joined a pool and discovered the pain from radiation was breaking up with each stroke, my muscle was coming back, and my self-esteem was being restored. During the pandemic, I started swimming in rivers because the beach and pools were closed. I just kept swimming, and a Facebook friend in South Florida noticed. He said, ‘You should be a mermaid!’ I thought it was a joke!”

That joke turned into a serious pursuit for Vendetti, and now she teaches others to be just as free in the water. A scuba divemaster, open water endurance swimmer, and standup paddle enthusiast, she has added part-time work as a manatee guide and mermaid instructor in Crystal River, Florida to her repertoire. “I offer lessons on swimming and diving in a mermaid fin and tail!” she says with a delighted twinkle in her eye. “It can be as simple as a 30-minute session playing around in the shallow end and photo op or diving as deep as 30 feet in open waters with no mask on a breath hold. It's a Free Dive certification, so there’s a lot to it! My students love it because it's challenging, athletic, creative, a great work out, and—most of all—fun! I've certified a lot of mermen also. It's a 'bucket list' item for some people and a lifestyle for others.”

Clearly, battling cancer has not dulled Vendetti’s love of life, nor her flair for the dramatic. Rather, it has reminded her that life is short and that every moment should be treasured and lived without limit. And that, sometimes, mermaid tails are a must.