photo by Brie Cohen

Laura Leraaen walks on the Blazing Star Trail on Friday as part of her participation in the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project. Leraaen, a recovering drug and alcohol addict, walks two to four days a week, eats healthier and smokes less.

Vitality Living series: Just say yes

Former drug addict finds health through church and Vitality Project

By Sarah Stultz | Albert Lea Tribune

Published Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Editor’s note: This is the first in a four-part series featuring individual success stories of the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project. The pilot project, which began in January and concluded last week, set out to help residents live longer, healthier lives.

Soda and a cigarette.

That’s what Albert Lean Laura Leraaen used to have for breakfast.

A recovering drug and alcohol addict, Leraaen said on any typical weekday she would smoke a pack of cigarettes a day and drink a six-pack of soda just in the time she was at work.

But now, after her involvement with the AARP/Blue Zones Vitality Project, the 42-year-old single woman is down to a half a pack or less a day.

Not to mention she finally eats breakfast, walks two to four days a week and drinks only one can of soda when she’s at work.

She said she’s lost between 7 and 10 pounds and has gained 17 years of life expectancy.

But, most importantly, she’s gained more confidence in herself, she said.

‘The next step’

Leraaen said four years ago she probably wouldn’t have given the Vitality Project the time of day.

Around that time, Leraaen, a native of St. Ansgar, Iowa, moved to Albert Lea. She was using methamphetamine, after relapsing from being sober and clean from drugs and alcohol for almost 10 years in the 1990s and early 2000s.

She was invited to attend Albert Lea Vineyard Church, and that’s when she started turning her life around, she said.

Now, she doesn’t attend many AA meetings, but instead she finds strength in her church.

“I found a power greater than myself,” she said.

Three years ago, she got hired at Lou-Rich, where she started out as a machinist. She said she feels like she has a family there.

It was through Lou-Rich that she was introduced to the Vitality Project, which she described as “the next step” in her life.

“I thought this is a good way to be making some changes,” Leraaen said.

How she’s changed

When Leraaen first took the Vitality Compass — the interactive online tool designed to determine life expectancy — the results came back that she would only live to age 69. Though currently she is 42, the test said her biological age was 50.

After hearing this, she got involved with many initiatives of the project, including attending a purpose workshop and joining a walking moai. Moreover, she started making goals in her life.

Even though she hasn’t yet fully succeeded on her goal to quit smoking, Leraaen said she is pleased with her success in moving toward it.

She has been strengthened and energized through walking and has lowered her biological age to the 42 that she is today. Though she never had any problems with blood pressure or cholesterol, Leraaen said she feels better.

And her life expectancy shot up to 86.

She now has three cigarettes during her work day, which is a time period when she used to have 10.

She hasn’t had to go to the doctor since January; last year, she went two or three times.

She also eats more fruit and vegetables and drinks more water.

One of the several initiatives Lou-Rich initiated to encourage employees in the Vitality Project was to give each employee his or her own water mug, she noted.

That factor, the company’s renovated kitchen and the new walking track inside the facility lets her know that her employer cares about her, she said.

“It’s an awesome place to work,” Leraaen said. “When I bought a house, I thought I wanted to retire from Lou-Rich.”

Lou-Rich has also been involved with a tobacco-free work site program and is offering help to its employees who want to quit smoking.

The support she gained from work has been crucial to her success, she said.

Through the Vitality Project, Leraaen has also gained a passion. She said she went on her first mission trip this summer through her church and is excited to go on another one.

After talking to her for only a few minutes, it’s clear she now leads a happy life.

She’s gained independence.

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