October 4, 2026
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Six years ago, my friend, Laura Haight of Kincardine, was struck down by Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS).
At the time, I knew about the situation because I was covering Kincardine council meetings and Laura was a councillor. It was a turbulent time for council because deputy mayor Marie Wilson had just died, then Laura got sick, and four months later, mayor Anne Eadie resigned.
While I knew that Laura was in serious condition because she was in hospital and absent from the council table, I didn't understand how serious it really was.
Until now.
Laura has written a book about what happened, aptly called "Laura's Story," and it is a straight-forward, no-nonsense account of how this rare auto-immune disease almost got the best of her, but not quite - and during the COVID-19 pandemic, no less.
I've known Laura for as long as I've lived in Kincardine, more than 30 years, and she has always been a busy, active woman, initially working for the former Town of Kincardine, then the Township of Huron-Kinloss, before becoming a councillor for the Municipality of Kincardine.
She also has been involved in her community, serving on numerous boards, including the Paddy Walker Heritage Society and the Kincardine Legion. She started the first "Catch the Ace" progressive lottery draw, was in charge of the poppy fund and the Remembrance Day wreaths, and runs monthly Trivia Night events.
Laura and her husband, Ken Corbett (right), have two sons and two grandchildren.
Her story about nearly losing it all, is direct and honest, and inadvertently, funny. I mean, seriously, when you wake up two months after being paralyzed and nearly dying from GBS, there can't be any humour in that.
But Laura laughingly refers to herself as a "head in a bed" for the longest time until she was able to re-learn how to do something as simple as move her arms and legs, sit up in that bed, and eventually stand up and walk.
Her story takes us on the journey from the moment everything went crazy in December, 2020, and she was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital in London, to Owen Sound hospital, to Kincardine hospital, to the chronic care unit in Wiarton and finally, to the rehabilitation unit in Owen Sound where she recovered enough to return home several months later.
The book is like a series of vignettes, sharing everything from the shock of waking up to discover you've been paralyzed and unconscious and almost died, to the joy of bowel movements, pureed food and ear wax, to trying to continue as a Kincardine councillor over Zoom, to the real and present struggle to regain your independence.
It's an amazing story of strength and perseverance. And through it all, Laura's acerbic wit helps balance out the wild and crazy ride.
Of note, is the story about being on a Zoom council meeting, shortly after Eadie resigned, and the councillors were considering the path forward now that they had lost three council members. She hit the unmute button and shouted, "I'm not dead yet!"
Then there's the comic moment when she reveals that Dr. Jason Murray told her that the flu shot she had in December, 2020, triggered the onset of GBS. "Well, I never got the flu that year," she says.
And then there's the shout-out to Liz Dadson at the Kincardine Record, and that's worth the price of a copy right there!
Laura is holding an author presentation of "Laura's Story," Saturday, Oct. 17, from 2- 4 p.m., upstairs at Bar Down in downtown Kincardine. There will be a reading from the book, discussion, and a question-and-answer period, as well as a cash bar, light refreshments, and books for sale at a cost of $20 each.
I know I'll be there, and I plan to purchase my own copy.
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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