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Lake County softball coach fights for her life, sparks support from community

Lauren Colas struggling at the hospital with medical complications

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – On Saturday, Lauren Colas was admitted to the hospital after having some serious medical complications.

She is a mom of a four, a coach to many, and a pillar in communities around Lake County.

When Colas wasn’t coaching her own team, she would usually be at other softball games supporting her daughter on the field.

She wasn’t able to be at a Wednesday night game in Mount Dora, where her daughter was pitching.

So her friends, the players and parents like Chelsea Ragsdale showed up instead.

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“Our dear friend LuLu is healing and fighting and recovering right now, and her eldest daughter Skylar has a game tonight, and we’re out here to cheer her on,” Ragsdale said.

Colas’s 7th-grade daughter, Skylar Colas, is on a high school softball team.

“She’s real good,” Ragsdale said. “I mean she has coach lulu as a mom and a there was no chance for anything but excellence when you’re even around Lu.”

Her players love the way she pushes them.

“Whenever I started softball wasn’t like the best, and when I started playing with her, she always, like, brought me up to be a better me,” one player said.

When Colas fell ill, she and her family received an outpouring of support.

After only being posted for a day, a GoFundMe made to help the coach with her medical bills got was filled with donations, exceeding the $20,000 goal.

Although Coach LuLu is in critical condition, her team and family believe she’ll fight to get better.

“She’s so strong,” Ragsdale said.

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