Brava

August 2011

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workWith MeLaurie Koch After a brush with death, a Middleton hairstylist rebuilds her business, one trim at a time If you look closely, you might notice. But watching Laurie Koch on the job, it's hard to tell there's something a little different about her. A hairstylist who opened her dream salon, J&L Hair Design, in Middle- ton 23 years ago, she moves with grace— snipping dead ends at lightning speed, gabbing with clients and sculpting hair with a refreshing style. But the 50-year- old, who plays receptionist, stylist, barista and more at her salon, just happens to get the job done with fi ve missing fi ngers and a prosthetic leg. Th ey are the result of a life-threatening turn of events almost two years ago. It was just after Christmas in 2009 when Koch's big- gest business asset: her clients. Forging rela- tionships more akin to a close group of friends, Koch says her clientele have been instrumental in helping her rebuild—from as- sisting with fi nances to washing towels. Bottom line? Boosting your bond with clients can be great for business, too. Koch awoke shivering and dehydrated. Knowing something was wrong, she was taken to the hospital where she soon drifted into a coma. Ten days later, she sud- denly awoke before slipping away again, this time her heart failing due to rapid arrhythmias. A nurse revived her just in time. Th e diagnosis was meningo- coccal meningitis—a sometimes fatal disease that progresses from fl u-like symptoms to organ failure and tissue damage that can require amputation. And while the illness claimed three fi ngers on her right hand, two on her left and part of her left leg, it didn't claim her determination. Not only did Koch recover, she charged back into her profession in just six months and is, trim by trim, rebuilding her career. "It's my life. I love doing hair," she says, smiling. Koch admits retraining herself as a styl- ist hasn't been easy. She took small steps (literally) by practicing styles on children's smaller heads before reopening J&L's doors. While business slowly rebounds, she keeps her sights solidly on the future. Today she's working to perfect just a few lingering challenges of the job: up-dos and braids. "[You just have to] get over it and move on," she says. "I've never been a 'poor me' kind of girl. It's more like, 'I can do this myself!'" —Ashley Finke August 2011 bravamagazine.com 33 Photo by Amber Arnold

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