Lauren Homeyer has a really cool life story to tell. And contrary to what most people think, it doesn’t start with the scar on her chest.
She understands why nearly everyone she meets might want to start there. After all, it’s hard to miss. The open-heart-style scar stretches about six inches down the center of her chest—a lasting reminder of the tumor doctors removed less than a year ago, and, like it or not, one heck of a conversation starter. So, she smiles politely and promises to answer the same questions over and over.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not asked about it, and there are usually 20 more questions that follow,” Lauren, 28, said with a laugh. “The truth is that had a few things not lined up perfectly, I wouldn’t even have known it was there, and I could have died.
“I hate that it’s there, and I rarely think about it anymore. But if I can be a voice for something like this, I’m happy to speak up about it.”
That’s the type of selfless person Lauren is, but again, the scar is hardly the headline of her life story. Before emergency surgery entered the picture, she was already weaving together a life full of unexpected turns—from not knowing what to do with her History degree from Texas A&M to stepping into the world of politics, working on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., and now serving as the Economic Development Coordinator for the Town of Northlake. With each chapter, she adds a layer to who she is becoming.
Lauren admits she wasn’t sure of her path forward while growing up. A Flower Mound native, she graduated from Marcus High School and went to Blinn College before eventually attending Texas A&M. Not a bad start, except for the fact that she ended up changing her major five times before settling on History. The one problem—she had no clue what to do with it, even as her junior year was coming to a close.
While she slowly sorted out that next step, she moved to Houston after graduation and worked in youth ministry for a short stint. She then returned to Dallas in 2020 to work for her father’s engineering firm as a business development specialist.
It was during that time that she began getting involved in the community, including several local Chambers of Commerce and political groups, such as the Denton County Young Republicans. Joining a local political organization felt surprisingly natural; she’d always been curious about politics, fascinated by how decisions were made, and inspired by how people could make a real difference. Starting as the DCYR’s secretary, she became president before being hired as a field director in Denton County for the Republican Party of Texas.
“Everything was happening fast,” Lauren said of her budding career in politics. “I met many of the elected officials in the area, as well as several newer faces making a huge impact, including the late Charlie Kirk. It was eye-opening for young people like me. My circle of connections kept growing from there.”
Before Lauren could blink, she was on a plane to Washington, D.C., by April of 2022, having just accepted a job working in the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill. She knew just one person in D.C.—not including her dog, Marty.
From the moment she arrived, she found herself in the middle of historic events and political upheaval.
“I was there when they overturned Roe v. Wade and when Elon Musk bought Twitter and started into politics,” she said. “A friend and I saw Kevin McCarthy sworn in as House Speaker. When Nancy Pelosi announced that she was no longer going to be the House Speaker, a bunch of us were right below her, eating burritos in the basement while watching that transition of power from our phones.”
Even after she left the Hill and began working for a consulting and media firm in 2023, Lauren had no plans to move back to Texas. She envisioned a more substantial career in politics. But life had other plans.
“My grandmother had passed away while I was in D.C.; I wasn’t present for a lot of things, and it just felt like the right time,” she said.
Within the first four months of her being back in Texas, Lauren was in a car wreck that, thankfully, didn’t hurt her but did total her car. Her grandfather passed away; she started her new job in Northlake, and she moved into a new house near work.
That’s when things took a turn for the worse.
While sitting down to take a quick break from unpacking a seemingly endless pile of moving boxes, Lauren felt a weird pain in her chest. It started as a mild episode, but quickly progressed to the point where she thought she was having a heart attack.
“I could barely talk; all I remember is the 911 dispatcher telling me to stay on the phone with them and not to hang up until help arrived. I basically had to crawl to the door to open it for the paramedics,” she said of the harrowing experience.
Doctors confirmed what was wrong. It wasn’t a heart attack, but rather a grapefruit-sized tumor in the middle of her chest. It was so big that it had also attached itself to part of her lungs. The problem was that they weren’t sure if it was cancerous or what to do next.
What they did know was that something needed to be done quickly.
Lauren was rushed to Medical City Denton. Four days later, she underwent a sternotomy, a major surgical procedure that involves making an incision through the breastbone (sternum) to access the heart, lungs, and other organs in the chest.
“There were so many questions about what to do,” Lauren said. “At one point, they thought about doing chemotherapy first to shrink it. But they ultimately did the surgery. Not only did the surgery go well, but the tumor ended up being noncancerous. So here I am, with a permanent scar on my chest.”
The tumor had been in Lauren’s chest for quite some time. Her dad first came up with the conclusion that her car wreck a few months earlier jostled the tumor just enough for it to start causing problems. When he shared this with the doctors, they accepted it as a strong possibility, especially since the tumor was leaking fluid into her lungs, which exacerbated her shortness of breath and chest pains.
“I always say it was a God thing. If I hadn’t gotten into the wreck, I wouldn’t have known I had the tumor. It was already attached to part of my lungs, which caused them to remove a small piece of that. But it could have eventually grown further and attached to my heart. I stayed with my parents, and recovery was long. I can’t thank my mom, Rebecca, enough for all the care she provided me. You have no idea what you can and can’t do after something like this. Your body just isn’t ready for it, and you need a lot of help.”
She added, “I joke about it now, but I couldn’t even walk out to the mailbox without struggling. I’m still exhausted all the time, but I’m back at work and getting better every day.”
So, yes, she’ll answer every question about her scar and what that experience was like—even if she’s heard the same questions over and over again. But through it all, the scar on Lauren’s chest has become less a symbol of fear or morbid curiosity and more a reminder of the life she has already lived—a poignant accumulation of experiences, lessons, choices, and unmatched determination that continue to shape who she is. And if there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that there’s still room to dream, grow, and make a difference.
“I couldn’t have made this story up,” she added. “I’ve accomplished a lot, and the fun part is that I’m excited for what’s next.”
