At first, it looked like a limp.
Lauren Eden remembers her younger brother coming home from school and walking a little differently than normal. At 17 years old, Oliver was active and healthy. Nobody thought much of it in the beginning.
Doctors tried physical therapy. Adjustments. Different explanations.
Nothing seemed to help.
Eventually, an X-ray revealed the real problem: a tumor the size of a deck of cards in his pelvis.
Oliver had osteosarcoma, a rare bone cancer.
“I was just so grateful for the radiology teams that were responsible for his diagnosis,” Eden said. “Especially catching it early enough that he was able to have the cancer removed before it had progressed farther.”
Surgeons removed the tumor and fitted Oliver with a prosthesis that helped him regain his mobility. Today, he is healthy, in college, and, as Eden puts it, you would never know what he went through just a few years ago.
That experience eventually led Eden toward sonography.
When researching programs online, she stumbled across Eastern Iowa Community Colleges’ (EICC) sonography program at Scott Community College (SCC) and reached out to Program Director Jodi McGivern.
“I was invited to come to the sonography lab and observe the lab for the general ultrasound and for the cardiac ultrasound and see which one kind of struck a chord with me,” Eden said.
When Eden first visited, students were gathered around ultrasound machines practicing scans on one another while instructors moved through the lab answering questions and troubleshooting images in real time.
The room felt collaborative immediately.
“I was so blown away just by the learning atmosphere they had,” Eden said. “It was obvious that the instructors cared about the students. There was no silly question to ask.”
At the time, Eden already held a bachelor’s degree and was searching for a career that felt more personal and hands-on. She wanted work that combined patient care with technical skill.
That visit solidified everything. She applied to the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program and started classes that fall.
By the middle of her first year, Eden found out she was pregnant.
She and Thomas welcomed their son, Vander, in July 2025.
Much of Eden’s life soon revolved around movement. Early drives from Fulton, Illinois, to campus. Clinical rotations throughout the Quad Cities. Long nights returning home after studying scans, preparing for exams, and learning how to care for patients in clinical settings.
Some days kept her away from home for close to 12 hours.
She learned quickly how to make the most of small moments of time.
“Learning how to prioritize the downtime that I did have so I could study and make sure I was really present in those moments when I was home was super important to me,” Eden said.
She studied between patients during clinicals. Lunch breaks became study sessions. At home, study guides sat beside baby bottles on the counter.
“My husband, my mom, my NeeNee and my sisters were so, so supportive of me during it,” Eden said. “They were always willing to be an extra set of hands when I needed, or just to be my little cheerleaders whenever I felt like I was struggling or feeling a little bit of self-doubt about stuff.”
Students spent lunch breaks together talking through difficult scans, comparing stories from clinicals, and helping one another work through the things they were seeing in hospitals and imaging centers throughout the region.
“I think we feel a really strong sense of ownership over our little section of SCC over here,” Eden said. “When I’m out here at class too, it feels like I’m at home as well.”
At first, the clinical environment intimidated her.
“I was very nervous going into it,” Eden said. “I had never been in a hospital for a clinical experience before.”
Over time, the hospital environment started to feel familiar.
Eden completed clinical rotations at Advanced Imaging, Genesis East, Edgerton Women’s Health Center, Cardiovascular Medicine, and MercyOne Clinton. With every rotation came new patients, new situations, and new reminders that sonography is a field built around constant learning.
“Sonography is a field that you have to be dedicated to being a lifelong learner,” Eden said. “You're always going to have a case that you've never seen before because everybody's body is so different.”
“There’s so many advancements that are made every year,” she continued. “So just being flexible and being dedicated to willing to learn, realizing that you don't know everything. And with sonography, you probably never will.”
Somewhere along the way, the program started to mean something more personal.
After Vander was born, Eden said her perspective shifted.
“But after I had my son, it then became less of something for me and more of something for my family,” Eden said. “I really wanted to do something that would make my son proud and be able to provide for my family.”
Fighting back emotions, Eden added, “I just think that doing it for him then was my why after a while.”
In May, Eden crossed the commencement stage at Vibrant Arena at The MARK wearing honor cords and carrying her Associate in Applied Science degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
Nearby, Vander watched from the crowd dressed in his own tiny graduation outfit.
Before graduation, Eden said she expected the moment would feel emotional.
“I think I’ll just feel like a really strong sense of accomplishment that I was able to do it,” Eden said. “Even with all the stuff I had going on in my personal life — I was able to save money, and we were able to buy our first home.”
After graduation, Eden accepted a position as a diagnostic medical sonographer at MercyOne Genesis in Davenport.
“I’m just excited about what’s on the horizon and what comes next.”