Already in her short life the three-year-old from Longridge has endured double-heart surgery and a major operation on her hip which left her having to learn to walk all over again.
Now Lauren has completed her first week at Longridge Pre-School on Berry Lane.
Mum Janine Nelson, 22, could not be more proud. She said: "She's come on so well and is really enjoying nursery.
''I wasn't worried about her going because I knew she would be fine and she already knows some of the children."
Lauren was just nine and a half weeks old when doctors discovered she had two holes in her heart and would need a double-heart operation.
She was taken from Royal Preston Hospital to Alder Hey in Liverpool where she was monitored and put on medication to build her strength.
Lauren also needed a feeding tube inserted into her stomach to help her gain weight.
At just six months old she underwent major surgery to repair her heart.
Janine said: "I noticed when she was a couple of weeks old that her breathing wasn't quite right and she was also having problems with her feeding.
''I hadn't had any problems during pregnancy at all. I had a normal labour and there was no past history of heart problems in the family so it was a really worrying time."
Janine and partner Barry Dillon spent long hours with Lauren at the hospital, with Barry regularly driving to and from
Liverpool in between shifts at work. Janine added: "It was a huge relief when we told everything would be ok and we could take her home."
But at a later routine check-up, Janine mentioned that Lauren was struggling with a limp.
X-rays showed Lauren also had a dislocated hip and shallow socket and she was forced to have more surgery in April 2008.
Janine said: "She had just got used to getting about by herself and then she was fitted with a cast from the tops of both legs with a bar across them, so she couldn't move at all and at two year's old she didn't understand."
Lauren spent four months in the cast before months of physio to help her learn to walk again.
But Janine said apart from the odd check-up Lauren is now absolutely fine, she said: "She loves mixing with other children and really enjoys learning and reading.
''She still struggles with her food sometimes. She loves fruit but hates vegetables but never has a problem with chicken nuggets!"