Help Tammy fight her Battle with Breast Cancer

Help Tammy fight her Battle with Breast Cancer !

My BEAUTIFUL giving, kind, funny, loving , hard working friend Tammy is fighting the battle of her life with cancer. As a wife to Ian, mother to Savannah, sister to her siblings, extra mom to numerous kids, aunt to ‘all the babies’, dog momma and ( my personal favorite ) a lifelong friend to so many - Tammy has touched countless lives. Always going out of her way to make a special meal for someone, treats for the many sports teams Savannah played on, numerous hours spent making and handing out supplies and food to the community after a tornado tore through our small village. If I had to describe Tammy in one word, that word would be Strong. Her Strength and resilience make it difficult for her to ask for help even from a friend, she has the strongest shoulders, that carry so much and so many. Her awesome family sticks by her side during the good, bad and everything in between . This hasn’t been easy on them either but they have adapted so well . Several times in my life , Tammy has saved me and lifted me up like no other could . Unfortunately though cancer doesn’t give a lick about how strong you are the burden you carry or your family’s load . It will quickly upheave your life, causing pain, chaos and financial devastation.

TAMMY’S STORY

In a perfect world cancer treatment would be free, wait…scratch that… in a perfect world there would be no damn cancer. Sadly, we do not live in a perfect world and 2020 made sure to remind us all of that. For Tammy, the nightmare of a year was even more unimaginable. Starting in late 2019 and continuing through 2021 (still ongoing) Tammy and Ian had to address major home repairs that could no longer be put off. First trying to DIY the repair, then realizing a professional was needed to dig up and replace the entire septic system. This was no small repair and so far the looming bill is totaling $30,000.

Then tragedy struck. Tammy lost both a brother and a sister in February of 2020. A close family, from a small town, Tammy, her brother and their families had recently began to spent more time together. Towards the end of his life, her brother would tell Tammy frequently, “today is a good day to have good day”. Throughout this battle with cancer, Tammy has keep that as her saying close to her heart. It breaks but also warms my heart, that during all those hospital visits alone (because of COVID restrictions) her brothers words are often the only thing that helps get her through the difficult days.

The financial struggles continued to add up. Cashing in a 401K to make some payments on the home repairs and an unfortunate overpayment of state taxes ($24,000), still not refunded by the State.

Feeling unusually sick from January to June , it was then discovered that Tammy needed her gallbladder removed. That surgery cost was $40,000 and their deductible was not met. If you know Tammy, she has a hard time sitting still. So when a neighbor was in urgent need of help, Tammy rushed over to help and torn stitches from the gallbladder surgery site. This led to a hospital visit.

This was the visit that a mass was discovered in her right breast. So as we all remember, June 2020, if you were in a hospital for any reason, you were on your own. So the diagnosis was told to Tammy, while her husband waited anxiously in the parking lot. No one was there to hug her, to hold her hand, or to let her know that we will fight like hell together through this whole damn journey.

Scott Johnston, Tammy’s brothers best friend , quickly and graciously arranged for Tammy to become a patient at Ohio State University, Stefanie Spielman Cancer Center. It was there , with a biopsy the diagnosis was confirmed that Tammy has Invasive Carcinoma Ductal Breast Cancer Stage 1B. The mass had grown quickly and was removed in August 2020, along with 17 lymph nodes.

Chemotherapy began in August 2020 and continued until December of 2020. Again, all alone .

Ian would take off work to drive Tammy from their home in West Milton to Columbus, losing much needed wages from missing work but knowing he was right where he was supposed to be. Savannah, Tammy’s daughter worked full time during all this, helping pay household bills, while going to school for her teaching degree.

Thankfully she was also surrounded by some of the most amazing doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers at OSU. They have been and continue to be a blessing that Tammy, and all of us are grateful for. They are the best!

Wanting to hug your precious friend and be by her side - but knowing she was immunocompromised during a global pandemic - was heart wrenching for a lot of us. Tammy is always the one who would rush to your side at a moments notice, when a friend or family member needs her and to not be there, in her time of need, was dreadful.

In January of 2021 , Tammy began infusion and injection treatments to help lower the cancer reoccurrence rate.

Sadly, these treatments caused violent migraines to occur. Resulting is eight expensive trips, by ambulance, to the emergency room. Tammy’s team is working to come up with a new plan to combat the crippling migraines but help continue to fight the relentless cancer.

Presently, life continues on and Tammy continues to fight. Seeing a new neurologist, spine and orthopedic doctor. Chemotherapy has left Tammy’s body riddled with muscular and skeletal damage. Some days are worse than other, but there are good days too. Days filled with nephews, nieces, softball games and cooking up a storm. She recently attempted to gradually get back to work as one of our towns beloved bartender in West Milton. Tammy is guaranteed to put a smile on your face, make you laugh harder than you ever have, and offer up thoughtful, heartfelt advice. The long hours working take their toll physically and after a nights work, it takes a few days for Tammy to recoup. Trying to go back to work to meet the mortgage payment, prescriptions paid or medical bill payments made wasn’t an easy choice to make but one income is not enough to cover the mounting, never-ending expenses of cancer. Unfortunately, going back to work proved to be way to much on Tammy’s physical and emotional well-being . She has made the difficult decision to stop working .

Surgery is scheduled for the left breast in November at OSU. Three more surgeries to go. Tammys journey isn’t over yet.

To know her is to love her. If you are lucky enough to have Tammy in your life, she will move mountains for you. Right now though, Tammy is tired and the weight on her strong shoulders is much too heavy for one person to carry, even a superhero like her.

If you could help in any way the funds donated will assist Tammy and her family cover medical costs and monthly bills that are continuing to grow. Any and all donations are appreciated and thank you just doesn’t feel like enough but until you can get a ‘famous’ Tammy hug, our thanks will have to do!

So THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Let’s see our little village of West Milton (and beyond) do what it does best and support each other in these difficult times. LOVE TO YOU ALL AND F*CK CANCER XOXOXO