Let's Help Tammy Beat Cancer
Quick foreward from Jim, the fiancee:
This is Tammy - a.k.a "my princess.” What follows is her story. The world may not know her but she knows much of the world - in plenty of ways that others do not. Please, take a minute and read her tale.
The Story
This is your basic boy-meets-girl story, with a slight twist.
Boy Meets Girl
Tammy and Jim met in 2013. Two adults, with common interests and a mutual love for the beach, sushi, football, and traveling - it couldn't have been more perfect. (Except for Jim being a Green Bay Packers fan and Tammy being a Cleveland Browns fan, of course.)
On a vacation to Florida last December, after over a year together, Tammy received the surprise of her life when Jim got down on one knee and proposed at a Packers game. They spent the next few days in newly-engaged bliss, exploring the many sights and sounds of the Florida Gulf coast while enjoying all of their favorite things.
Girl Gets Sick
Shortly after returning from their holiday trip, however, Tammy started to experience severe chest pains and acid reflux. The pain got to be so intense that it would keep her up throughout the night. Nights would fly by with Tammy hunched over the edge of her bed, scarfing down antacids to dull the pain.
After months of persistent pain, Tammy finally decided to visit a specialist. It was there, after an endoscope, that Tammy received a far less heartwarming surprise - a large tumor at the base of her esophagus. Extensive biopsies and CT scans revealed the terrible culprit: Stage IV metastatic esophageal cancer - a relentless cancer, predominantly found in older white males, with a very high mortality rate.
In a sea of bad news, however, there is a slight glimmer of hope. Tammy, being young and otherwise healthy enough, was given the okay to start aggressive chemotherapy. While the prognosis wasn’t ideal, she at least was given a puncher’s chance.
Now, on March 31, just three short months after getting engaged, Tammy is due to start her first round of chemotherapy.
Boy Needs Help To Save Girl
As many can attest to, hospital bills pile up. The cost of one round of chemotherapy can be more than most recent college graduates make in a year. Unfortunately, being on SS Disability and medically unable to work, Tammy doesn’t have the kind of money to pay for chemo or any of the other associated costs. Because of this, we’ve turned to GoFundMe to help negate some of the accrued costs.
Tammy isn’t the kind of person to ask for help, so we're asking for help for her. Anything you can be contribute would be absolutely wonderful. Thank you and God Bless.
Meet Tammy, the Girl: 
A mother, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a fiancee, a caregiver, a friend - Tammy's impact on those around her is incalculable. At an early age, Tammy developed a love for caring for others. Working in the nursing field for a large portion of her life, Tammy spent her days providing hospice care and comfort to those with terminal illnesses.
Never one to say no to anyone, Tammy still volunteers with local hospice care despite having a double spinal fusion and being declared medically unfit to work.
One ideal that she maintained throughout her career - she never had “patients”, only “friends”. Those that she cared for became parts of her life, and she became a part of theirs.
Now, however, Tammy is finding herself on the other side of the looking glass and she’s realizing how important it is to have people in her corner. Her son and her fiancee are her world, and she theirs. Jim never leaves her side and her son, Jared, makes a five-hour commute to see her nearly every weekend.
Meet Jim, the Boy: 
An educator and coach in Wisconsin's frozen tundra for over 30 years, Jim moved to North Carolina two years ago for a change of scenery. Only months after moving, he met Tammy and immediately fell in love with her smile. Planning on spending the rest of their lives together, Jim proposed to Tammy while at a Green Bay Packers - Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on December 21, 2014. Now their plans are on hold while Tammy fights for her life.
Once again, thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read Tammy's story.
