Help for Tara Wildman

As a lifelong friend, I know firsthand the joy Tara brings to a room. Growing up, no dance floor was safe when the music started. I witnessed her take over a DJ booth with the confidence that rivaled a professional. Her eclectic taste, infectious laugh, and deep passion for music filled the lives of many who didn’t dare to live as boldly as she did.

Last year, Tara was working tirelessly to launch a family business that would contribute financially, as well as allow her the freedom to continue to support their teenage son with autism as he navigates high school and their tender-hearted daughter as she manages the challenges of preteen life.

Despite the busyness (that every family can relate to), back pain forced Tara to seek chiropractic care. She needed to be fit enough for the growing business that appeased her passion for finding treasures in consignment. After that treatment, the pain magnified. She endured, as most mothers would, until she experienced the first major setback. A visit to the Emergency resulted in an unplanned three-week hospital stay. Tara had broken three vertebrae and two ribs, and no one could solve the mystery as to how or why.

The return home was short-lived when unexplained fractures of her sternum and more ribs sent her back to emergency. During a second extended hospital stay, tests were done, and blood was taken, but still, no definitive answer could be found for why this 52-year-old woman with no pre-existing medical condition was breaking. Tests for the most likely diagnosis of osteoporosis came back negative.

During months of fighting the medical system, Tara’s rapidly progressing disability had completely arrested her ability to work. Finally, she met an undeterred medical care provider who would discover the truth and tell her the devastating news. Tara was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, a blood cancer that attacks the marrow of the bones. It is a rare cancer for a woman of her age, and it is incurable. Now unable to walk unassisted, Tara hoped that at least the diagnosis offered a treatment plan that would stop her body from breaking and allow her to be home with her young family again.

One month ago, Tara was forced to undergo hip surgery after breaking another fragile bone. The cancer treatment impeded her ability to heal effectively and an infection set in. Tara has been treated in the hospital for three weeks, barely surviving one of those weeks in the ICU after contracting COVID-19 and pneumonia. Her fight inspired awe in the medical team. We almost lost her.

Tara continues to fight. She must endure three more weeks of in-hospital antibiotic treatments to kill the staph infection that threatens her life. She must also struggle through the physiotherapy that aims to build strength in her legs so that she can return home with some mobility. Tara will not be able to manage her business, drive her kids to school, or even share in the chores that her husband and children juggle despite the demands of school, work and caring for their loving mother.

I finally asked her permission to start this fund. You might know Tara and love her as I do, remembering her fierce nature that fights for the underdog and her unapologetic brightness that fills a room. Or you might just understand that this terrible situation should not befall any mother or friend. Please donate. You would ease their burden and give them a sense of peace to bolster their spirits for the fight.

We understand that these are difficult times for us all. Your kindness, no matter the size of the donation, will help a family whose resources were always spent on the education and support of their children and has left them without the means to navigate this devastation. This kind of tragedy would devastate most of us.

On behalf of Tara and her family, thank you.