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Help Nancy Heal from a Devastating Bike Accident
0% complete
$45,200 raised of $40K CAD
248 donations
Dear community,
We friends of Nancy Tam are reaching out to you in her time of need.
Just two weeks before her 40th birthday, on May 28, 2026, on a morning bicycle ride, our dear friend and community member Nancy Tam suffered a major bike accident—her front tire lodged in a crack in the road in Stanley Park, sending Nancy straight over her handlebars and face-first into the pavement, resulting in a concussion, severe facial laceration, and significant dental damage. Despite this horrific injury, we watched Nancy brave it out at St. Paul’s Hospital and then VGH for 12 long hours waiting for stitches and emergency dental care, and she’s now settling bravely into months of long-term recovery. That whole time, though she may have lost four-and-a-half front teeth, she never lost her devastating sense of humour. That’s why we need you to...
“Put Your Money Where MY Mouth Is!” -Nan Tam
We're trying to raise $40,000 to support Nancy through this challenging time. Can you help our beloved friend and community member?
WHAT NANCY MEANS TO US
Nancy’s artistic contributions, coupled with her extraordinary generosity in supporting and mentoring others, and her unwavering loyalty as a friend through life’s hardest moments, make her a true pillar of the community. Nancy is:
- An inspiration by changing her life for a cleaner and healthier way of being. She is 5 years sober and was training for her first triathlon.
- A nurturer of many shared and beloved spaces by gardening and growing veggies at Progress Lab (community performance space) for the second year in a row (and turning them into delicious community dinners).
- A sweet auntie to Azizi, Riley, and Arlo.
- A cat mother to a handsome tabby.
- A loving spouse to fellow freelancer/sound technician.
- A loyal and present friend who has a wicked sense of humour.
Nancy always puts her community first, and that extends to her artistic practice:
- She mentors young and emerging artists both in her solo practice and as an instructor at SFU, VIVO, and other institutions.
- She facilitates new work as a dramaturg.
- She has a special connection to the Chinese-Canadian community, creating professional opportunities to Chinese-Canadian artists, and offering a free new podcast series called a Year of Blessings (in both English and Cantonese) for young families to learn about Chinese holidays and culture.
- She creates sound walks and other experiential works that encourage people to go outside and be more connected to themselves and their environs. She makes this work in Vancouver, but has also made meaningful connections with other communities around BC, like Armstrong, Shuswap, Mayne Island, Vancouver Island, and Prince George; around Canada in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Halifax, and Whitehorse; and recently in Hong Kong, Ireland, Prague, and more.
- She’s a tremendous collaborator who has contributed to dozens upon dozens of projects in Vancouver and abroad over the last 15 years: if you go to live performance here you’ve almost certainly been touched by her work. Check out all her amazing art at her website.
THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
After the extraordinary initial work of the medical team, the reality of what it means to be a freelance artist has set in. There is no sick-leave pay and insurance is non-existent. Recovery will be lengthy, hard, unpredictable (with the concussion), and costly. We want Nancy to heal physically and mentally with the help of professionals. We want Nancy to be back at doing what she loves: being a playful auntie and a brilliant art maker. We want Nancy to CHEW AGAIN!
Nancy has shown again and again that she puts her community first, so now we’re asking her community to lend a helping hand for Nancy. She is looking ahead at a long road of concussion recovery, physiotherapy, medication, counselling, and a mountain of dental bills.
Nancy lost 4.5 teeth and damaged another, and now needs a root canal, bone grafting, implants, and crowns. By conservative estimates, it’s a $40,000 total medical bill coming due (detailed at the bottom), a terrible setback for a working artist. As prolific and respected as she is, Nancy lives with the reality of many working artists: making her living contract-to-contract with no extended health or dental benefits to help ease the expense. As a sound artist dependent on computer work (and often loud sounds), her ability to work and cover her monthly bills is impacted by her concussion recovery. And it's going to be a tough road personally: her athletic training and health practices which have been such a lifeline for her now have to be put on hold or significantly scaled back, and she can’t even be in direct sunlight if she wants her scar to heal properly. These will (literally) be some dark days for Nancy. But with everyone’s help, we can make this burden a little lighter for Nan.
“Give a Nan some soup, she’ll eat for a day. Give a Nan some teeth, she’ll eat for the rest of her life.” -Nan Tam
Nancy is the heart of the chosen family she has forged and the pillar of many intersecting communities in the places she has called home. She has gone through a devastating setback and deserves to be held like she has held others. Please donate generously to Nan so she can get back on her feet (and her bike). And please pass on this fundraiser to anyone who might have the means and desire to support a vital artist and huge-hearted community member. We all need Nancy.
With love and thanks,
Nancy’s friends and chosen family
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Nancy’s Medical Cost Breakdown
DENTAL
Root Canal + Crown - $2825
Lower Teeth Implants (x2) + Bone Grafting - $17000
Implant Supported Bridge - $1000
Crowns (x3) - $3000
Dental Consultations + Imaging - $912
Retainer - $800
Top Tooth Implant + Bone Grafting - $8500
Medications (Pain, dental, antibiotics, scar care) - $293
Dental products (Polydent, etc) - $16
PHYSICAL
Physiotherapy (10 sessions) - $1050
Chiropractor (10 sessions) - $600
Massage (10 sessions) - $1500
MENTAL
Counselling (10 sessions) - $1750
