Tara Tooke is known for her compassion, outgoing personality, infectious laughter, and the joy she brings to everyone around her. Over the July 4th weekend, while on vacation in Montana, Tara suffered a devastating accident - she fell down a flight of stairs and struck her head on a stone wall and has remained in a coma ever since. She was discovered unconscious but breathing and was rushed to the ICU at a local hospital in Montana and then two days later air flighted to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She remained there in the ICU for nearly three weeks. She was then air flighted again to Fort Worth to a rehabilitation center. She is currently in a "wakeful unresponsive" state, although showing signs of improvement every day.

Tara’s friends and loved ones are rallying together to support her during this incredibly challenging time. The medical expenses for her ongoing care are significant, and the road ahead is uncertain. Every contribution will help cover the costs of her treatment and provide some relief to her family as they navigate this difficult journey.

Tara remains in a semi-coma state. Responsibility for getting Tara the care she needs mainly falls on her brother, Peter Tooke, and Beverly Blaine Smith, a dear friend of 35 years. The amount of time that this care will be needed is unknown at this point. She must fully wake up and recover to the point that she is able to care for herself. This could take months, or even years, and the foremost neurologists in the country say that there is no way to know definitively how long this will take.

Mira Vista Court Rehabilitation Center, in Fort Worth, where Tara is now, would only accept her with the stipulation that we provide private RN care 24/7 until her tracheostomy is stable. We are soon approaching that time, but RN care is $3,000 for one day alone, and she's been there for 20 days so far and counting. To date family and friends have spent almost $60,000 on this RN care. And we are not through needing the nurses until her decannulation is complete and she is stable. Medical transport alone has been over $100,000.

To date, Medicare has covered the majority of her hospital expenses, but that's just the tip of the iceberg and there is a cap of 100 days on their skilled nursing care coverage.