My name is Natalie and I am trying to raise funds for my cousin, Tam Perez. She went to Santa Cruz High in the early '90s and played basketball all 4 years. She is one of the funniest, most honest, and loving people I have ever met. Tam currently lives in SF with her two cats. I want to give you a brief story of the health journey she has been on for the past 18 years. I know it's a lot to read but it won't take more than 5 minutes of your time.

It all started at the age of 30 when Tam was diagnosed with Stage 3 uterine cancer. She had a partial hysterectomy and a few months later, she started 6 rounds of chemotherapy. She went back to work 6 months later. Two years after her initial diagnosis, the cancer came back and she started intensive, 6 internal radiation treatments. Six years later, the cancer came back again, this time found in 3 different locations. She also had a severe herniated disk from work, making it very painful. This time, she had pelvic radiation every day for 6 weeks and chemo every 2 weeks. After her first chemo session, she got severe neuropathy (nerve damage) in her feet, making it very painful to walk. In 2020, COVID happened and since she was immunocompromised due to all the chemo and radiation, she could not leave the house. In 2021, her first episode of HLH (hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis) happened. She woke up with no hearing, had 2 strokes, and partially lost her hearing and vision. She went into liver and kidney failure. They also found a hole in her heart which was eventually determined to be the cause of her stroke. In 2022, she had her second HLH episode again, leaving her in kidney and liver failure. At that time, the HLH was not a confirmed diagnosis but she couldn't afford the tests which would determine it. The last episode happened in 2024, again leaving her in kidney failure, this time requiring dialysis. The toxins spread to her brain, leaving her not knowing who her brother was. They had to break down her door to get to her. She was in ICU for 1 week. She developed pressure sores that went all the way to her bone. In August 2024, she started developing necrotic tissue in her abdomen which caused her to have a panniculectomy to remove all the dead tissue. She is still healing from this last surgery and more necrotic tissue areas have come up. She just recently had her gallbladder removed as well. As of April, it was determined that her cancer had returned.

I know this is so much information but I wanted to be sure I could describe the nightmare that Tam has gone through over the past 18 years. HLH is an incredibly rare autoimmune disorder where your white blood cells attack every organ in your body. It is genetic in her case and the best chance of survival is to get a bone marrow transplant. The problem is, she's not healthy enough yet to get this done. Tam currently has an in-home nurse that comes twice a week to do wound care. Tam is in need of financial support to help with her existing medical bills, the drugs that she has to take every day to suppress the disorder, to fight the cancer, and medical travel to the Mayo Clinic for further testing and treatment of this disease (HLH). Some of her meds are not covered by her insurance and can cost up to 2k per month.

Tam just wants a chance to live life, enjoy her family, friends, and her cats which she loves dearly. She deals with chronic pain every day of her life and the stress of the financial needs is completely overwhelming her. She is unable to work due to the open wounds she has as well as the neuropathy in her feet that make it very hard for her to stand or walk for long amounts of time. Complex medical issues.