Help Tammy “Tuna” Fight Lupus
Donation protected
Tammy Fortuna aka “Tuna” is our coworker at The Whistling Swan in Sturbridge/Fiskdale who was suddenly and abruptly out of work due to a new Lupus diagnosis and all the side effects that come along with it. She is a mother of 4 (2 awesome kids and 2 of the furry variety) and a dedicated friend. Tammy has always been one of the most caring and giving people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She would gladly give you the shirt off her back and the last plate of food in her fridge. She was diagnosed with Lupus about a year ago and it has been quite an adjustment, to say the least. Despite the last 3 months being some of the hardest of her life, somehow, she has managed to stay generally positive through everything. Unfortunately, positivity doesn’t pay the bills.
She was pushing through and learning to live a new life with her lupus, working her normal shifts, going to tons of doctors appointments, and taking care of her kids and family but things came to a head on Thanksgiving when her lupus finally sent her back to the hospital. The lupus came with a lot of joint, back, and abdominal pain but it had gotten alarmingly worse in the days leading to Thanksgiving. She sucked it up and tried to have a normal holiday despite it, but that ended when her family vetoed her stubbornness and took her back to Saint Vincents. Aside from “it’s probably the lupus” they didn’t have any clear answers for her. A month later they came back with another rare disease called Compressive Celiac Arteries.
Tammy is in and out of doctors offices and hospitals these days as they poke and prod to try to figure out the next step for the new disease, which is looking like surgery. Medical bills, mortgages, car payments, and utilities still need to be paid and the kids need to be clothed and fed. With all the physical stressors right now, we hope to try to help lessen the financial storm cloud hovering over her and her families heads.
Tammy has amassed so many regulars at The Duck over the 12 years she has worked there and is such an integral part of our team and family. Staff AND regulars miss her and we all await her return but as of now that looks pretty far off. She will always have her job when she is well enough to return but the bills don’t wait. Anything helps and we appreciate anything you can give. If you can’t donate please share!
She was pushing through and learning to live a new life with her lupus, working her normal shifts, going to tons of doctors appointments, and taking care of her kids and family but things came to a head on Thanksgiving when her lupus finally sent her back to the hospital. The lupus came with a lot of joint, back, and abdominal pain but it had gotten alarmingly worse in the days leading to Thanksgiving. She sucked it up and tried to have a normal holiday despite it, but that ended when her family vetoed her stubbornness and took her back to Saint Vincents. Aside from “it’s probably the lupus” they didn’t have any clear answers for her. A month later they came back with another rare disease called Compressive Celiac Arteries.
Tammy is in and out of doctors offices and hospitals these days as they poke and prod to try to figure out the next step for the new disease, which is looking like surgery. Medical bills, mortgages, car payments, and utilities still need to be paid and the kids need to be clothed and fed. With all the physical stressors right now, we hope to try to help lessen the financial storm cloud hovering over her and her families heads.
Tammy has amassed so many regulars at The Duck over the 12 years she has worked there and is such an integral part of our team and family. Staff AND regulars miss her and we all await her return but as of now that looks pretty far off. She will always have her job when she is well enough to return but the bills don’t wait. Anything helps and we appreciate anything you can give. If you can’t donate please share!
Co-organizers (2)
Rachael Correia
Organizer
Sturbridge, MA
Tammy Fortuna
Beneficiary
Miranda Muise
Co-organizer