Help the Barrecas Bloom

The long and the short of it is: Tara and John have always poured into others. But life has been returning a LOT of lemons recently. After serving in ministry for a number of years, John was able to get a steady job in accounting. Tara got her life coaching certificate and has a job with that. She has also started working at a physical therapy office. And yet they still suffer with so many setbacks and challenges. I invite you to read further about Tara’s struggle with health.

These are two amazing individuals who are devoted to each other and to the Lord, trying to find a home in this world. But as soon as they were able to save money for that dream, they were required to pour it all into health costs. While we are grateful for tests and answers that have made improvements for Tara, it is still difficult to watch these health things siphon all of your money. We invite you to read further in support of Tara and John to help them bloom into this next phase. There IS light and joy in this world. Will you please consider being that to Tara and John by making their dream a reality?

--Sarah

The heart behind this fundraiser is to aid John and Tara moving towards their dreams of owning a house and starting a family. They have had a heart for adoption for a long time.

Giving goes towards 3 areas:

The Barreca’s Story

Throughout her life, Tara has had various health challenges, which have increased in the past nine years. She’s tried hard to keep working, stay as healthy as possible, and remain hopeful for the days ahead. She’s had to make major career and lifestyle changes, while receiving some answers/diagnosis and other health issues remained a mystery.

A little over three years ago, she began to experience severe vertigo and dizziness. She saw neurologists, but never got to the bottom of what was going on. The symptoms remained and she’s struggled to drive and do other basic tasks since.

Last fall Tara had some routine blood work come back abnormal which led to new specialists and additional testing. She discovered that she has some rare and very complicated neurological issues as well as a dysfunctional autonomic nervous system. This affects her heart rate, blood pressure, causes extreme sensitivity to light and sound, unsteadiness/imbalance, heat intolerance, and can lead to her passing out, among many other issues. It’s caused horrible pain in her head and throughout her body that she is beginning to learn how to manage.

The first few months of 2022 were spent at home because she was struggling so much with her speech, fine motor skills, and was extremely dizzy. She had to retrain her brain how to perform basic tasks.

Tara also has an autoimmune disease and issues with her thyroid and pituitary gland, which doctors believe has led to some of the neurological challenges she now experiences.

In 2022 she has had to learn how to view and experience the world differently. But she’s doing it! She and John are celebrating the progress.

It’s been a long journey of finding the right doctors, testing, eight months of physical therapy, new medications, supplements, and many, many little and big lifestyle adjustments. John and Tara are getting back on their feet and continuing to move forward. Tara is slowly improving. Spending time with her, you’d hardly believe where she was with her health earlier this year.

Throughout all of this, John has been right by her side. Taking off of work to drive her to appointments and physical therapy. He’s learned how to blow dry and style her hair, take over a lot of the housework she finds difficult, and he does most of the cooking. He researches her conditions and helps her find practical solutions to obstacles. More than anything, he’s walked with her through the darkness that comes with neurological conditions.

Though they have fought very hard to be financially wise, and even with good insurance, there have been numerous out of pocket expenses. John and Tara have been living with her parents since July 2021 to help them keep up with costs.

If it’s on your heart to give towards helping them get back on their feet financially, they’d greatly appreciate it.