Support Fund for Young Widow, Tamara Brock
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My young niece Tamara and her husband Grant are two of our favorite people. They have always had a knack for injecting humor at exactly the right moment into any situation. This year, we were excited to learn that the couple was planning to start a family. However, in the early morning of January 17, I received a phone call from Tamara’s mother. Between sobs, she told me that Grant had died in his sleep.
Tamara and Grant spent the night of January 16 at a hotel in Salt Lake City. Grant suffered from sleep apnea, and because he was away from home, he did not have access to his C-PAP machine. Normally, this wouldn’t be anything more than an inconvenience for Grant. However, earlier that day, Grant had told Tamara that he took a prescription medication that was not his. Grant immediately regretted his actions. Still, neither he nor Tamara had any reason to suspect that the situation would become life-threatening. They went to bed with full confidence in their bright future.
Tamara lay awake next to her sleeping husband when, at 10:50 p.m., she heard his breathing suddenly stop. Tamara screamed Grant’s name and immediately called 911. She began performing CPR, but the soft mattress made CPR impossible. She tried to pull Grant off the bed, but she was too petite to move his unconscious body. She continued to attempt CPR with all her might until first responders ultimately arrived. Tamara then was forced to watch in horror as they made multiple unsuccessful attempts to shock him back to life and called the time of death at 11:15 p.m.
Now, instead of starting a family, Tamara is facing the prospect of living alone. Instead of shopping for their first two-bedroom apartment, Tamara is choosing a casket and burial plot for the love of her life.
Personally, I can tell you a lot of things that I loved about Grant, such as his consistent efforts to make everyone around him feel loved and included, his commitment to his faith, his accomplishments as a musician, and his wicked hilarious sense of humor. But perhaps my favorite thing about Grant was the way that he treasured his wife. Just last week, Grant texted his favorite candid photo of Tamara to the family, explaining all the reasons he thought it epitomized her sweet, genuine, upbeat personality.
Theirs wasn’t your average marriage. Theirs was a true love story. Before their marriage, Tamara stood solidly by Grant’s side during many dark days resulting from struggles with improperly treated bipolar disorder. She was a constant source of love and strength for which he was forever grateful. Grant didn’t just love her—he cherished her. Grant would often send adoring texts to Tamara out of the blue, such as “I love us,” and “please let me know if there’s something I can do each day this week that will mean something to you and help you.” When Tamara would tell him about a bad day at work, he would go out of his way to plan something fun for her to be able to look forward to at the end of the day.
In the past few years, after finding the right medication for Grant, their lives were taking off. They had both finished their college educations just last month and were looking forward to stable careers and the opportunity to start a family. Grant had been telling everyone he knew that they were going to have a baby this year. He and Tamara had already picked out baby names. They would have been such great parents. Tamara is devastated that they didn’t decide to start their family sooner so she that could have a piece of Grant to cling to after his passing.
My heart aches for my darling niece. I hope that this GoFundMe will at least help ease the financial side of the tremendous burdens now faced by this young widow, including large bills for Grant’s emergency medical care, funeral, and burial, as well as Tamara’s living expenses during her period of mourning. Please consider making a donation, and please share this message with your friends. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.
Tamara and Grant spent the night of January 16 at a hotel in Salt Lake City. Grant suffered from sleep apnea, and because he was away from home, he did not have access to his C-PAP machine. Normally, this wouldn’t be anything more than an inconvenience for Grant. However, earlier that day, Grant had told Tamara that he took a prescription medication that was not his. Grant immediately regretted his actions. Still, neither he nor Tamara had any reason to suspect that the situation would become life-threatening. They went to bed with full confidence in their bright future.
Tamara lay awake next to her sleeping husband when, at 10:50 p.m., she heard his breathing suddenly stop. Tamara screamed Grant’s name and immediately called 911. She began performing CPR, but the soft mattress made CPR impossible. She tried to pull Grant off the bed, but she was too petite to move his unconscious body. She continued to attempt CPR with all her might until first responders ultimately arrived. Tamara then was forced to watch in horror as they made multiple unsuccessful attempts to shock him back to life and called the time of death at 11:15 p.m.
Now, instead of starting a family, Tamara is facing the prospect of living alone. Instead of shopping for their first two-bedroom apartment, Tamara is choosing a casket and burial plot for the love of her life.
Personally, I can tell you a lot of things that I loved about Grant, such as his consistent efforts to make everyone around him feel loved and included, his commitment to his faith, his accomplishments as a musician, and his wicked hilarious sense of humor. But perhaps my favorite thing about Grant was the way that he treasured his wife. Just last week, Grant texted his favorite candid photo of Tamara to the family, explaining all the reasons he thought it epitomized her sweet, genuine, upbeat personality.
Theirs wasn’t your average marriage. Theirs was a true love story. Before their marriage, Tamara stood solidly by Grant’s side during many dark days resulting from struggles with improperly treated bipolar disorder. She was a constant source of love and strength for which he was forever grateful. Grant didn’t just love her—he cherished her. Grant would often send adoring texts to Tamara out of the blue, such as “I love us,” and “please let me know if there’s something I can do each day this week that will mean something to you and help you.” When Tamara would tell him about a bad day at work, he would go out of his way to plan something fun for her to be able to look forward to at the end of the day.In the past few years, after finding the right medication for Grant, their lives were taking off. They had both finished their college educations just last month and were looking forward to stable careers and the opportunity to start a family. Grant had been telling everyone he knew that they were going to have a baby this year. He and Tamara had already picked out baby names. They would have been such great parents. Tamara is devastated that they didn’t decide to start their family sooner so she that could have a piece of Grant to cling to after his passing.
My heart aches for my darling niece. I hope that this GoFundMe will at least help ease the financial side of the tremendous burdens now faced by this young widow, including large bills for Grant’s emergency medical care, funeral, and burial, as well as Tamara’s living expenses during her period of mourning. Please consider making a donation, and please share this message with your friends. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.
Organizer and beneficiary
JoEllen Johnson
Organizer
Provo, UT
Tamara Brock
Beneficiary
