Tammy Reigel Cancer Fund
Donation protected
Hello!
My name is Tammy Reigel and I am 28 year old choir teacher with a big, bubbly personality and a passionate enthusiasm for life. My life took an abrupt turn on April 23, 2019 when I was diagnosed with a very rare, aggressive childhood sarcoma.
I graduated from Columbus Catholic High School in Marshfield, WI in 2009 and from Silver Lake College, located in Manitowoc, WI in 2014. These were phenomenal experiences that helped shape and nourish me into the generous and compassionate person I am today. My dreams came true when I had the opportunity to work at both of my alma maters – an Events Coordinator at Silver Lake and as a Choir teacher at Columbus. I recently took a job at Aquinas Catholic Middle School and absolutely love teaching choir there! We recently performed Lion King Jr and it was a hit in the entire community! (I didn’t know I could so proud of my students).
In mid-April 2019 I thought I had a stomach bug but didn’t think too much of it since several of the kids at school were under the weather. When I woke up on Easter morning I discovered that I had jaundice in my eyes and skin. After consulting the nurse’s hotline, I was recommended to go to the emergency room with the thought that I had gallstones. We were shocked when the ultrasound revealed a huge tumor next to my liver that was causing my symptoms. We quickly discovered that it was malignant and had spread to several areas in my torso. My initial hospital stay was 10 days to try and get my liver numbers stable. Since the initial pathology showed a very rare type of childhood cancer in an adult, I decided to go to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion. I am awaiting more testing from Mayo; it is especially crucial to have the right type of sarcoma before a treatment plan can be created for me. There are still many unknowns at this time but I am staying positive with support and prayers from family, friends, and my school communities.
I am ready to fight this with everything I’ve got and my goal is to be able to head back to Aquinas in the fall to teach as much as I can. I have more good days than bad days and know that there will be tough days ahead but my confidence in success is unshakeable. The money that is collected will help cover out of pocket cost for treatment since it will include many commutes and unknown expenses that won’t be covered by insurance.
Since my entire focus will be on my treatment and healing, my family members, Scott Reigel and Pam Clifford, will be helping run my Go Fund Me page. Please continue sending prayers; they have made an invaluable difference in this journey so far and will be needed as my fight with cancer continues. As Robert Frost once penned, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts, prayers, and support during this journey.
My name is Tammy Reigel and I am 28 year old choir teacher with a big, bubbly personality and a passionate enthusiasm for life. My life took an abrupt turn on April 23, 2019 when I was diagnosed with a very rare, aggressive childhood sarcoma.
I graduated from Columbus Catholic High School in Marshfield, WI in 2009 and from Silver Lake College, located in Manitowoc, WI in 2014. These were phenomenal experiences that helped shape and nourish me into the generous and compassionate person I am today. My dreams came true when I had the opportunity to work at both of my alma maters – an Events Coordinator at Silver Lake and as a Choir teacher at Columbus. I recently took a job at Aquinas Catholic Middle School and absolutely love teaching choir there! We recently performed Lion King Jr and it was a hit in the entire community! (I didn’t know I could so proud of my students).
In mid-April 2019 I thought I had a stomach bug but didn’t think too much of it since several of the kids at school were under the weather. When I woke up on Easter morning I discovered that I had jaundice in my eyes and skin. After consulting the nurse’s hotline, I was recommended to go to the emergency room with the thought that I had gallstones. We were shocked when the ultrasound revealed a huge tumor next to my liver that was causing my symptoms. We quickly discovered that it was malignant and had spread to several areas in my torso. My initial hospital stay was 10 days to try and get my liver numbers stable. Since the initial pathology showed a very rare type of childhood cancer in an adult, I decided to go to Mayo Clinic for a second opinion. I am awaiting more testing from Mayo; it is especially crucial to have the right type of sarcoma before a treatment plan can be created for me. There are still many unknowns at this time but I am staying positive with support and prayers from family, friends, and my school communities.
I am ready to fight this with everything I’ve got and my goal is to be able to head back to Aquinas in the fall to teach as much as I can. I have more good days than bad days and know that there will be tough days ahead but my confidence in success is unshakeable. The money that is collected will help cover out of pocket cost for treatment since it will include many commutes and unknown expenses that won’t be covered by insurance.
Since my entire focus will be on my treatment and healing, my family members, Scott Reigel and Pam Clifford, will be helping run my Go Fund Me page. Please continue sending prayers; they have made an invaluable difference in this journey so far and will be needed as my fight with cancer continues. As Robert Frost once penned, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts, prayers, and support during this journey.
Fundraising team (2)
Pam Clifford
Organizer
La Crosse, WI
Scott Reigel
Team member
