Tara's Round 2 fight
Donation protected
The VerHaaghs' first want to thank you for taking a moment to learn about their story. They are so greatly appreciative of the love and support they have received and continue to receive from their family, friends, and strangers. Thank you will never be enough.
Tara's journey began March 22nd, 2017. At 15 weeks pregnant with their second child, Tara found out she had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system. She was immediately set up with an oncologist and a plan of attack was established. She began a chemo regimen called ABVD the next week. She received treatment every other week, for a total of twelve treatments. On September 1st, 2017, Tara received her last dose of ABVD. Six days later on September 7th, Scarlett Ruth made her appearance into the world. She was three weeks early, but happy and perfectly healthy.
In January 2018, Tara had her follow up PET scan which showed no active sign of cancer. She was officially in remission!! It was a huge sigh of relief for the whole family. Life was finally going to get back to normal. The length between doctor visits started to increase. The whole family made some big, positive lifestyle changes, including eating healthier and working out on a daily basis. Emmett was able to join soccer in the summer and spent much more time swimming. They celebrated Emmett's 5th birthday, Tara and Nick's 6th wedding anniversary, and Scarlett's 1st birthday.
In November 2018, Tara went in for a routine follow-up CT scan. Unfortunately, the images showed that a lymph node had grown since her last scan 6 month prior. It wasn't a massive change, but big enough that her doctors wanted to take an offensive approach, so more testing was ordered. A PET scan showed cancerous activity in multiple lymph nodes in her chest, which a biopsy confirmed... The Hodgkin's was back.
Tara says it has been very different the second time around. When you first get Hodgkin's, the doctors will tell you it's “the cancer to get if you have to get any.” It's highly curable. When it comes back, and in such a short time, the tone changes. It's more serious and suddenly you are being referred to specialist and other hospitals, talking about new courses of treatment and what new drugs are available.
Tara was referred to Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI. Tara and Nick met with a specialist who helped them decide the next moves. Tara would start a new type of chemo. This chemo would happen every 21 days for 4 treatments total. After that chemo, she would receive a stem cell transplant, using her own stem cells. The first four chemo treatments could happen in Green Bay. The stem cell transplant would have to happen 2 hours away in Milwaukee.
Tara is now currently half way through her initial chemo. The stem cell transplant is looking like it will occur mid March, pending how the last 2 chemo treatments and the stem cell harvesting goes. When Tara does go in for the transplant, she will have to remain in the hospital for at least one month due to a severely compromised immune system and the need to be continuously monitored. .
As you can imagine, this puts great stress on the VerHaagh family. It will be very difficult for Tara, a stay at home mom, to be away from her husband and two small children for that amount of time. There will be many trips back and forth to Milwaukee preparing for the transplant, visiting during the month long stay, and trips after for follow-up visits. It is also very likely that Tara will have more than the initial hospital stay, as her immune system will be very compromised for the first year after the transplant, any illness can cause the need for hospitalization.
Tara and Nick are hoping that Nick will be able to take off work for the month she is in the hospital, so that he can be home with the kids and available to go down to Milwaukee whenever needed. Initially, they considered using Nick's available PTO to cover the days he would be missing. But with the thought of potential unplanned hospital stays, future doctor visits, and just normal needs for PTO like sick kids, they decided to save those PTO days for the unexpected.
We are asking for your help. Would you please consider donating to help the VerHaagh family cover their monthly expenses and additional travel expenses for the month that Tara is in the hospital in Milwaukee? This would relieve a tremendous weight from their shoulders. It would allow Nick to take unpaid medical leave during the month and save his PTO for the unscheduled, unexpected situations. Any funds that are left over from your generosity would be put towards Tara's medical bills.
Tara and Nick cannot thank you enough for your support. They have been truly blessed with so many amazing people in their lives, and they are so grateful for each and every one of you.
(For those who are interested in following along in greater detail with Tara's journey, please visit https://www.facebook.com/teamottermom. )
Tara's journey began March 22nd, 2017. At 15 weeks pregnant with their second child, Tara found out she had Hodgkin's Lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system. She was immediately set up with an oncologist and a plan of attack was established. She began a chemo regimen called ABVD the next week. She received treatment every other week, for a total of twelve treatments. On September 1st, 2017, Tara received her last dose of ABVD. Six days later on September 7th, Scarlett Ruth made her appearance into the world. She was three weeks early, but happy and perfectly healthy.
In January 2018, Tara had her follow up PET scan which showed no active sign of cancer. She was officially in remission!! It was a huge sigh of relief for the whole family. Life was finally going to get back to normal. The length between doctor visits started to increase. The whole family made some big, positive lifestyle changes, including eating healthier and working out on a daily basis. Emmett was able to join soccer in the summer and spent much more time swimming. They celebrated Emmett's 5th birthday, Tara and Nick's 6th wedding anniversary, and Scarlett's 1st birthday.
In November 2018, Tara went in for a routine follow-up CT scan. Unfortunately, the images showed that a lymph node had grown since her last scan 6 month prior. It wasn't a massive change, but big enough that her doctors wanted to take an offensive approach, so more testing was ordered. A PET scan showed cancerous activity in multiple lymph nodes in her chest, which a biopsy confirmed... The Hodgkin's was back.
Tara says it has been very different the second time around. When you first get Hodgkin's, the doctors will tell you it's “the cancer to get if you have to get any.” It's highly curable. When it comes back, and in such a short time, the tone changes. It's more serious and suddenly you are being referred to specialist and other hospitals, talking about new courses of treatment and what new drugs are available.
Tara was referred to Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI. Tara and Nick met with a specialist who helped them decide the next moves. Tara would start a new type of chemo. This chemo would happen every 21 days for 4 treatments total. After that chemo, she would receive a stem cell transplant, using her own stem cells. The first four chemo treatments could happen in Green Bay. The stem cell transplant would have to happen 2 hours away in Milwaukee.
Tara is now currently half way through her initial chemo. The stem cell transplant is looking like it will occur mid March, pending how the last 2 chemo treatments and the stem cell harvesting goes. When Tara does go in for the transplant, she will have to remain in the hospital for at least one month due to a severely compromised immune system and the need to be continuously monitored. .
As you can imagine, this puts great stress on the VerHaagh family. It will be very difficult for Tara, a stay at home mom, to be away from her husband and two small children for that amount of time. There will be many trips back and forth to Milwaukee preparing for the transplant, visiting during the month long stay, and trips after for follow-up visits. It is also very likely that Tara will have more than the initial hospital stay, as her immune system will be very compromised for the first year after the transplant, any illness can cause the need for hospitalization.
Tara and Nick are hoping that Nick will be able to take off work for the month she is in the hospital, so that he can be home with the kids and available to go down to Milwaukee whenever needed. Initially, they considered using Nick's available PTO to cover the days he would be missing. But with the thought of potential unplanned hospital stays, future doctor visits, and just normal needs for PTO like sick kids, they decided to save those PTO days for the unexpected.
We are asking for your help. Would you please consider donating to help the VerHaagh family cover their monthly expenses and additional travel expenses for the month that Tara is in the hospital in Milwaukee? This would relieve a tremendous weight from their shoulders. It would allow Nick to take unpaid medical leave during the month and save his PTO for the unscheduled, unexpected situations. Any funds that are left over from your generosity would be put towards Tara's medical bills.
Tara and Nick cannot thank you enough for your support. They have been truly blessed with so many amazing people in their lives, and they are so grateful for each and every one of you.
(For those who are interested in following along in greater detail with Tara's journey, please visit https://www.facebook.com/teamottermom. )
Organizer and beneficiary
Dawn Marie
Organizer
De Pere, WI
Tara VerHaagh
Beneficiary