Tera’s Angels Always In Our Hearts

Tera’s Angels Always in our hearts

Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. The purpose of this project is

to show our love for Tera and Zane in their hour of need by helping to take care of their girls so they can pursue any and every future endeavor they desire, as Tera would have wanted for them.

Tera and Zane’s love story began once upon a time as first loves in high school in 2005. It was definitely love at first sight. They talked on the phone or were together endlessly. They married in 2012 and began a family right away. They were blessed with Audrey Grace in 2013 and her little sister, Scarlett Rae followed in 2019. Tera always wanted to be a mother, even from childhood her favorite toys were baby dolls and strollers. Anyone would attest that she was the most extremely protective, devoted, caring, patient and kind mother. She was a true “mama bear” and would protect the girls at all cost.

Audrey was the light of Tera and Zane’s life. As first time parents, they didn’t realize that she was having trouble with babbling and speech, as she had passed all newborn hearing tests. However, it would soon become evident that Audrey was suffering from some degree of hearing loss. Because of her extreme intelligence, the degree of her hearing loss was not discovered until a later age. In kindergarten they were told it was congenital and she was fitted for hearing aids.

Then comes the story of our sweet Scarlett Rae. Tera and Zane had discovered during Audrey’s prenatal blood tests that they were were both carriers for cystic fibrosis. For that reason they had decided that more children might not be in the cards did them. However the pregnancy with sweet Scarlett was a welcome and happy surprise and Zane and Tera were dedicated to taking care of her in spite of the risks.

The pregnancy was very hard on Tera for the whole nine months. She was sick from the very beginning with severe nausea and vomiting and was hospitalized with kidney stones and severe pain from internal and external shingles. She could barely maintain her weight because of debilitating nausea. In spite of her health challenges, Tera did everything in her power to ensure that Scarlett was born healthy. At her birth, Scarlett appeared perfect and beautiful, (and she was!) however, when she was due for discharge there was an indication of a serious problem. She had been born with a bowel blockage called a meconium ileus, and was immediately sent to Woman’s Hospital of Texas, and later Texas Children’s. She had surgery to clean out her bowel and had a temporary colostomy and Ileostomy placed so her bowel could heal. After surgery, the doctors gave them the news that Scarlett likely had Cystic Fibrosis and that is what had caused the blockage. Subsequent testing confirmed the diagnosis.

Scarlett was a patient in the NICU for 64 days and Tera counted every single one of them. She was using her breast pump night and day around the clock to ensure Scarlett was only fed the best nutrition and she drove back and forth multiple times every single day to spend time with her and love on her in the hospital. Scarlett endured major surgeries and was so brave and strong like her Mama. She initially received only IV nutrition for bowel rest and then breast milk through a tube into her stomach through her nose, and finally a bottle. She developed a blood clot near her PICC line site, which improved with blood thinners, followed by a reversal surgery to put her bowels back together. She was finally released to go home. Although she never took to breast feeding, Tera continued to pump around the clock to give her the best nutrition possible. It was a joyous reunion once she was home but unfortunately was short lived.

Shortly after returning home, Zane and Tera’s house flooded after a major tropical storm (Imelda) and they were displaced with a fragile newborn needing special care. Could it get any worse? Unfortunately, yes. Tera’s father, Buz Reynolds, who had been fighting ALS, had a sharp decline in his health and passed away after fighting bravely for years. In January 2020, Tera and Zane bought a new house where, with great hopes for the future, they settled in to raise the girls after such a difficult 2019.

Tera had not been feeling well, but considering what she had been through she assumed it was fatigue, stress, motherhood, and the emotions associated with the tragic loss of a parent. She was still using her breast pump around the clock. However, in February 2020, a routine OB visit

for a “clogged duct” which has plagued her for some time turned into a breast biopsy, which turned out to be pregnancy induced breast cancer: “metastatic ductal carcinoma,” from her left beast. By this time the cancer had already spread rapidly to her bones as well as her liver. She got so sick so quickly and she endured it so bravely so that she could care for her babies. She was quickly accepted as a patient at MD Anderson and began estrogen blocking therapy and injections to treat her bone cancer as well as therapies to improve some other concerning lab tests. She was scheduled for urgent surgery to repair a pathological fracture in her femur followed by a hysterectomy.

While undergoing treatment for her cancer she was right alongside her daughters, being an advocate every step of the way. Near this time, Audreys hearing was also discovered to be much worse, and she was with diagnosed with profound deafness and the process was started to get her cochlear implants. Audrey was able to get her first cochlear implant and is doing exceptionally well with her speech, reading and hearing. Tera unfortunately developed severe liver failure at the peak of Covid due to tumors in her liver, and MD Anderson suggested palliative care only and refused any further treatments for her. She promptly fired her oncologist and proceeded to a new oncologist at Methodist, miracle worker Dr. Garth Beinart. At that time she was very very ill, but stared death in the face and overcame it..

She underwent many procedures, chemotherapies, scans, ultrasounds, paracenteses, consults, and radiation treatments, and miraculously we were blessed with over a year of time that we weren’t supposed to have. Her cancer improved greatly for some time and many of her complications resolved or improved greatly. She spent most of 2021 feeling ambitious, hopeful, and moderately good, being as active as possible, and always smiling. Scarlett and Audrey continued to thrive.

Unfortunately over the past few weeks Tera has suffered attack after attack on her frail body from the cancer and the damage it caused to her organs, including returning liver failure, intractable pain, bleeding from her esophagus and cancer spread the brain. She adamantly refused to give up treatment, going so far as to schedule brain radiation, but in the end, nothing more on this earth could be done for our brave and determined girl to stop this horrible disease. Almost exactly 2 years after diagnosis, she left her life on this earth. She leaves behind her devoted husband, partner and best friend, Zane and 2 precious angels who she literally sacrificed her life for: Audrey Grace (8)and Scarlett Rae (2). In lieu of flowers, we respectfully request donations to help assist Zane, Audrey and Scarlett with their needs and future school endeavors. Tera expected great things for her miracle girls and they deserve to have every opportunity to follow their dreams. Zane is the bravest man I have ever known and he deserves to have any monetary burdens lifted when it comes to the girls futures.