Tamara VandeLinde

Another Health Update Recently, I spent a week plus a couple of days in the hospital went home for two days and unfortunately, my time at home was short-lived, and I’m back in the hospital. I went home hoping things would begin moving in the right direction. Instead, my walking and balance have continued to progressively worsen. It reached the point where I knew something still wasn’t right, so I brought myself back to the hospital to get more answers. This time, the doctors have taken things a step further and tested my cerebrospinal fluid to hopefully get a clearer picture of what may be causing the continued problems with my walking, balance, and dizziness. Now I’m waiting for answers and for a plan for what comes next. I’m disappointed because I was really looking forward to getting back home, returning to work, and finding some normalcy again. Instead, I’m back in a hospital bed, definitely not where I wanted to be. This journey has tested my optimism more lately than it ever has before, but I’m still here, still asking questions, and still fighting to get back on my feet my, quite literally. Another set back is my landlord sadly passed away and now I’m looking at moving possibly out of Arizona back to Virginia or even Florida. Thank you to everyone who continues to check on me, send messages, pray, help, donate, and support me through all of this. I may not always have the energy to respond individually, but please know that I see it and appreciate it more than you know. Hopefully this hospital stay brings some answers, and most importantly, a path toward getting me walking steadily again. With love, Tamara

For the past five weeks, my balance has been getting progressively worse. At first, I mostly felt unsteady and had trouble walking, but recently dizziness was added to the mix—something I hadn’t really experienced before. I’ve also been dealing with headaches and occasional vomiting, sometimes just bile because I haven’t been able to eat much. I recently had my second round of Kadcyla chemotherapy, and for a while I wasn’t sure what was causing everything. Was it lingering effects from whole-brain radiation? Was it the chemo? Or was something else going on? The timing made it especially confusing because some of these symptoms seemed to start before my second treatment. Unfortunately, things continued to get worse, and I’m currently in the hospital. They’ve now found a tumor on my hippocampus, which they believe is most likely responsible for at least some of the symptoms I’ve been experiencing. This has been a difficult update to write because, through everything that has happened over the past couple of years, I’ve managed to hold onto my optimism. This situation has definitely tested it, but I’m not giving up on it. I’m tired and frustrated, and I don’t have all the answers yet. But I’m also hopeful that finding the tumor gives us a better understanding of what’s been happening and helps my doctors figure out the best way forward. For now, I’m in the hospital, I’m being taken care of, and I’m taking things one step at a time. I’m listening to my doctors, focusing on getting through this, and trying to stay positive without pretending that it’s easy. Hopefully, I’ll have a much better update to share next time. Sincerely, Tamara