We were blessed with yet another great day with Tamra around us all and in good spirits. Today was spent much like the last two surrounded by family and friends at the hospital. I would like to take a moment and thank all the wonderful people that have been taking care of Tamra at the hospital. Not that any of them will read this but i want you all to know that she is being cared for by a great staff that is always willing to go out of their way to make her comfortable.
Today she finished doing the "crafty hands" project that we started the other day by adding her hand print and "bling" as she calls it to all the canvases everyone had started. She also wants everyone to know that she is not afraid of passing when the time comes. She of course would rather stay with all of her loved ones but knows a time will come for us all and hers may been sooner she would like. But with that said she wants us all to know she is alright with it.
As for the visit with Dr Lemon, it never happened. I am assuming that she is doing so much better he did not feel the need to stop by. I would hope he has at least called the hospital to check her progress at some point during the day. Bart is currently on his way back to Salt Lake and will be calling the doctors office in the morning to make sure we meet with him tomorrow to see where exactly Tamra stands health wise and if and when we might be able to take her home.
I would also like to take a second and thank all the loved ones in our family that have taken up the slack while we have been focusing our attention on Tamra. Not only are they there to take care of the day to day stuff but they are a huge source of comfort. Jamie, Doug, Pennie and all others...I can't say thanks enough!
Hope to have more information after meeting with the doctor tomorrow. Until then thanks to all for your prayers and keep them coming!
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Tamra Juretich Tapp
Tamra Juretich Tapp
Our loving, wife, mother & grandmother age 67 passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at home after a brief battle with Pancreatic Cancer.
She was born July 16th, 1941 in Murray Utah to Matt & Claudia Juretich and later married Jackie Thomas Tapp February 20th, 1960 in Coalville Utah.
Tamra began high school at West High and later graduated from Jordan High in 1959.
She started dancing at the age of 3, was a member of the Jordan High Dance Company with her best friend Penny Walker and later preformed on the Ted Mack show as a beautiful gifted young woman. As a young mother she taught ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance in the basement of her home on Coventry Lane and had a positive influence on the children she taught.
Tamra loved her time serving in the Young Women’s program of the Church. Her greatest joy was teaching and laughing with the Young Women she served. She especially had fond memories as Stake camp director while living in Silver Reef, Utah.
Tamra enjoyed working with her friends at Sunfirst Bank in Hurricane and St. George Utah, where she was always the life of the party. She especially enjoyed working alongside Mont Humphries who she considered one of her closest friends.
Most of all Tamra loved her children, grand children and her husband Jack of 48 years and will miss them dearly!
Tamra’s catch phrase throughout her life was “have a nice day and smile all the way” and loved anything that was bright and sparkly. She was always thinking of others and had the innate ability to make others feel comfortable around her.
Instead of flowers Tamra has requested that you provide an act of kindness for someone in need.
Thank you to the staff at Intermountain Healthcare and Rocky Mountain Healthcare who assisted with her care. Specifically we would like to thank her nurse Julie and CNA Sally who took such good care of her during the end of her earthly life.
Our loving, wife, mother & grandmother age 67 passed away on Thursday, February 19, 2009 at home after a brief battle with Pancreatic Cancer.
She was born July 16th, 1941 in Murray Utah to Matt & Claudia Juretich and later married Jackie Thomas Tapp February 20th, 1960 in Coalville Utah.
Tamra began high school at West High and later graduated from Jordan High in 1959.
She started dancing at the age of 3, was a member of the Jordan High Dance Company with her best friend Penny Walker and later preformed on the Ted Mack show as a beautiful gifted young woman. As a young mother she taught ballet, tap, jazz and modern dance in the basement of her home on Coventry Lane and had a positive influence on the children she taught.
Tamra loved her time serving in the Young Women’s program of the Church. Her greatest joy was teaching and laughing with the Young Women she served. She especially had fond memories as Stake camp director while living in Silver Reef, Utah.
Tamra enjoyed working with her friends at Sunfirst Bank in Hurricane and St. George Utah, where she was always the life of the party. She especially enjoyed working alongside Mont Humphries who she considered one of her closest friends.
Most of all Tamra loved her children, grand children and her husband Jack of 48 years and will miss them dearly!
Tamra’s catch phrase throughout her life was “have a nice day and smile all the way” and loved anything that was bright and sparkly. She was always thinking of others and had the innate ability to make others feel comfortable around her.
Instead of flowers Tamra has requested that you provide an act of kindness for someone in need.
Thank you to the staff at Intermountain Healthcare and Rocky Mountain Healthcare who assisted with her care. Specifically we would like to thank her nurse Julie and CNA Sally who took such good care of her during the end of her earthly life.
Up to date information for friends and family of Tamra Tapp
1/12/09
About a month ago Tamra had a recurrence of some back pain which she has had on and off for years. She had some physical therapy done but it had little effect. Over the following weeks she was very tired and sleepy. The pain had progressed over time and so she had Misty take her into the St George hospital on December 31 to get at CT scan to see if the liver was the issue of her pain. The nurses at the hospital sent her home and said they would send the scans to the doctors for review.
The doctors called on the January 5th to check on here pain and suggested that she come in for a biopsy her liver on the January 6th. She had this done and had to wait until January 8th for the results. Upon receiving the results of the biopsy the family doctor suggested we meet a hospital oncologist because he had concerns about what he was seeing on the CT scan and what showed up in the biopsy results.
An appointment was set up with the Oncologist today at the Huntsman Cancer wing here in St George. Without knowing fully all the medical lingo here is what we learned today. Apparently as some point (nobody knows exactly when) a cancer started at the bottom head of her pancreas. It has traveled from it starting point to just outside the pancreas and has since spread to the liver. Unfortunately there is not a specific treatment for where this cancer started. This is not to say that there are not treatments that can be done because there are but there is no chance of a complete cure.
Tamra has decided on a course of treatment as suggested by the oncologist. Her pain is being managed at the moment and will be modified as needed. It is her and our wish that she be kept pain free even at the cost maybe losing a few months of her life. We will be exploring all treatments as some may work and others may not. We all have agreed on this course and just want what is best for Tamra.
As her treatments and her condition changes I hope either myself, Bart, Misty or Shane will update you all with any new information. Jack is obviously very distressed by this news and I would hope you would all keep him in your prayers as well as he loves Tamra dearly!
On a personal note I would like to ask one favor of all of you. We are creating this blog mainly for Tamra to be able to log in and read messages from her loved ones and be able to send her feelings back to them when she is feeling up to it. So if you could, please do not use this board to leave messages for other family members. Misty and I have found many of our relatives on Face book and love catching up with them there. And just so you know this is also one of Tamra’s biggest wishes as she expressed to us today. She has always wanted the family to stay together and to keep in touch!
Finally, my thanks to all my family for making a bad situation bearable. To my older brother Bart and his wife Pennie. Thank you for being the strong ones and helping organize all that you have. To my little brother Shane and his wife Jamie. Thank you for taking such good care of both Tamra and Jack now and for being there for them over the years while Bart and I have been in Salt Lake. Also thank you to my little sister Misty and her husband Doug for always doing what you can to do help and helping Tamra and Jack whenever they needed you. I love you all!
Chet
3 comments:
Mom- It was great to see you this weekend! I'm so happy your pain is under control!
It was great to be able to visit with you. The kids were happy you were able to goof around with them a bit, & I'm glad you got to meet Rod.
I miss you guys already, it's been so long since we were all together. Court really enjoyed being with you,& he loved being together as a family.
Remember...you are in our prayers, and...'May the SPARKLE be with you!'
As I am reading this blog, I can still hear the laughter, see the mischievous grins, the sparkle in the Tapp side of the family. Memories of all of us gathered in someone's home, (who's home was it? And was it Thanksgiving or Christmas?) the 2 turtles -- kept in the tub -- that all of us cousins kept playing with throughout the day (was it Shane or Chet who kept teasing us younger cousins with the biting turtle?). The long, long table that seemed to extend from one end of the house to the other, the rich aromas of steaming meats and colorful veggies, and laughter... so much laughter, boisterous, rippling, the sound of connections and memories. Perhaps we were at Aunt Rose and Uncle Don's house... or was it Aunt Nina and Uncle Steve's? It doesn't matter. The memory of family being together, indulging in that invaluable thing we call time... moments that engrave themselves in scripted gold, framed, and hung as priceless archives in our museums of memories. Tamra, thank you for always making family important. For always putting family first. I witnessed your love for people in the way you consistently cared in tangible ways. Thank you for not letting me off the hook when I would come over to play with Misty, trashing her bedroom in the process... until you came to check on us and let me know that I WOULD be staying long enough to help clean up. smile. You kept a well-run house... and that helped me see what it meant to have self-respect. Of course, there's more... Like the fact that I always admired your vision when my mom told me it was you, (and Uncle Jack), who designed and then built your houses. (I thought, 'You can do that?') Your eye for beauty, detail, art... the fact that you dreamed and worked hard to make your dreams come true. I know this is a long note... but since I can't be there with you to tell you all this in person, I guess this will do. As for my timing, gee, I guess this is as good a time as any to share my memories with you and to tell you that I love you.
Blessings to you, Aunt Tamra.
Your niece, Sharon Whitworth-Olson
Thanks for sharing what meant a lot to you, and giving us even more of a memory of our mom! Its amazing what one person will remember about another person. We sometimes don't get the full view of a person until everyone says "I remember..." It brings warmth and happiness to my heart to read how you feel and felt about my mom. So thanks!
Misty
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