LAMPASAS, Texas — The Taylor Creek Elementary community is coming together to support one of their own, Tammy Sheard, a dedicated teacher fighting Stage 4 terminal cancer.
Sheard's journey began with what she initially believed were stomach issues but ended up being Stage 4 cancer diagnosis. This diagnosis came with two rare gene mutations making her cancer extremely aggressive.
Sheard's battle has seen her endure countless appointments and treatment regimens. Despite this, she has refused to allow her diagnosis to stop her passion for teaching. Even while undergoing chemotherapy, Sheard remained committed to her students, attending school with her chemo bag to ensure she didn't exceed her allotted 10 days of absence.
Her dedication to her students is evident through her recent transition from a general education classroom to special education.
"I don't want to be a burden on anybody to, you know, have to pick up the slack while I'm gone," the teacher said. "It's also hard too because I want to be there for my students which is part of why my principal and I made the decision for me to leave the general ed classroom. I was a fifth-grade math teacher the last two years, but knowing that I would be missing more work, I didn't want to sacrifice their education for my illness."
"If I were to not survive this, I don't want an entire grade level of elementary kids mourning my loss because that's really hard," Sheard added. "I felt like with changing positions this year, and going into this special education room, of course, I still have relationships with those kids, but not as many kids are impacted. At least if I had to step away, I could step away quietly."
Taylor Creek Elementary School Principal, Shona Moore, expressed admiration for Sheard's remarkable feat of maintaining academic excellence while battling cancer.
"It's pretty impressive that she was able to do that while fighting cancer," Moore said.
Recognizing the financial challenges that come with her medical battle, the community has initiated a fundraising campaign. They are selling popcorn, with 50% of the proceeds from each bag going directly towards supporting Sheard's medical expenses and frequent visits to MD Anderson in Houston.
"We told the kiddos at school when we put out the popcorn fundraiser, if everybody just bought one bag, what a difference it would make and what we could raise on just one bag of popcorn being sold," Moore said. "Every penny counts."
The fundraiser runs until Monday at 5p.m. 50% of every bag purchased will go straight to Sheard to help with the costs of fighting her cancer. You can click here to purchase.
Facing medical costs, Sheard acknowledges the financial strain but remains strong in her fight, seeking alternative treatments despite their steep prices. She urges others to prioritize their health and seek medical attention promptly if they experience unusual symptoms.
"The doctor told me that I'm running out of options, and that he's not very optimistic that this is going to be a long future for me because it is so aggressive, and I've already gone through so many different other things to try," Sheard said. " We're trying to supplement with natural things, but it's $256 for a bottle, and it lasts about a week. Those things are shown to fight cancer, but they're also very expensive when you're on a teacher's salary."
If you are experiencing pain or something out of the norm, Sheard encourages those to get checked before it's too late.
A GoFundMe for Sheard can be found here.
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