Thursday Table Talk: One of our favorites

This week Glenda, Alice and Kellie are attending the INA Conference in San Francisco, so today we will re run one of our favorite Thursday Table Talks.

This is the compelling story of Tara and her experience as a bone marrow donor. It is definitely worth repeating.

Tara Lindsay's story of being a bone marrow donor.

Table Talk Thursday - When "Nanny" means "Hero"

Table Talk Thursday comes from Nanny Tips - the official blog of the Michigan Professional Nanny Association.

reprinted with permission

Nanny Tips talks with Alyson Myatt, nanny and hero, by Tara Lindsay

This past March, the nation applauded the heroic actions of a Kentucky nanny. This past week, that nanny graciously agreed to talk with me about her experience. I found Alyson Myatt to be a true example of who and what a nanny is and I feel deeply honored that she so openly and willingly shared her story with me for this blog.

More than a month after she risked her own life to save her 5 year old charge from a house fire, 22 year old nanny Alyson Myatt is still a little surprised at all of the attention she’s gotten for her heroic act. Doing her job and being who she is, according to Alyson, doesn’t feel like anything extraordinary.

Alyson says that becoming a nanny was a natural progression for her. As the sixth child of ten siblings, Alyson grew up helping to care for her younger siblings, nieces, and nephews. She started babysitting around the age of 15, was lifeguarding at 16, and by age 19 was working as a professional nanny in a career that she says is “like second nature.” Alyson nannied for several families in the Louisville, KY area and discovered a natural gift for connecting with autistic children. In the work of nannying, Alyson found that she loved “the little things that others often don’t notice…when the children smile, when they are laughing, those special little moments of connection that are so priceless.” Alyson, who is not working while she heals from her injuries, says, “I’m really going to miss those moments with Aden.”

Several months ago Alyson answered an ad for a new live-in nanny position in Shelbyville, KY, to care for 5 year old Aden Hawes. Alyson believes God led her to this particular position for what is now an obvious reason. “I saw the ad in a paper that I hardly ever look at and got excited about it.” It was Alyson’s first live-in position. She and Aden quickly developed a strong bond and affection for one another.

On a Monday night barely two months after starting the position, Alyson tucked Aden into bed completely unaware that less than 24 hours later she would be thrust into the national media spotlight as a hero and, for the nanny world, as a shining example of her profession.

At about 3 am on Tuesday, March 23, 2010, Alyson says she was awoken by the smoke detectors. She raced upstairs to find the bathroom fan on fire. The fan had not been working properly and somehow the switch to it had been turned on eventually causing the small fire. (There is currently an investigation underway to determine if the fan was defective and what, if any, liability may lie with the manufacturer.) Alyson turned off the switch and quickly put out the flames. After thoroughly checking the walls, ceiling and fan to be sure the fire was completely out Alyson called her dadboss, who was out of town on business, to let him know what had happened. She asked him if she should call the fire department but was told that probably wasn’t necessary. Following instructions, Alyson went back to bed thinking that the crisis was over.

Three hours later, around 6 am, Alyson was awoken again by a large “boom”. At first, she says, “I thought it was Aden.” In reality, the bathroom ceiling fan had caught fire again and the boom was the fan falling down to the floor. Like a good nanny, Alyson sprang from her bed to go check on her charge. As she once again raced back up the stairs she encountered a hallway engulfed in flames that firefighters say were as hot as 400 degrees. Aden was in his room, on the other side of the flames. Acting on instinct…an instinct prepared and honed by her years of childcare experience and training as a lifeguard on how to handle emergency situations…Alyson did not hesitate. “I didn’t think anything, I just acted.”

Barefoot, Alyson ran through the fire to Aden, entirely focused on getting to him with zero thought or regard for her own safety. The five year old, terrified and trapped, trusted that his nanny would save him. Scared for Aden’s safety, Alyson called to him as she ran through the flames to let him know she was on her way. “I’m here, Aly! I’m in my bed!” Alyson grabbed the child from his burning room and then, with him in her arms, ran back through the flames on her already badly burned feet to get him to safety. According to several media reports, fire officials stated that if she had waited even a minute to run to his rescue, Aden would not be alive today.

Once outside, Alyson loaded Aden into the minivan and used the tips of her toes to drive them both to safety at a neighbor’s house. Unable to walk and in excruciating pain, Alyson sent the boy to the neighbor’s door and told him to ring the doorbell until somebody answered.

Alyson was taken to the hospital by ambulance. She had second and third degree burns on her arms and hands, and third degree burns on her feet. The skin on her feet was hanging off in shreds. “I felt like I was walking on goo,” Alyson says, “but it was my feet.”

Aden, saved by the love and heroics of his nanny, was completely unhurt.

The next hours and days were a blur. Aden’s father was called and rushed home to Kentucky. Knowing his son was okay, J.B. Hawes raced from the airport directly to Alyson’s bedside to check on her well being and to try to find an adequate way to thank her for saving his child’s life

Alyson didn’t realize until Friday, three days after the fire, that her actions had garnered her so much attention and acclamation. When her sister finally showed her all the media reports and the national reaction, Alyson found it all “kind of overwhelming. I didn’t think it was a big deal.” She has been surprised at the number of people who have told her they would have gotten themselves out to call 9-1-1 and let the firefighters rescue the child. “I just did what was in line with who I am, I didn’t realize that was so rare.” While it may be rare outside the nanny world, it is lucky for Aden that Alyson is who she is. In interviews after the fire, Shelbyville Fire Chief Willard Tucker, who called Alyson’s actions “above and beyond normal heroics”, said that if Alyson had called the fire department and waited for them to get Aden that Aden would be dead.

In the immediate aftermath of Alyson’s injuries, doctors spoke of skin grafts and speculated about whether or not a full recovery was possible. They said she probably wouldn’t walk for six months. Three days after the fire and crying with agonizing pain the entire time, Alyson was up and walking. Her healing has continued to defy predictions. She has not needed a wheelchair or a walker, though she does use a cane for support when she walks. She did not need skin grafts, and was released from the burn unit after only a week. “My feet are healing really fast”, she said in our recent phone conversation. “I go to hyperbaric therapy three or four times a week and it is speeding up the healing but we don’t know exactly when it will all be done. Everybody heals differently.” She is now expected to make a full recovery.

Because the length of her recovery is uncertain, Alyson says she has asked Aden’s dad to hire a replacement nanny for Aden’s sake so that he has some stability and consistency in his care after this traumatic event. “I still see him and pick him up from school sometimes,” she says.

Meanwhile, the bills have been coming in. Alyson’s one week stay in the burn unit alone was $46,000. That doesn’t include the ambulance ride, emergency room services, hyperbaric therapy, and more. Without insurance it is a hefty burden but one that Alyson is not going to stress over. She is, she says, putting it in God’s hands.

When talking about being a nanny Alyson speaks with a love and passion common in our field. She talks of learning to be more patient and how, with children, you learn to not take things for granted. She talks with great affection for her charges and through it all it is easy to feel her enthusiasm and joy. Working as a nanny, she says, “I get a good feeling, like I’m achieving something really great.” It is a sentiment that most nannies can likely agree with.

Alyson is unsure as to whether or not she will seek another nanny position. After speaking with her, it is obvious that any family would be lucky to hire a nanny with her compassion and common sense. Alyson is primarily focused on recovering and figuring out what her options are. She is confident that God has a plan for her to follow, but for now it is too early to say what that might be. The nanny profession would certainly be lucky to claim her as one of our own.

Alyson has some advice for her fellow nannies, as well. “Be trained. Know CPR. Know how to use a fire extinguisher and know where it is kept. Have a fire plan.” She also eloquently sums up what motivates many nannies.

“Have your heart in the right place. If you’re not doing it for the children’s sake, then maybe you shouldn’t be doing it. You really have to have a heart for kids and for people in general.” This is crucial to being a good nanny because, as Alyson concludes, “You have people’s lives in your hands.”

If you’ve been inspired by Alyson’s story and would like to contribute to the Alyson C. Myatt Trust Fund to help cover the costs of her medical expenses, please visit www.alysonmyatt.com for more information.

Creative Nanny Wednesday: Letterboxing!

Letterboxing
by Tara Lindsay

I can’t wait for spring, and neither can my three young charges (ages 3, 3, and 4). We’ve been cooped up most of the winter, either trapped inside by snow too deep for their tiny legs to wade through, weather too cold for their sensitive preferences, or various vomit viruses. We’ve had theme days, playdate parties, field trips, art projects, baking projects, and lots of other indoor fun but we’re ready to be back outside every day.

And mostly, we are ready to pick up where we left off with our adventures in letterboxing . We took up letterboxing last year when I went searching for an all ages outdoor activity that would demand my charges (then 2,2, and 4) work together as a TEAM rather than as competitors. It was love at first hunt.

To read the rest of the Letterboxing article please visit
The Creative Nanny: Letterboxing!

Thursday Table Talk: Tara Lindsays' Story

Interview by Glenda Propst

I met Tara Lindsay via the internet and a nanny chat I used to host. I have known her for about 12 years. I am so excited that she is allowing us to share her story .
If you don't do anything else today, read this post. Tara's story is one that you will not forget in 5 minutes or even 5 years.
It will make you stop and think, and if you don't believe in miracles, it might make you do that too.

In addition to reading this story, do NOT miss the links that will take you to the newspaper series about Erin's race, Tara and Erins' first meeting and the rest of the story. After that, I hope you will give serious thought to being a bone marrow donor too.

What prompted you to become a bone marrow donor?
I first heard about bone marrow transplants during my childhood. One of my brother's Little League teammates, Andrew, was a leukemia patient. Our families were friends, and watching their family battle the disease made a huge impact on me. I found it kind of miraculous that something from inside one person's bones could save the life of someone else with cancer. In college I finally had the opportunity to register as a potential donor and I jumped at it.

How long was it after you signed up before you matched a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant?
I've actually matched two different patients! The first time was about a year after I registered. I was confirmed as a match for a then 3 year old boy with leukemia, but as it turned out, I was not needed to donate.
The second time I matched was in 2000, about five years after I registered. I got a letter in the mail telling me that I was a potential marrow match for a 30 year old woman with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia, and asking me if I would consent to further testing to confirm the match. The testing was just some blood work. Once I was confirmed as a match, I was asked to set up an appointment with the donor center. They gave me a lot of information about the two different collection procedures and answered all my questions. They also gave me a complete physical to make sure that I was healthy and that donating would not have any risks for me. The donor program was really helpful and continually reminded me that I was under no legal obligation to donate and that I was allowed to back out at any time. For me, backing out was never an option...I didn't think it would be fair to the patient to be told she had a donor and then for me to back out! The donor program also made it very clear that there was no cost to me or my insurance to donate. All the expenses were already covered.

How long was it between the time that they found the match and you had to have the procedure done?
I got the original letter that I was a potential match in mid-August, 2000. I was confirmed as a match within two weeks and donated for the first time on October 10 and 11, 2000. Much of that timing depends on the need of the patient and the availability of the donor, so it can vary from case to case. The donor program told me that they would work around my availability. I worked hard to be available as quickly as possible. In our case, my recipient had a very aggressive subtype of AML, so time was very important.

Were your employers supportive of the time that you had to take off work to do the procedure?
My employers were incredibly supportive all three times that I donated for my recipient. My donor center was several hours away by car, so I had to take off time not just for the donation procedures, but also for the physical and to sign papers. At the time, I was a live-in nanny for a family with two small children. They didn't even hesitate to give me the time off, paid, to do what I needed to do. They understood that someone else's life was at stake and believed, as did I, that our own schedules could be flexible for that!

Did you have second thoughts after you got “the” phone call?
Not once. Some donors might. It is not uncommon for matched donors to have a lot of questions and fears based on lack of information or myths they've heard about donating. The donor coordinator and her staff did an excellent job of easing any concerns and explaining everything to me. It was never once a question of whether or not I would donate...I knew I would.
One question I had was how to explain the procedure to my 5 year old charge. A neighbor had scared her by mentioning "a really large needle" and we wanted her to not be afraid for me. I called my donor coordinator and she sent me a copy of an age appropriate coloring book that explained the whole thing for my charge. It helped her to understand that the whole procedure was safe for me and why it was important for me to do it.

Did you know the person you were donating for?
No. Matching an unrelated recipient is completely anonymous for both parties involved. Laws vary from country to country on when, or if, the recipient and donor can know each other's identities. In the US, federal law requires that the two parties be kept completely anonymous for one year from the date of transplant. A donor is only allowed to know the age, gender, and illness of the potential recipient. After that, if both parties agree, the NMDP will put them in touch with one another. In the meantime, however, donors and recipients are allowed to exchange cards and letters through the program. These are screened so that any information indentifying the person or their location is kept out. However, there is no requirement for contact, so either side can choose not to participate in communication.

What was the procedure like?
It was pretty easy and reasonably painless. There are two collection procedures. The first, and the one most people are familiar with, is the traditional bone marrow collection. This is a minor surgical procedure done while the donor is under general anesthesia. Special needles are used to withdraw the marrow from the back of the pelvic bones. It is usually an outpatient procedure with no overnight hospital stay for the donor.

The second collection procedure is called Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Collection, or PBSC collection. This is the procedure I did all three times that I donated for my recipient.
Don't get this confused with the hotly debated issue of embryonic stem cells, as it does NOT involve those. As adults, we have adult stem cells in many parts of our bodies, including in our blood stream. These stem cells are what a marrow transplant is after. Since marrow is stem cell rich, that's where they've been taken from. Now, however, PBSC collection offers a way to get those stem cells without surgery for the donor.

For 5 days before the collection, a nurse came to my house and gave me injections of a drug called Filgrastim. This stimulated my marrow to produce many more stem cells than I needed and those stem cells ended up in my bloodstream, making my blood stem cell rich. To collect those excess stem cells, needles attached to tubing were inserted in both of my arms and hooked up to an apheresis machine. The machine pulled my blood from one arm, spun it in a centrifuge to separate out the stem cells, then re-warmed my blood and sent it back to me via my other arm. The stems cells were collected in a plastic IV bag. (They're pink, by the way!).

Depending on the need of the patient, a donor will sit for this collection for one or two days, for up to 6 hours each day. In some cases, instead of collecting this way, the donor can have a central venous line inserted in his/her femoral vein. This is basically a port that is surgically placed just for the collection. I had this done for my first and third donations. The surgery was super simple, I just had local anesthesia so I was awake for the placement. The removal of it is not a surgical procedure, they just pull it out and put pressure on the site!

It sounds kind of scary with all those needles, doesn't it? In reality, it is really easy and painless to do! The worst part, when they use your arms, is that you can't move your arms...so you're stuck there and have to rely on everyone else to scratch your nose for you, or hold your drink for you, or whatever you need doing. But other than that,all you do is lay there...it's almost boring and I slept through good chunks of it every time! I was back at work chasing my youngest charge...a very active two year old...the next day.

Did you ever hear from your recipient?
I did hear from her. I even met her! Three weeks after the first transplant, she sent me a card through the NMDP. In it, she wrote "Thank you for giving me a second chance at life, and with my baby girl." I remember getting that card and sharing it with my employer...we both stood in the kitchen with tears pouring down our faces. She even took it to her office to show people! In February, 2001, I was contacted and asked if I would be willing to donate a second time. Even though it was their busy season at work, my employers told me "Go when they need you!"

During the second procedure, my donor coordinator pulled out a letter that my recipient had just sent. It was nine pages long! In it, she told me who she was...a cop, a musician, a person of faith, and a mother. She also detailed for me her illness. She wrote, "Did you know two lives were saved?" She was 24 weeks pregnant with twin girls when she got sick with an extremely aggressive leukemia. Her family was told to prepare for three funerals. A couple of days later, she went into labor. Her first daughter was stillborn, but her second daughter came out fighting. "I knew she would make it," the letter said, "And she has!" She included a picture of her daughter and wrote on the back of it, "This is Clara." I don't think there was a dry eye in the donor center when that letter was being read to me.

A few months later, in June, I was contacted by the NMDP asking if I would consent to donate for a third time. This is not common, and donors are under no obligation whatsoever to agree to further donations. For me, however, it was a no brainer: of course I would donate again! I had that baby's picture, and I knew she needed her mamma. That weekend, after the phone call asking me to donate again, I was at a party for a boy that I had taken care of since he was a baby. It was his 14th birthday/8th grade graduation/Confirmation party. Several of his dad's relatives drove in from Ohio. A couple of them were questioning me at length about my experience as a donor. I had finished telling them about the first donation when one of them asked me, "Was the transplant a success?" I told him that my recipient was just getting ready to go back her her job as a police officer when she got sick again. He and his wife exchanged a glance and he asked me if I knew who this person was. "No," I told him. "I'm not allowed to know. But when I pray for her, I pray for Clara's Mommy." His wife gasped and said, "Oh my God, that's Erin!!" It turns out, they knew my recipient!! I could not believe it, it seemed too surreal. In an even bigger coincidence, the very next day the Cleveland Plain Dealer was starting a six day, front page series of articles about Erin and her leukemia battle.

I got up super early the next morning and found the website for the Plain Dealer. I still didn't fully believe it. See, at that point, I thought I might not ever get to meet my recipient. Our one year marker was in October, but I was leaving the US in August to spend two years doing mission work abroad. I knew, since I'd been asked to consent to a third donation, that her chances at survival were not stellar. So when I found the first installment of the article series online and saw that all the details matched the details she had given me in her letters, I just bawled my eyes out. I immediately sent an email to the journalist. I think I wrote something along the lines of, "Please don't think I'm some internet psycho! I'm Erin Jones's stem cell donor. Can you please tell her thank you for the picture of Clara and that I'll write to her soon?" and I included my contact info. I got a phone call that night from a very excited journalist. She wanted to be absolutely sure I wasn't a prankster, so she asked me what gift I had sent with the first donation. (That hadn't been published yet!) I told her I sent Erin two pins...an angel and a bumblebee. She quickly asked me if I wanted to meet Erin. I absolutely did, but only if Erin also wanted to meet.

The next day, I got an email from Erin's husband. Just as I finished reading it, an IM window popped up...from them. Erin suddenly realized that she could call, too. "Wait" she wrote, "I can just call you right now!" and my phone rang minutes later. We made plans to meet just a couple of weeks later, after she and her family returned from a vacation.

What was it like to meet Erin in person?
It was incredible. I was so nervous, what if they didn't like me? I even called her before I drove down there to ask her what she was wearing so I wouldn't be over or under dressed! It was July 16, 2001...Clara's first birthday. I had no idea what to expect. There's no protocol for something like this, no script to follow or procedures to adhere to. It is just a lot of emotions. I spent the three hour drive going over the whole experience in my brain and trying to imagine what the rest of this day would be like. I was walking up the walk to Erin's parent's home when this petite dynamo of a woman threw the door open to greet me. Erin threw her arms around me and in that moment, the whole experience became suddenly, implausibly real. It's hard to explain. But suddenly, the person who I'd only imagined before was here, in front of me, hugging me and thanking me. I was still reeling from that when Erin's mother, Diane, hugged me. Meeting Erin made it all very very real for me. But meeting her mother put it all in a whole new perspective. Up until then, donating had seemed like such a small thing. And it really was a small thing...for ME. You don't have to do anything to be a donor...you just have to be the match. You can be a complete jerk of a person and still match someone, you know? Once you match, you just have to show up. You don't have to put any real effort into it other than laying there. So it felt like such a small thing to do. But when Diane wrapped her arms around me and began to sob, "Thank you. Thank you. Oh my God, Thank you." over and over, it made me realize: This was no small thing for them. This was everything to them. Erin wasn't just some random "30 year old woman with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia." She was a wife, a sister, a mother...but first, she was someone's daughter. Someone's beloved child who had almost died and by some biological coincidence cells from inside my body meant that she was alive that day. That was no "small thing" for her family.

Would you do it again?
I would do it again in a heartbeat, without question or hesitation. It is so very simple to do. You don't have to be good at anything. You don't have to have a special skill or talent or a certain level of education to be a marrow donor. All you have to do is be the match. Being a match is beyond our personal control, it's a biological coincidence. You match, you show up, and you lay there. It's really that easy and just a day or two of your time. But for someone else, it can be the difference between living or dying.



How has being a bone marrow donor changed you?
Being a marrow donor taught me that my existence on this earth has a purpose beyond my own corner of the world, beyond my own loved ones, beyond my own dreams and abilities...and that this is true of all of us. Regardless of beliefs, appearances, choices, circumstances...every person is valuable and has purpose simply because they exist.

Are you still involved in the bone marrow donor program?

Yes, I am still involved! I'm still in the registry as a potential donor, of course. Recently, the NMDP renamed the donor registry as Be The Match. I am an Ambassador of Hope volunteer with the Detroit branch of Be The Match and I am on the Leadership Committee. I help recruit and register new potential marrow donors at marrow drives in my area and I help out, when I can, in whatever ways they need. Recently, this gave me the chance to participate in a very special event: A first time meeting between a bone marrow transplant patient and his marrow donor! The donor traveled from Texas with his wife and three small children. Since I'm a professional nanny, I was asked if I could help watch the three children during the meeting and press conference. Since this was to happen during my normal work hours, I asked my employer if I could take my charges with me. She was completely supportive. I asked another nanny, April Krause, to come with me because I thought that six children ages 4 and under in an unfamiliar and not-child-friendly place might be a little crazy. We had a fantastic morning! I brought a bag of toys, books, crayons, paper, and snacks. The children were all fabulously behaved, we were even able to take all six of them into the press conference and keep them quiet and occupied. We got a lot of great compliments from the people who saw us with the children. It was fun to show off our nanny skills, and it was amazing to see another donor and recipient meet each other.

What is the need for marrow donors?
The need is great and constant. About 30% of patients who need a life saving marrow transplant will find a marrow match within their own families. The rest of them, about 6,000 people on any given day, have to rely on the hope that a complete stranger will be willing to give them this gift. My recipient had three siblings, but none of them was a match for her. There is an extra need for minority donors. Because a marrow match is a genetic type of matching, patients are most likely to find a match within their own cultural group.

Bone marrow transplants are not done lightly...if someone needs a transplant, it really is a matter of life or death for them.

What does someone need to do to become a donor?
They need to join the registry!! It's very easy to do and there are two ways to do it: online or at a marrow donor drive.

With both ways, there is a form to fill out. This will ask you who you are, how to contact you, and some secondary contact people. They ask for this information because once you join the registry you are on the list of potential donors until you turn 61 years old. Chances are, you might move or change contact information between now and then...but if you end up matching a patient, they need to reach you quickly! The form will also ask some basic health questions and some question about your cultural background. Once you've filled out and signed the form, the test is a simple cheek swab test. There are no needles involved! There are four swabs. You'll use two on each side of your mouth, swabbing the inside of your cheeks. It takes a few seconds and then you're done! You'll get a marrow donor card in the mail in about 4-6 weeks. Then, you just wait to be a match!

To order a kit online, you can go to http://www.bethematch.org/ . It costs $52 to order the kit. Some people balk at this, but please understand...it actually costs about double that to run the lab work and HLA typing to put someone on the registry. This is the ONLY time any donor or potential donor is asked to pay for anything. About once a year, if there is funding, the NMDP runs a massive nationwide donor drive. During those weeks, the kits are free.

If you prefer to register in person, you can keep an eye out for donor drives in your area. http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/Join_in_Person/index.html

I'm also VERY excited to announce that I'll have a table and registration kits available, free of charge, at Nannypalooza 2009!! Conference attendee's will be able to register in person that weekend thanks to the generosity of the Detroit area Be The Match program.

Important Links: (These are also linked within the story)

www.cleveland.com/erinsrace (whole article series about Erin)
http://www.cleveland.com/erinsrace/index.ssf?/erinsrace/more/erin7.html ( the article about meeting Erin)

Be The Match/National Marrow Donor Program
http://www.bethematch.org/ or http://www.marrow.org/

Nanny Support Group Tara founded
http://www.michiganpronannies.org/ (michigan professional nanny association)
News story about Texas man meeting his donor
http://www.karmanos.org/view_news.asp?id=631


Tara Lindsay has been taking care of other people's children for over 25 years. She attended Central Michigan University where she studied Special Education, Early Childhood and then pursued a degree in Public Health Education and Health Promotion. After finishing at CMU in 1996, Tara recognized her deep love for the work of nannying and chose to pursue it as a full time career. She has cared for children of all ages, stages, and developmental ability level as well as worked with a variety of family types.
From 2001-2003 Tara did mission work at an orphanage in the rural Honduras.
After she returned home to Michigan, she joyfully reentered the career she loves. Tara currently is a full time, live out nanny for an Oakland County family with a preschool age boy and toddler twin girls.
Tara is a co-founder and Co-Director of MPNA. In addition, she serves on the national Board of Directors for the Association of Professional Nannies and also answers questions on the websites "ASK NANNY". In her free time, Tara enjoys a variety of other volunteer activities, scrap booking, singing, sporting events, and social activities.