For NE woman,
one tough life to live

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Back in 1995, things were going well for Theresa Taggart.
The young woman was a recent Archbishop Ryan High School graduate and planned to attend Community College of Philadelphia’s Northeast campus for two years, then transfer her credits to a four-year college to pursue a degree in communications.
"She was going to start college in September after graduating," said her mom, Bernadette. "But she got sick that August."
Theresa, now 30, has been suffering with a severe, life-threatening case of Crohn’s disease since she was 18. The disease is a chronic inflammation of the digestive tract, especially the lower small intestine and colon.
Since her diagnosis, she has undergone 27 surgeries, endured prolonged hospital stays and been given some dire prognoses.
Since April 18, 2005, Theresa has been in a hospital and been fed intravenously. She spent two years at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania before being transferred in April to Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
There, she had lengthy surgeries to remove her bowel, small intestine and colon. She remains in the hospital awaiting transplants for all three of those body parts, along with her stomach and pancreas.
"She’s going through so much, you can’t imagine," her mom said. "It’s terrible."
Bernadette Taggart works at a Center City pharmacy during the week and spends weekends in the hospital with her daughter. Mike Taggart, Bernadette’s husband and Theresa’s dad, is retired and spends all of his time at the hospital.
To help pay for the Taggarts’ expenses, the family will hold a beef ’n’ beer event on Saturday, Aug. 11, at Finnigan’s Wake. Money will be raised through ticket sales, a Chinese auction, raffles and a 50/50.
The response from relatives, friends and strangers has been great.
"I am so grateful," said Bernadette Taggart, who will be at the event with her husband. "I am so overwhelmed. It’s fantastic what my family is doing."
Theresa, who has two older brothers, lives with her parents on Linden Avenue in Torresdale when she’s not in the hospital. She attended St. Katherine of Siena before Archbishop Ryan and was a healthy girl.
Since her illness, though, she hasn’t had too many extended periods of good health, although her pain was in remission for much of 2003 and ’04.
Besides her own medical problems, Theresa has watched other members of her family suffer. Her dad is out of work on disability, and her mom is a breast cancer survivor. Two of her young nephews died, and another suffered brain damage in a fall from the top of a sliding board.
The adversity has brought the family closer in some ways.
Mike and Bernadette Taggart spent every day — Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays — with their daughter when she was a patient at HUP. For her 30th birthday last Nov. 15, her parents and extended family treated her to cake, the only food she’s eaten in more than two years. She can put ice in her mouth but can’t swallow it.
The transfer to Georgetown University Hospital, which is better able to treat Theresa’s specific diagnosis, was supposed to be for just 10 to 14 days.
"She’s too sick for them to send her home," her mom said.
Bernadette Taggart works during the week, and her husband drives her to D.C. on Fridays and returns her to Philadelphia on Sundays, then drives back to the hospital. They stay in the same room as their daughter.
Though it’s a burden on them, the Taggarts know their daughter is going through a lot worse.
"She has her good days and her bad days," her mom said.
Sometimes, Theresa is happy and sometimes she cries, wondering why she has to go through so much agony. She really misses Roxy, the half-German shepherd, half-Labrador retriever she received as a 21st birthday present.
"I tell her, ‘You’re a strong girl, you’re a fighter. With everything you’ve gone through, don’t give up now,’ " her mom said.
Today, Theresa awaits skin grafting and a stronger bladder and stomach before the transplants.
"She’s just a great girl," her mom said. "We’re hoping there’s a happy ending out of all this." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com

How to help Theresa . . .

The beef ’n’ beer benefit for Theresa Taggart will take place on Saturday, Aug. 11, from 6 to 10 p.m., at Finnigan’s Wake, at Third and Spring Garden streets. A disc jockey and the band Fat City Reprise will entertain. Tickets cost $30.
To make a donation, send checks to the Theresa Taggart Fund, Citizens Bank, 1101 White Horse Road, Voorhees, NJ 08043.
For more information on Theresa’s story, visit http://theresataggart.org