Tamara Verheul (31) from Rijsenhout, a teacher through and through, is seriously ill. Yet she remains committed to her students. Now that she urgently needs help herself, her aunt has started a fundraising campaign. The goal: a very expensive device that can alleviate her suffering.
Photo: Tamara Verheul – Tamara Verheul
Tamara Verheul entered her old classroom at the beginning of this year. A child with Down syndrome looked at her and a smile appeared on her face. “Miss Tamara,” she called.
“I found that so confrontational,” Tamara tells NH. She didn’t expect anyone to recognize her at all. The girl had not seen her for six years, and in all those years Tamara had changed quite a bit. Due to her illness – which started eight years ago – and the medication she takes, her body and face are swollen. “When I look in the mirror, I am no longer who I was.”
Soldiers in your blood
Tamara has systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease about which – to Tamara’s sadness – little is known. “I always explain it to my children like this,” she says. “You all have soldiers in your blood. Normally they attack the bad guys, such as viruses and bacteria, but now they also attack the good soldiers. That makes me sick.”
“I just miss it so much”
Tamara Verheul
Pain, fatigue and flu symptoms are the rule rather than the exception for her. “I will never be cured,” she says. “But in most people it does become more stable due to the medicines.” However, no medicine works for Tamara. “I’ve tried everything.”
Text continues below the three photos of Tamara, which clearly show how her appearance has changed over the years.
Tamara Verheul
Tamara Verheul
Tamara Verheul
Tamara Verheul
Tamara Verheul
Tamara Verheul
Despite the inflammation in her body, Tamara continued to fight: she obtained her teacher training diploma in the hospital and only stopped as a teacher this school year. “I wanted to come back every time, against my better judgment,” says Tamara. The tremor can be heard in her voice. “I am a teacher through and through. I just miss it so much. It is no longer feasible. What hurts me most is that I can no longer do that.”
“She was there for the children one thousand percent”
Manon de Bruijn, teacher at OBS de Wilgenhoek in Haarlem
Manon de Bruijn, teacher at OBS de Wilgenhoek in Haarlem, was able to experience Tamara up close as a teacher. “Every school year she was out for a while because she was in the hospital,” she says. “She is such a fighter. She would do anything for the school and the children. She was there for the children one thousand percent. During her weekends and evenings she was still busy with the class.”
It is not yet possible to really let go. Tamara previously taught at the Van Voorthuijsenschool in Haarlem, a primary school that provides special education. She often volunteers to help. “Being a teacher is something you can do and you can’t get rid of it anymore. If it’s even possible for a while, I try to help there.”
The video below shows how Tamara has changed in recent years due to her illness.
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Last month a bright spot came into Tamara’s life. She visited her aunt in America who treats people with fluid retention. The device she uses for this is called Deep Oscillation Evident. The vibrations of the device cause the valves of the vessels in Tamara’s body to open. This allows it to drain moisture.
Painless movement
“I did that for two weeks, half an hour per leg.” After two to three days she noticed a big difference: her legs had become a lot thinner. “I had never been able to move without pain in eight years, but then I was able to walk normally again and no longer needed my wheelchair.”
Fundraiser
She has now been home for almost a week and is having difficulty walking again. “As an aunt, I have often stood by her hospital bed,” says Yvonne Prevoo, her aunt. “That’s awful.” She started an action, raising 12,000 euros to purchase this device. “I pass it on and hope that others will buy it. She simply deserves it.”
Almost five thousand euros have already been raised within four days. “It goes very quickly, really bizarre,” says Tamara. “I never expected that. I don’t know some people, I find that very special.”
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2023-10-07 05:02:11
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