Stay Tough for Tiff
Come join us for a buffet dinner. Enjoy the sounds brought to you by a highly recognized New England area band; Wayz and Means, and share some laughs with comedian Nick Albanese. There will also be a chance to win raffels and prizes.
To learn more about the cause, read below.
WHEN THE GOING GETS ROUGH: ONE WOMAN LEARNS ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT STAYING TOUGH
NEW BEDFORD, MA - Tiffanny DeBarros, a long life resident of the city of New Bedford knows all too well how to face challenges and fight her way through life. Born premature and with Cerebral Palsy; she quickly learned how to jump through the hoops, and climb the mountains that are often placed in front of youngsters with disabilities. Although, she may have been lacking the physical strength had by her peers, this is when her emotional strength and will to persevere stood out the most. Some would say she is stubborn and hard headed, but Tiffanny likes to see her self as someone who is determined to not settle for less than her worth.
Not only did she go on to graduate from New Bedford Voc in the top twenty percent of her class, she now holds a Masters in Counseling from the University of Connecticut. Obtaining these accomplishments were by no means “easy” and there were various obstacles at that time in her life also, but yet again Tiffanny chose not to let people, things and circumstances stand in her way.
Upon graduation this past May; Tiffanny had planned to enter a career working in urban education as a School Counselor, serving students K-12. Accepting of the fact that things don’t always go according to plan; but never expecting that she would soon be face to face with an additional life altering health condition even with knowing she had spent the previous seven years battling with bouts of health issues. Tiffanny always found herself dealing with doctors who would only treat the symptom and never determine a cause. Despite the obvious physical symptoms and occasional clinical abnormalities, various doctors continuously attempted to diagnose her with over eating, depression, PTSD and the latest, Conversion Disorder. Even after all she had already endured in her life; it was at this point that Tiffanny felt defeated and powerless. In her mind, after seven years there was no way she was going to be able to convince doctors to “think outside of the box”, take her seriously and realize all she has been experiencing was by no means related to a psychiatric disorder.
At the point of complete decline; having spent three months in hospitals, rehabs, and nursing homes it is not known what is more challenging; the increase in physical limitations she is now dealing with, or being viewed as a hypochondriac, experiencing self-limiting and psychosomatic behavior. Regardless, even if it takes all she has on a given day Tifffanny tries to find humor and optimism in some of the darkest of situations. This is a point in life where she became most in touch with her spiritual beliefs, she decided to accept she could not force people and doctors to see things for what they were; but the power of spirituality would soon end this chaos and lead her to a doctor that could set her free.
Seven years, twenty-three specialist and nearly fifty hospital emergency room visits later; it has been determined that Tiffanny has cyclic Cushing's disease; which has run havoc through her entire body all these years. In addition she is now undergoing a series of different evaluations to determine the possibility of Carcinoid; which is neuroendocrine cancer.
Reaching this point would have not come to if Tiffanny did not have such a strong will and remained persistent about what she knew was not right with her body. Regardless of the final outcome of all this she considers herself still very fortunate to have the ability to fight these battles before they become wars. However she still struggles because not even the life long diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy has literally knocked her off her feet like this before.
Prior to this drastic decline Tiffanny was residing in Hartford Connecticut independently and did more than most will ever be able to fathom. Even participating in five mile walk a thons, and relays to give back to her community. There truly was no stopping her. Even on some of her most challenging days she did what she had to do, and did it with a smile on her face.Tiffanny decided to share her story with us for a number of different reasons. She believes by doing so it will encourage others to challenge their obstacles, fight their battles head on, and even in the most trying of situations never forget the power of their own voice. She said: “I am certain I am experiencing all of what is in front of me, so I can have something worthy writing about, and leave my story of positivity, persistence, perseverance for others to learn from. After all, I am an educator. I may not be in my ideal role as a counselor at the moment, but I am confident that my story will reach, teach and impact the lives of many."
She also hopes to raise the level of awareness surrounding neuroendocrine diseases, and also rally her community for support, as taking on this additional diagnosis has presented her with new and increasing needs. Not only does her permanent residence require accessibility modifications for functioning at wheelchair level, but also there are unforeseen financial challenges.
Friends and family of Tiffanny are working hard to collect donations and plan a fundraising event to help someone who would be the first to help others when faced with a similar situation. We thank you for taking the time to read this story and are very appreciative of any efforts made to support the cause.
Sincere Thanks,
Friends and Family of Tiffanny