Standing tall for the Wold family and impacting the world at the same time

It is said it takes a village to raise a child. The saying embodies a true sense of community where neighbours support neighbours and residents rally around each other to offer help when someone is in need. On Friday, January 25 at the AJMC and Saturday, January 26 at the Scott Safety Centre, the community came out in droves to help support a local family still reeling from a life-changing diagnosis.

A few months ago, Taryn Wold was living life to the fullest as a new mom to her son Bennett, first year married to her love James, beloved teacher at Percy Baxter, and proud stepmom to two hockey-loving kids, Tristan and Kayden. Suddenly, life threw her a curveball and landed a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) at her feet. The pre-leukemia disease is very rare in individuals under the age of 60 so you can imagine the shock that 33-year-old Wold felt when the news was given to her.

MDS is a bone marrow cancer where the marrow does not produce enough normal red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets. As she learned more about her new reality it became apparent that she would need a stem cell transplant in order to give her body the best chance to kick cancer’s butt. The first place to look for a stem cell match is within your own family, but the Wolds were unable to find one. This meant she would have to lean on others to find the match she so desperately requires.

Staff at Alberta Newsprint Company (ANC) where her husband James works jumped in to help put together a two-day stem cell drive to encourage as many new donors as possible to sign up and, hopefully, find a match for Taryn. Day one took place at the Allan & Jean Millar Centre and day two took place during the Wolverines game at the Scott Safety Centre.

Males between the ages of 17 and 35 were asked to come down, swab their mouths, and enter the international OneMatch (www.onematch.ca) database of 23 million members who joined in hopes that one day they might be able to save someone’s life. Male stem cell donors are more likely to be matched with recipients because they offer better patient outcomes after transplant. In fact, half of all matched stem cell donors in Canada last year came from young male donors.

“You may never get a call but the more we have on the list then the better chance we have for anybody to be a donor. You aren’t specifically donating to Taryn, either. You just get put on the list and then if you are a potential match you might end up getting a phone call down the road,” explained Heidi Bilau, a close friend of the Wolds who volunteered at the events.

“She’s an awesome person and is so friendly. She loves her job and is great with the kids. She’s an amazing mom and stepmom and they love her very much. She has a ton of support. Anything that we can do, we’re here.” The community support has been otherworldly as people have stepped forward to do what they can.

“It’s amazing. The kids are in hockey, so the hockey community has been so strong and a big support for them. They’ve had multiple fundraisers. We started the GoFundMe, we are doing this stem cell drive, and there is a group that does meals for them.” Once a stem cell match is found, Wold will need to be in Calgary for a minimum of three to four months to receive the transplant. That time away from home will be a source of stress and Bilau said everyone is working hard to help relieve as much of that stress as possible.

“She’s a very strong person. I think she’s been very fortunate to have all the support she has with everyone backing her and telling her she can do this. She’s always in good spirits and has such a big smile,” said Bilau. Anyone who has met Taryn can speak to the enormity of her smile and even with a face mask on, to protect her from germs, her smile was evident through her twinkling eyes.

In trying to find herself a match, Wold just might help countless others around the world by encouraging so many people to become donors. That realization is not lost on anyone. “The more people we get on the list then the more people we can potentially help, not just Taryn but anybody. This goes into a worldwide database so you could potentially help someone across the world. It’s pretty incredible.”

In her own words, Wold said the experience has taught her so much already. “It’s been pretty amazing to see the support. I know initially when I was diagnosed, a lot of people asked how they could help me. When I talked about going into the registry as a donor, they asked how they could specifically help me, but you have to just be willing to enter the bank and help if need be.”

She said taking each day one at a time is important. “I think when something like this happens you always say, how could this happen to me, especially in my case with it being kind of a rare situation. Now that I’m going through it, I’ve met so many people who have had the same question and I’m learning through them just how important it is to help others even if you dont know them.”

Hope is a big part of riding out storms and the Wold family has it in spades. “Right now, we are looking at two potential matches for myself and I probably have no idea who they are. Hopefully, one day, if they save my life, that I can meet them and say thank you. They are healthy and young and willing to help save somebody’s life and that’s pretty amazing,” said Wold.

Along with his mom’s bright smile, Bennett was a big attraction for everyone who attended the drive. He soaked up as many cuddles as he could and provided a lot of positivity in a serious situation. “He’s doing so good and is a real lady’s man down here,” laughed Wold. “He’s keeping a smile on all our faces.”

To help the Wold family, visit www.gofundme.com and type “Wold Family” into the search bar. You can also contact Al’s Sports Quest.

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