Making It Possible #16 – Tara Wasylyshyn
Hi everyone, my name is Tara Wasylyshyn, and I’m here to share my story with you. I’m 57 years old with 2 grown boys and have been with the love of my life for only 12 years. We had plans of growing old together, but unfortunately, I started getting sick in March of 2025.
A little bit about who I was before my life was turned upside down. I became a mother at the young age of 20, and was married in 1993, the same year my 2nd son was born. We separated by 1995, that’s the year I started working full-time in the construction industry as a Traffic Controller. I worked and raised my boys with the loving help of my parents for the next 18 years. I suffered a major shoulder injury, which ended the career I loved. It took 4 years to recover, and I started working as a cook in rig camps. Then I broke that same shoulder, and during the healing process, I met Matt.
After many years together, at the beginning of Spring 2025, I noticed weakness and cramping in my right hand. Then by the end of spring, my voice started to change. To my dismay, Matt really thought I was day drinking and drunk by the time he got home from work. I finally went to my family doctor, who sent me to a throat doctor, who then sent me to a throat specialist. I was thinking it could be throat cancer by then. When that was negative, she sent me to see a Nervologist. By fall, my voice had changed so much that it was unrecognizable. August 26th 2025, was the day I met with the Nervologist, after looking down my throat and tapping away on nerve endings, the head doctor was called in, and he performed even more tests. It was then that he took me into a side room. I was alone and now scared. He walked in, and just the look on his face made me start crying. This was the day I had answers, and not a good one. When “ALS” and going to an ALS clinic came out of his mouth, something broke inside of me… all alone and having to go home and tell my family was the hardest thing in my life to do.
In October, Matt and my Mom joined me for my first all-day meeting with my ALS team. It was so overwhelming. They came and went with different advice for the different ailments that are part of this disease. Then they suggested that I contact the ALS Society of Alberta. They said that they “help” people in my state.
The day I contacted them, it was the best decision I ever made.
The ALS Society of Alberta is so much more than just a Society. They have been with me every step of the way in my progression. They call me just to check and see how we’re doing. Offering advice on equipment I didn’t know I’d need. Providing all my equipment plus daily things that make my life easier. As I’m progressing quicker than I thought I would, they have made our lives livable at home. Addressing all needs so I can go about my life in a comfortable manner.
Our best wishes to all, Tara & Matt
