Bedford Resident Aims to Help Friend Through Hat-A-Thon

At 38, Tara Veit is a happily married mom of two young boys. She has a great job she loves, working full time at Nashua High School North as a guidance counselor.

She's typical of many women in her demographic, only instead of endless fussing over Christmas decorations and stealthy shopping trips to the mall this season, she's preoccupied with living each day to its fullest as she battles the cancer that invaded her body, and threatens to change everything.

She will face a double mastectomy sometime in the spring, and just found out through BRCA testing that she's genetically predisposed to ovarian cancer, so she will relinquish her ovaries and fallopian tubes to the disease, as well. Once the 20-week chemotherapy ends doctors will remove whatever's left of the tumor, along with her breasts, and the at-risk internal parts that define her womanhood.

She will sacrifice every defective piece in her quest to remain whole.

"After the mastectomy we'll have to do radiation, because the cancer is in my lymph nodes," said Veit.

The invading tumor started growing quickly within the last six months or so, a surprise attack out of seemingly nowhere. Her last mammogram a year ago looked good. But she's learned that variables, including the density of one's breast tissue, can render mammograms unreliable.

"Actually, I'd been getting regular mammograms because there's some family history there. I was due anyway, but I actually found the lump myself, while in the shower," Veit said.

After going from zero to stage-3 cancer in no time flat, losing her hair, and then finding out she'd be giving up her reproductive organs prematurely, Veit had to field another blow: Losing her income.

After four years, she doesn't have enough sick time to cover her for all the time she will need for treatment and recovery.

"There's a formula based on how many years I've been with the school and how much contribution I've made to the sick bank," said Veit. "I didn't fully understand that at first. I was under the impression I'd get the maximum benefit, which would've taken me through my chemo. But then I was informed that wasn't the case. We're a two-income family because we need two incomes, and my job provides our family insurance."

To maintain her family's insurance she will have to continue paying the premiums, even though she won't be collecting a paycheck.

Veit talks about her journey, so far, from a comfy spot on her living room couch, wrapped in a blaze-orange Harley-Davidson sweatshirt; her dog Bella is hovering. Her kids are out food shopping with her husband, Erick.

She is as hairless as she is full of hope. Her smile is genuine.

It's not that she doesn't fear the future; but she has everything to live for, and so she takes each day as it comes, finding comfort in the support of her extended family and the community of caring that has rallied around her in her time of need.

"I feel so overwhelmed, so grateful. People are so kind, planning fundraisers and helping out with Christmas," Veit said.

Some of those people include Carrie Beach of Bedford, a Nashua High School North science teacher, and Maureen O'Dea, director of guidance for both North and South high schools.

"We're looking into a spaghetti supper at each of the high schools, to be held the same night as our holiday concerts, which would be Dec. 14 at North and Dec. 21 at South," O'Dea said.

Students are also putting together gift baskets using donated gift cards and items from local businesses. There are bake sales in the works, and "Denim Day" for faculty this Friday, which will cost them $5 to be able to dress down for the day.

However, the biggest undertaking is a crafty Hat-A-Thon, being organized under the direction of Beach, who has mobilized a growing army of student and faculty knitters, crocheters and stitchers of various skill levels who are going to create as many winter hats as humanly possible between now and the end of January.

Of course, it wouldn't be half the fun without the added challenge that a majority of volunteer knitters don't have any skills yet.

"Right now the plan is to start the Hat-a-Thon during the last week of January  with teaching sessions for the first three weeks of January. I haven't set up a teaching schedule at this point, but will have that done before we leave for Christmas vacation. I am thinking we will do teaching sessions at least once a week up until we start," Beach said.

All she needs are volunteers with mad needle skills.

"Once we get everyone knitting, I think we'll be on our way. You can knock out a knit hat in a day. And these fleece hats take about 30 minutes," she said, pointing to a small pile of hats already sewn and donated to the cause.

In addition to knitting instructors, they also are looking for donations of yarn and fleece.

"I guess if people want to donate money we can use our teacher discounts to buy yarn at different craft stores in Nashua," Beach said.

Several school clubs, including the Science, Interact and Spanish honor societies have stepped up to learn.

The idea of the fundraiser is to produce as many hats as possible – some to gift to Veit – but mostly to be sold at both high school stores. Knitters will get people to pledge so much per hat knitted, like a walk-a-thon, without the walking.

Hats not sold will be donated to the Dana Farber Cancer Center, where Veit is receiving her chemotherapy.

Word is circulating around both high schools, prompting an interesting email yesterday from Cynthia Taibbi, a marketing teacher and DECA advisor from Nashua South high school, who contacted Beach to tell her she is volunteering to learn to knit hats that she'll happily sell at the school store.

Even more exciting, Beach said, is an idea that Taibbi's students came up with, a project they have named "Gifts of Giving," which would work sort of like Heifer International, Nashua style.

"It is an alternative to gift giving that offers a symbolic value to the recipient and benefits a local, meaningful cause at the same time," wrote Taibbi, whose students have already partnered with seven local non-profits to make the biggest impact on the area, and are ready to roll with a card created just for the cause, that would sell for $5, with money raised going back to Veit.

Also in the works: Art teacher Erin Knoetig said her students are pitching in with a pottery fundraiser. Faculty members are planning a Lia Sophia jewelry fundraiser, a used book drive and raffling off holiday items, such as "Nutcracker" tickets. There are also "Team Tara" T-shirts and awareness bracelets.

The entire school community wants to help Veit's family bridge the financial gap so that she can continue with her treatment and recover fully, O'Dea said.

"We found out on a Thursday that her paychecks were stopping the following Tuesday, so we passed a hat around and raised $1,300 that day," O'Dea said. "Our track teams each donated $500 they raised from the Turkey Trot – and we were so happy when Tara showed up for that. She managed to stay for half of the Thanksgiving Day football game before she had to leave. But it was great to see her there."

Veit said there is no way to properly thank her friends and family – and those she's never even met – for the outpouring, or express what it all means to her, especially as Christmas closes in.

"My husband and kids went to get the tree without me this year. As a mom, it's hard to let go of things like that. You somehow feel like you have to do everything yourself, but they did fine," she said, glancing over at the fat, undressed tree standing in front of their picture window, waiting for decorations. 

"I feel best on Mondays. After that, it's hard. I try to rest up for when the kids come home. They know I'm sick. They know I have cancer, but nobody has said to them what the worst thing is that could happen. This week it was pretty bad, and so I think they are starting to see what it all means," Veit said.

How to Help: Donations of supplies for spaghetti dinners or items for gift baskets can be brought to Nashua High School North, 10 Chuck Durning Drive, Nashua. Information or questions: e-mail Maureen O'Dea at odeam@nashua.edu. To participate in the Hat-a-Thon as a volunteer knitting or crocheting instructor, or to donate yarn or fleece, contact Carrie Beach at BeachC@nashua.edu.