Tee It Up for Terra scheduled for Oct. 31
Keri Henry of Enola stays in her daughter’s hospital room 24 hours a day, praying she’ll get strong enough for surgery for a rare neurological disease.
Terra Tate, 19, of Enola was diagnosed in September with Moyamoya disease, in which arteries are blocked in the brain. The disease has caused her to have a series of mini strokes and seizures; she was also diagnosed with lupus.
Although she improved for a while, Henry said her daughter was admitted to the hospital in August, was released and underwent rehabilitation, then was readmitted in September.
Doctors determined that Tate is having strokes on both sides of her brain, Henry said.
“It is a mother’s worst nightmare, seeing her baby go through what she has gone through,” Henry said. An employee of Bob Courtway Middle School in Conway, th single mother has been on leave since Sept. 21 to be with her daughter, who is in the neurosurgical intensive-care unit of CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock. Most recently, Tate had a collapsed lung.
Doctors are waiting for Tate to get stronger, Henry said, before performing the brain surgery she needs. Henry said the doctors have told her “the success rate is almost 100 percent.”
Although Tate can still speak,
doctors are keeping her sedated, her mother said.
Tate was a popular student and softball player at Mount Vernon-Enola High School, where she graduated with honors in 2014. She started experiencing symptoms of the disease, including numbness in an arm and trouble walking, when she was a senior in high school.
Her dream is to become a nurse, and she enrolled in 2014 for the fall semester at Arkansas State University-Beebe. In the spring, she took a semester, but this fall, for the second time, she had to put her education on hold because of her illness, Henry said.
To help defray the cost of medical bills and costs associated with Tate’s care, a golf tournament has been organized again this year by family friends.
The second annual Tee It Up for Terra four-man scramble golf tournament will be held Oct. 31 at Greystone Country Club in Cabot. Registration will be at 7:30 a.m., with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. The cost is $75 per person, which includes the green fee, a cart and lunch. Preregistration is available until Wednesday.
Tracie Leggett of Mount Vernon, whose daughter, Kendall, graduated with Tate, is coordinating the tournament this year.
Leggett said Tate is known for her “beautiful, long red hair and great big smile.”
She also used the words “sweet, gentle, compassionate, outgoing” to describe Tate.
“She’s a gem; she really, really is,” Leggett said. “She’s one, if people reflect on high school — somebody who was really a jewel and would be by your side for anything.”
Last year’s tournament was organized primarily by Leggett’s daughter, Kendall.
“Greystone said it was the best tournament they’d ever had,” Leggett said. Kendall is attending the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. “She’s my consultant this year,” Leggett said.
Leggett said 12 teams have signed up for the tournament to date, and more slots are open. She said there are several ways people can contribute to make the event a success. Hole sponsorships are still available, she said. They start at the bronze level for $100 and go to platinum for $500. Businesses will have their names displayed at the holes.
Donations of snacks and
drinks are also needed, she said. “If someone wanted to donate or sponsor the food, that is a big thing.”
Long-sleeved T-shirts are available for $20. The deadline to order is Oct. 25, and a “limited supply” will be on hand the day of the tournament, Leggett said.
The silent auction will include gift certificates for massages, restaurant gift cards, tools and much more, she said.
Prizes will be awarded for competitions during the tournament, including the longest drive and a putting contest. Leggett said the prizes include several rounds of free golf at courses throughout central Arkansas.
To sign up and field a team in the tournament, sponsor a hole, make a donation or order a T-shirt, contact Tracie Leggett
at (501) 681-5400, or Kendall Leggett at (501) 499-1194.
Donations can also be made to Centennial Bank in Conway under the account “Tracie Leggett for Terra Tate.”
Henry said she is optimistic that her daughter will soon be strong enough for surgery and will make a full recovery.
“She’ll have to learn how to walk and use her muscles again, Henry said.
Tate was also optimistic in an interview last year in the
River Valley & Ozark Edition.
“I’m hopeful. Every day’s a new day,” she said.
Henry said both she and her daughter are thankful for the support from “numerous, numerous friends and family.”