Something Was Wrong - S2 E1: She Had the Medical Mind

Episode Date: August 16, 2019

Tee befriends Sylvia and feels compelled to help her. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to something was wrong early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. I'm Candace DeLong and on my new podcast, Killer Psychy Daily, I share a quick 10 minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the cold-butter killers you read about in the news. Listen to the Amazon Music Exclusive Podcast, Killer Psychie Daily, and the Amazon Music App. Download the app today! This podcast is intended for mature audiences and could be triggering to some. Please use

discretion when listening. I first started messaging with T during season one of this podcast, and I was instantly intrigued and horrified by her story. There are so many unique facets to the story that still perplex me even months later. This story is hard to believe that it's even real and yet it is. While very different than Sarah's experience from season one, at times there are many of the same emotions. The deception that Tee, her family and co-workers experienced is traumatizing, baffling, and disturbing. I'm Tiffany Reese, and this is Something was Wrong. By a strange twist of fate, Tee also lives close to me, so I was able to meet and interview

her in person. She welcomed me inside her home with open arms this past July, and I was immediately blown away by how cool her house is. It's filled with eclectic artwork and antiques, and most importantly, lots of animals. In fact throughout this season, you will hear some adorable light background sounds of set animals, panting, barking, you know, you get the gist. That's just Beaumont and Lily teased to giant great Pyrenees dogs and her daughter's cat Jorge. They also have 35 koi fish. My name is T. I live in Northern California. I work at a veterinary hospital for 18

years now and I'm originally from Oklahoma so I met my husband when I was in high school 16 years old and got married at 19. I ran away to California and that's how I ended up in California and then we got married and then yeah I've been in here ever since, and I love California. I absolutely love it, compared to Oklahoma City. It's hot and flat, and I find that people are quite as hippy-dippy and open, and I'm a hippy at heart, so I really like the live-and-let-live, and people love who they want to love, and be who you you are. I'm a little eclectic myself so I like that in people and I like fitting in and northern California is

really accepting of everybody I feel like so I love it here. Tea lives with her husband Kurt whom she fell in love with back in high school. Together they made Sarah which they both agree is the best thing that they've ever done together as a couple. In order to better understand who T is, I asked her friends and family to describe her as a person. Please note some of the names in this story have been changed for anonymity purposes. She's my favorite person in the whole world. She just lights up a room. That's Jen, Tes friend and coworker of many years. Super bubbly and happy and positive. She's the type of person that strangers

just kind of gravitate towards to and just want to talk to her and tell them their story. You know, she's just a random person, but strangers just love her. Here's Tees's daughter, Sarah. I really say if you met one of us, you've met both of us. Very centric and outgoing and confident, Carrie. She's very caring and motherly. That's why she's got her nickname.

This is Kurt, T's husband. It's Mama Bear. If you know, you know, Mama's in your past. She come across these people. They gather everyone around. I mean, you know, mom was in your past. She came across these people and they gather everyone around. I mean, when we were together early in our relationship, she's out here with no family. My family is a lot here. She arranged all the family gatherings. The camping trips, she would make the reservations a lot of stuff. So she's not there. She's got everything together. She did that for anybody. Very caring and she has always attracted people who will steal her soul. So I have an awesome job. I actually still love my job. I've been there 18 years. My boss is the doctor. He owns the practice there. He is my best friend.

I stood up for him at his wedding. I was made a boner for his wife and he is a very interesting person. He is very zen. He is very positive. He's never negative. He always listens and you know I can be a little much sometimes and he will walk me off the wall Which is interesting to have that as your boss. He is my boss, but he's also my family I did have a refer relationship with my family and my parents and so I made my own family when I came out here And he is definitely my family and his wife is definitely my family and So he's always been there for me. We had children that were the same age and teenagers, and they go through a lot.

And so we really, you know, he would help me talk it out if I was having a problem, but it's a small animal hospital. And it was busy. He was my doctor before I started working there. I would take my animals there. And one day I walked in the door to get some medication for my dog. And he's like, hey, I was just thinking about you

and I go, what were you thinking? He goes, oh, my receptionist is leaving. You want a job? And I was like, no, not really. I'm really enjoying what I'm doing now. And he goes, oh, come on. And I was like, are you looking for full-time part-time? And he's like full-time. And I go, ah, come on, I was like, are you looking for full time, part time? And he's like, full time and I go,

well, I can give you maybe part time. He goes, all right, call the practice manager tomorrow and set up your training. Never happens, like that, how weird is that? And then I call the practice manager the next day and she was like, huh? What? He did what? Oh, oh, okay, well, let's, uh,

I guess you can start after the 4th of July, and so I did. I had no experience, I just, which is unheard of. I mean, I ended up becoming the human resources director there, and doing all the hiring and firing, and I would never hire someone who had zero, like, I don't, it just worked out. It was just a really weird thing and it worked out and I was really good at my job and the hospital was super cool. It was already established when he bought it. It was small, we had two exam rooms, we're always busy.

He's a scientist too, so he likes explaining and teaching. And so I was very fascinated with like surgeries and he's a very good teacher, like talk to you and tell you, okay, so I'm doing this I'm doing that and my family my husband's like you're never gonna be able to do that that's gonna you're that's gonna gross you out you passed out when you get blood but nope turns out I really dig all that and it's really a great job so fun. We've been there are bad days definitely when you have to lose an animal or put an animal down. Sometimes I'll up myself in the bathroom and cry. Sometimes I'll up myself in the bathroom and

I'll call my husband and go, oh did you lose a patient? And sometimes it really rips your heart out. The veterinary field is very hard. It has one of the highest suicide rates of any profession, but it's also very rewarding and I feel like I have a gift to comfort people at that time, which I did not think I had that gift, but I do. At the time of this story, the clinic was fairly small and very close-knit, much more like a work family than a group of co-workers. At this veterinary office, T first met Sylvia. Where we are located, there's a pet store right down the street and a reptile store right down the street and he met her at one of those places. We did well checks for the

animals at those places so he would go to those pet stores and check out their puppies and kittens, make sure they were healthy enough for sale or if they had somebody sick. So we did business with those places. He met her there. He said, hey, you know, I need an animal care attendant. Would you be interested in she was like, Yeah, he goes, Well, come on down for an interview sometime. So she came down. And this is like 2002. She did an interview. Very beautiful, vibrant, bright, brilliant young woman. Very full of life and educated, although she's only very young. She was not that educated, she was 22, you can't be that educated, 22. But she came on board and she started as an animal carrot in it, which is cleaning the chemicals out of veterinary hospital, walking the dogs, changing litter boxes,

keeping the lab area in the back of a hospital plane. She was very good at it, very energetic, she had a good work ethic, very hard worker, and I didn't immediately, like she was just a co-worker, and she worked in the back half of the hospital, and I worked in the front half of the hospital, so I would see her, but I didn't work side by side right then. I remember going out to my car one day and she was going out to her car that was the first time I really talked to her and I'm like hey I'm just curious like you know are you married? Do you have kids like you know and she goes actually I have five children and I was like what? What are you like 18 years old like she looked even younger than she was. She was no I can't remember if she was just 21 or 22, but she said, yeah, I'm married and I married someone who has three kids.

And then I have two kids. I go, you have two kids, she goes, yeah, I was a teen mom. I had my daughter at like 16 and then I had my son at like 18, 19. So she had two children fairly close together. And she, when she said, yeah, when I had my daughter, I got my own place. And I was, you know, the man's paid it. I just, you know, I did my own thing. And then I was intrigued by her.

So when I first met Sylvia, she was just really deemed kind. That's Jen, T's friend and coworker. And caring and compassionate. She really kind of took me under her wing and wanted me to learn the job well. She always had a smile on her face and she was kind and caring and people always opened up to her. First real memory I have of sitting down and having conversation.

This is Kurt, Tee's husband. Was we met at a restaurant. It was one of the functions, it was a work function. Okay, so we sat at the bar and she was there and she's dressed in black and she had a look about her, you know, which was interesting. You could have conversation, but not didn't exude anything one way or the other. Nothing negative. So no, I just thought she was cool, cool chick.

Shortly after she started working there, I would say within like three months. I believe those are her husband that called us and said she was super sick. She got West Nile virus. What? That's crazy. And her mom lived in Canada. And I remember her mom was going to have gonna fly out and help take care of her. And she was gone for several weeks with this, and it was very odd.

According to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, West Nile Virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the continental United States. It is most commonly spread to people by the bite of an infected mosquito, about one in five people who are infected, develop a fever and other symptoms.

About one out of 150 people infected, develop a serious sometimes fatal illness. And then after that, she came to work and a few months maybe went by and she came in with a black eye. And I was like, hey, you know, dude, what's going on? And why do you have black eye? And she's like, yeah, my husband threw something at me

we were in a fight, we're not getting along well. And I was like, whoa, that's not okay. And she's like, I know. And then she was coming to work and you could tell that something was wrong. She was arguing with her husband a lot. She wasn't getting along arguing with her husband a lot. She wasn't getting along with her husband. If you're into true crime, the Generation Y podcast is essential listening.

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diving deep into forensic evidence, and interviewing those close to the case. And with over 450 episodes, there's a little something for every true crime listener. Follow the Generation Y Podcasts on Amazon Music, or every Listen to Podcasts, or you can listen ad-free by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app. And then she came to work, and this was within six months of her starting there. And she said, I went to the doctor, I found out I have cancer. I remember her pulling me into one of the exam rooms to tell me personally and privately, I'm the mom of air at the hospital, I take care of everybody, and I had already established

that kind of relationship with her as well. Although at that time we weren't like having dinner together or hanging out, but she pulled me into an exam room and she said, I have cancer and it's bad, it's a varying cancer. And at the time I'd only known one other person that had ovarian cancer and it was actually a coworker of ours, mom had ovarian cancer and her belly belly swelled up really big and she died within four months of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. So when she said ovarian cancer, instantly my heart went to my stomach and I was just sick to my stomach and I remember not processing it right then like I just couldn't process that. That was too much for me. I was just like, oh. So then you research it, you go home,

and you research it a little. Ovarian cancer, what does that look like? Like what does that mean? Like I don't even know what that means. And the research I did on it said that one in four women lived four years. So four women that have ovarian cancer, only one make it to four years.

The other three have died. It's not a good survival rate, especially in 2002. The statistics may be different right now. I don't know. I hope I never have to find out what the statistics are anymore. But back then, that was the actual statistics. One in four women will make it to four years, and nobody makes them past four years. Pretty much.

Very rare. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are over 22,000 cases of ovarian cancer, and over 14,000 deaths from the condition each year. The vast majority of cases are found at stage three or later, meaning the cancer has spread beyond the pelvis or to the lymph nodes. About 1.3% of women will be diagnosed with cancer of the ovary at some point in life.

Thus, it is relatively rare. The median age of diagnosis is 63. However, approximately 25% of cases are diagnosed between the ages of 35 and 54. I am a very empathic, caring person to a fault, to my detriment. And immediately, I went into that mode. I asked her to lunch. I can still remember where we went. I can remember sitting there, and I can remember her saying, oh, what made you decide to ask me to lunch? I'm like, I feel like I need to help you. I feel like I'm supposed to help you through this. And she was like, that's so awesome. You know, that's so kind of you.

Thank you so much. And I felt the need. I felt like, this is what I'm supposed to help this person. Like I felt it inside of my being. And you instantly have love for someone that you know is dying. Like with children. Yeah, yeah, so

right after she's diagnosed she leaves her husband. He's abusive, he's not supportive of the cancer, he's not treating me well. I'm like, what do you mean is he not helping you? I don't understand. He's not you have cancer, you're sick, he's no, well, and he gave you a black eye and get out, you know, Well, if any gave you a black guy, get out, you know, and she did. She got her own place Actually not far from where I live and it was a cute little tiny like little granny house that had like two bedrooms So super small she lived there with her daughter and her son. They were I Want to say the son was like in kindergarten first grade and the little girl was Great school though great school very little children. Her son did not talk a lot, but the little girl was chatty-cathy so it was so fun. I became very close with the family and I

tried to document this in my head and for you by places that she lived. That'll be the easiest for me so I probably will refer to that a lot. That's easier to tell the story. We're such a tight-knit community at the veterinary hospital. There was just a few receptionists there at the time and I can remember her calling my coworker and myself one day crying very upset. I took a shower, I was running my hand through my hair and all my hair started falling out. That's horrible. Trying to talk her off the ledge and then she's like, so I just got the shower. I was running my hand through my hair and all my hair started falling out. That's horrible. Trying to talk her off the ledge and then she's like, so I just got the shower and I just took a

razor and I shaved the rest off. So that day, talked to my co-worker. We are support system of one another because this is happening. It's terrible. That day, my daughter and I went out. We bought a beautiful chest box thing and we went and bought tons of hats, like probably 30 hats, like different scarves, hats, different things. And we put them all in the box. And then I am an artist, a painter, occasionally things turned out okay.

And I had an original painting watercolor of a beautiful purple iris and it was already professionally framed. And so I was like running through my house like trying to get a little like care package right. So I pulled that painting off my wall and my daughter and I drove to her house and we left that left that on her front step. And she was grateful and you know I saw her wearing the scarves and the hats and she would come to work and she would be bald and pale and she was still coming to work pretty regularly.

She always had dogs, cats, what have you. She goes to the dog park and she says she comes to work and she says I met somebody. Whoa, whoa, that's exciting. And she goes, he's a cop. I'm like, oh, okay. And he has like a rot wiler. He's really handsome. He has a rot wiler. And he invited me to go out and go, good, good for you. At this point, you have to remember too that she has like the shaved, like it's grown back a little bit at this point. So she has some little hair, but not you can definitely tell that like her head had been shaved. I remember not too long after talking to her about this and

you know, it's kind of exciting for her That's nice hot cop. I'm good for you girl, and then I can remember She brought him to the hospital for some reason I think his dog needed a shot or something like that So he came through and he had a massive and a rot-wiler and he was handsome and I met him they just like started dating and I'm like wow What a great guy that would date somebody with cancer And I remember asking her just you know you have cancer and she's like yeah, and he just he thinks I'm amazing and beautiful

And wonderful and I was like wow what a godsend awesome, right? So they date and then they He wants me to move in with him. And this is really where our relationship goes to the next level. Friends, caretaker. This is a big step in like this progression. So she moved to a little, she moved into his house. He had a house. It was in Orangevale, Jason. She, with her two kids, moved into this police officer's house. He had no children.

And I went over there and I was like, oh, what a great guy, you know, and I'm like, let me paint the kids' rooms for you. You know, let me do something fun for the kids' rooms. And so, I went over there and I painted the little girl's room with clouds all over. It's been a whole day putting clouds and stuff. And I can remember she sat in there and talked to me the whole time I did it. And you know, this was one of our bonding, getting closer relationships. And she's like, I don't understand why you're doing this for me. Like, why are you being so nice to me? And why are you doing this for me? And what made you decide to offer to do this? And I go, I really feel like I'm supposed to help you through this. That was my mantra. Like, I felt it in the core of my being. I'm supposed to help you through this. That was my mantra. I felt it in the core of my being.

I'm supposed to help this young woman. And she's like, well, I'm just so grateful for you. And for all you've done and your support. Because I'm calling her regularly, talking, how are you? How are you feeling? Like I said, this was a new step, a new... This was when it all released the progression of me really like giving up myself, you know, and giving and then trying to organize. And I can remember the practice manager.

She's a very known nonsense kind of person. She actually is the female version of my husband. So they're very much alike. So I know how to treat them both because they are the same person, but one is won't yeah, they're not that I'm very squishy Like I love you like hippy-dippy and they're very logical Never thinks with her heart thinks with her brain my my husband's the same way So it's kind of funny and I can remember her saying to me. What about the guy? She's living like why do I have to make a meal like and I'm like like, would he please have a certain, he's working nights and she's working

care during the day and she has cancer and she's dying and like we have to do a meal train like. We knew about cancer, a varying cancer. This is Kurt, T's husband. And basically from what everything we know, everything I know, that's death sentence. And she was helping me start it out really slowly. She took on that motherly thing again where she was organizing things as Sylvia got sicker and take her to treatments because usually it would be someone to drive and drop her off and then somebody would pick her up.

And we'd go see her at her house, People to bring meals when she was going through her chemo treatments. So when she was getting really sick and help with the kids. You know, coordinating meal trains. So, okay, like, you know, here's T's daughter, Sarah. We had treatment today. You know, she's not going to be able to cook dinner. So how about somebody bring, you know, dinner for the kids, the kids have a meal. Go sit with the kids and hang out because she's going to be able to cook dinner. So how about somebody bring dinner for the kids, the kids have a meal, go sit with the kids and hang out

because she's gonna be in bed, that type of stuff. And like, we need help take care of the animals, lean the house. At this point, she's starting to get sicker. And all of a sudden, she decides I wanna be a nurse. I'm going to nursing school. I'm like, how are you going to go to nursing school? You have cancer, you work here, you have two children. Like I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna, I'm gonna get into nursing school.

She had our doctor write a letter to get her into Sac State, She had me write a letter. And so, you know, I write this young woman has cancer. This is her dream. Like I write this young woman has cancer. This is her dream. Like I write this beautiful heartfelt letter and somehow miraculously she got into the nursing program and she starts school. So she's not getting as much treatment. She's definitely not getting better because you don't get better. She's still working for us and going to school.

I'm telling you this woman was extremely intelligent, very bright, very smart, you showed her something one time and she had it. And at the hospital, this is where she progresses at our hospital as well because you could show her something and she got it. So then she became the doctor assistant. So she moved from the back of the hospital to the front of the hospital for a more important role, getting to help with patients, helping the doctor do procedures because you could like say, sure, once she got it, she was doing it. Anywhere from spaying neuter to a landing reputation, to dogs get stones in the bladder,

it's called a cystotomy, you have to take the stones out of the bladder. So the doctor does everything but suction drain wash Hand me this do this and you got everything has to be sterile So you have to pop it open pop it on the surgical tray Maybe need stuff and like I said she went good good With animals you have to draw blood, you know people are squarming that can you imagine trying to get a blood from a dog or a cat? Hello, not easy my dog in a sweater to be honest. Uh, yeah. Right. She could pull blood. No problem. Showed her once. She got it. And I think part of it

too is not only was she brilliant and smart, but she had the medical mind. In other words, going to nursing school was easy for her. She got it. She understood surgery, she understood anatomy, she understood what medications did. It was pretty actually shocking that someone could know as much as she did with such little education on it. So she's going to nursing school, doing very well in school, and then she gets sicker. And she's going to the doctors more. At this point, she tells me she's pregnant. And I'm like, wow. Okay, so what do you do with that?

You're in chemotherapy. You're pregnant. That baby has no chance. What do you do? Well, I want to have this baby. I understand that, but what does that look like? I remember telling our doctor, we're telling the veterinarian, and he is like, oh, God, you know, would you like to go talk to a counselor?

I'll pay for it. You know, you go have someone to talk to, and she did do that. And then I remember her stopping by the hospital after a doctor's appointment and saying, so cool, all my doctors were sitting around the table like my oncologist, my GP, my OB, they're all saying they were all trying to figure out was there any way for me to have this baby. And you know, it's that wrenching. All of it all the way around, it's got wrenching. And then several days later she's like I lost the baby. And at this point she takes a downward spiral health-wise.

I remember her doctor's appointments would be in the downtown area so on her way home she might stop by. I remember her coming by and then she was standing in the hallway at the hospital and she just flat-out starts passing out. Laying on the floor passed out. I remember our doctor coming over talking to her. She just synchped me, just dropped me note, didn't hurt herself. When we helped her down, she was very pale. Her hands were shaking. She said she had been vomiting a lot from the treatment, so she was probably dehydrated and she has cancer and she's dying and she's in chemo. So pretty expected. I remember calling Jason and saying, hey, Sylvia passed

out at the hospital. I'm going to take her home. So took her home, made dinner for the children. Again, I can't tell you how emotional it was and how my heart hurt. And again, I felt like I was supposed to do this. I had to help her. At this point, right before she moves again, her son becomes very sick. Next time. If you haven't purchased your ticket to something was wrong live Sacramento, you still have time.

Get $4 off your ticket now with code SWW at something was wrong.com slash events. Something was wrong live Sacramento will take place Saturday, August 24th, 2019 at the Sofia at B Street Theatre in Midtown, Sacramento. Sarah, Alyssa, myself, and a panel of experts will discuss all things something was wrong and answer your burning questions. After the show, hang out so we can hug, not hug, take pictures of the gram, have a cocktail, whatevs. See you soon. Something was wrong is written, recorded, edited, and produced by me, Tiffany Rees. All of the music by Gladrags.

Hear their album, Wonder Under on iTunes. Follow the hashtag Something was Wrong Pod on Instagram. You can now purchase something was wrong merch at at SWW.Threadless.com. The book's referenced on the show can be found linked in the show notes. If you or someone you know is being abused, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE. That's 1-800-799-7233. Thank you. If you'd like to help support the show, please consider leaving a 5-star review on iTunes and sharing the podcast with your family and friends.

A neighbor, a garbage man, a gynecologist, a record producer, and an ex-boyfriend. No, don't do that. Yeah, just like everyone you know, that'd be cool. Thank you, love you, bye. I'm a little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little Hey, Prime members, you can listen to something was wrong early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today, or you can listen early and add free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Before you go, tell us about yourself by completing a short survey at Wondery.com slash survey. short survey at Wondery.com slash survey.