TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Earlier this year, Tessa Wiseman was ecstatic for Taylor Swift to come to Tampa for her “Eras Tour.” So much so that Wiseman and her healthcare team at Moffitt Cancer Center made it their mission to get Tessa well enough to attend the star’s April 15 concert.
Tessa, who grew up in Tampa, fell ill earlier this year.
Ahead of Swift’s concert, Tessa’s family told WFLA.com that she was rushed to the hospital the day before Easter after she developed a life-threatening infection following chemotherapy treatment.
Tessa and her Moffitt team never gave up, and she recovered from sepsis just in time to see Swift take the stage. However, her family said her battle with cancer was far from over.
According to a previous report, Tessa was undergoing a liver transplant in February when it was canceled mid-surgery after the Mayo Clinic doctors discovered her cancer had progressed. At the time of the concert, she was receiving care at Moffitt Cancer Center to get healthy enough for a transplant.
Tragically, a few months after the concert, Tessa Wiseman sadly passed away on Sunday. She was 28.
Tessa attended Johns Hopkins University and was studying law at the University of Virginia when her condition worsened, according to her obituary.
“At 14, she was diagnosed with the underlying condition that ultimately led us here,” her obituary. “At 21, she was diagnosed with cancer for the first time, and after beating it against all odds, she lived a healthy and adventurous 5+ years, working, traveling, loving, and hosting.”
Tessa was described as “beautiful on the outside, but her inner beauty outshined all else,” and walked her final chapter with a smile.
“She walked her final chapter with a smile, graciously showering her medical staff, Uber drivers, Olive Garden waiters (when you’re there, you’re family!), and everyone in between, with her love. She was quick to drop lyrics on any song she’d ever heard, never missing a beat, recently to Lose Yourself and at a recent Taylor Swift concert with one of her best friends, Ali,” the obituary read.
Tessa’s legacy will continue through her parents, Todd and Robin Wiseman, her sister Taylor and her husband Matt, and their soon-to-be-born son Brody. Her brother Trent and his wife Val (who was also going to be her living liver donor) and her brother Todd, as well as her boundless group of friends and extended family.
A celebration of life is planned for Tessa in St. Pete Beach on Sept. 9.
For more information about the celebration or to read more about Tessa’s life, visit here.
