Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include information concerning Tessa Wiseman’s date of admission to the hospital.
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 her well enough to attend the star’s April 15 concert.
Wiseman, who grew up in Tampa, fell ill earlier this year.
Ahead of Swift’s concert, Wiseman’s family told Nexstar’s WFLA that she was rushed to the hospital in early April after developing a life-threatening infection following chemotherapy treatment.
Wiseman and her team of doctors 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.
Wiseman was previously scheduled to undergo a liver transplant in February, but it was canceled mid-surgery after doctors with the Mayo Clinic discovered her cancer had progressed. At the time of the concert, Wiseman was receiving care at Moffitt Cancer Center to get healthy enough for the transplant.
Sadly, Wiseman passed away on Sunday, just a few months after the Taylor Swift concert. She was 28.
Wiseman 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 reads. “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.”
Wiseman 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.
Wiseman’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 Wiseman’s life is planned for Sept. 9 in St. Pete Beach, according to her obituary.