5k run to raise funds for Nature’s Path employee with severe condition

An upcoming 5k run will raise funds for a woman who worked for Nature’s Path in Blaine before being diagnosed with a rare and severe condition.

Until seven or eight months ago, Taizha Marquez, 28, worked for the quality assurance department at Nature’s Path Foods’ Blaine facility. She had been with the company for about a year and a half, and had planned on having a long career there, before she was diagnosed with a rare vascular condition.

Three veins in her lower abdominal area are very compressed, causing low blood circulation, chronic pain and swelling in her legs. The condition has required two surgeries so far, with a third surgery scheduled for September 10. Doctors will try and improve blood flow to her heart, although further surgeries may be needed, as well as a kidney autotransplant, wherein a kidney is moved from one place to another.

Since Taizha is confined to bed, her condition has caused a lot of hardship for her family. Her 30-year-old husband, Jamesly Marquez, is also a Nature’s Path employee and has had to work long hours every week to support their three young daughters, who are aged three, five and six. “On a day to day basis, it is hard,” said Jamesly.

After working his shifts, Jamesly comes home and cleans their Bellingham residence, spends time with the kids, brushes their teeth and puts them to bed. He must also wake up early to prepare their lunches. “I’m just filling the gaps where a father should, trying to be the man that my family needs me to be,” he said.

Jamesly said his wife’s condition took the family by surprise, and has been especially hard on the children, who can’t spend time with their mother like they used to. “It is tough for them,” he said. “Taizha is just very confined to bed, and she can’t do much. When she does get up, she has to sit down. Sometimes mom just can’t be there for them.”

The family has received lots of support from their colleagues at Nature’s Path. Recently, the Nature’s Path Foods outreach and wellness committee decided to organize a 5k run and fundraiser for Taizha. It will take place on Saturday, September 7 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Blaine Marine Park. The all-ages event will include a kids’ fun run, and attendees can register the day of the event.

“I’ve done 10 or 12 5k and half marathon-type events in Blaine, and this is just another way that I thought we could get everyone involved and help raise some money or awareness,” said Nature’s Path warehouse worker Greg Nuzum. “We are trying to do whatever we can to ease that burden a little. Every little bit helps.”

Nuzum said that Nature’s Path will match whatever funds are raised at the upcoming 5k run. He called the Marquez family incredible and extremely tightknit. “They are one of those true families – when something happens, they are there to help pick you up.” He said Taizha’s diagnosis has attracted considerable sympathy and concern within the Nature’s Path community. “When something happens like that, as a local community, and being a smaller community, it really hits home,” he said.

Jamesly has been humbled by the support he has received from Nuzum and others at Nature’s Path. “I’ve never counted on anybody, and out of the blue, the whole Nature’s Path family has come together for us,” he said. “It really means a lot to us. It’s been a big impact to make me more motivated for my family. Seeing what people are doing, it makes me so happy that people do care.”