Merokean’s transplant journey inspires a documentary

Tara Notrica gets a 'Second Chance'

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A Merokean’s long-fought journey with mast cell disease has been documented on film. “Second Chance,” a documentary by Rochester-based filmmaker Matthew White, chronicles the weeks leading up to Tara Notrica’s bone marrow transplant in June 2018, and features the music her daughter wrote to help her overcome the challenges along the way.

The Herald first met Notrica and her daughter, Samantha Horowitz, in 2017. Samantha, who was 13 at the time, had co-wrote a ballad with her vocal coach, former “American Idol” contestant Robbie Rosen, dedicated to her mother. The song, “Brave the Storm,” was written to show Notrica that she wasn’t facing her illness alone, Samantha said.

In “Second Chance,” Samantha’s music and lyrics act as the soundtrack to Notrica’s journey; “Brave the Storm” is one of several original songs featured in the documentary.

“All throughout my life, music has been a very big part of who I am,” said Samantha, a Calhoun High School student. “The songs show how we coped with whatever obstacles were thrown our way. Every single lyric has a specific meaning.”

“When you have a transplant, you are isolated in a room by yourself 24/7 with little contact with the outside world,” Notrica explained. “Music takes you away from the harsh reality for a moment.”

An illness emerges

People with mast cell disease have sensitive immune systems that constantly release chemical mediators, causing a number of chronic symptoms. Notrica’s case began with intermittent bouts of anaphylaxis in her early 20s that she and her doctors initially identified as isolated allergic reactions.

Over the years, Notrica, now 55, received a slew of misdiagnoses until she visited a physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Mass., in April 2011. “Within an hour we knew what it was, but it took me five years to get diagnosed,” she said.

In July 2015, Notrica received an autologous stem cell transplant to help her condition. And in June 2018, she received a bone marrow transplant from an anonymous donor from Be The Match. Both transplants were done under the direction of Dr. Sergio Giralt at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan.

To this day, Notrica continues to recuperate, she said.

Filming begins

Wanting to raise awareness of the disease, the transplantation process and the power of music as medicine, Notrica connected with White through a mutual friend to share her story, which he said was one that “needed to be told.”

“The film centers around . . . Tara and Samantha’s relationship, how mast cell disease has affected their family and why they use music to help them get through,” White said. “[It’s] a true story that makes us all think about how fragile and precious our lives truly are.”

Filming began in May 2018, just two weeks before Notrica’s procedure. The crew documented family visits to the hospital, recording sessions in the studio and day-to-day activities at home in Merrick.

A positive impact

White finished editing “Second Chance” this July, and it has already been entered in the film festival circuit. “It’s crazy to think our story . . . will potentially be shared all around the world, and to know it can have such a positive impact on others,” Samantha said.

Notrica, who is an advocacy ambassador for Be The Match, said she hopes “Second Chance” inspires audiences to consider becoming donors and spurs greater legislative action to grow the donor registry.

“Transplantation is being used for more and more diseases, and my life was saved by the grace of a complete stranger,” she said. “I’m eternally grateful.”

To view the trailer for “Second Chances,” click here.

Brian Stieglitz contributed to this story.