Latest news with #Tanya
The Sun
19 hours ago
- Health
- The Sun
Rylan Clark forced to pull out of radio show as he reveals mum Linda has been rushed to hospital with mystery illness
RYLAN Clark has revealed his mum Linda has been rushed to hospital with a mystery illness - forcing him to pull out of his radio show. The presenter told fans he would be absent from his usual Saturday Radio Two show, and told how Linda had been taken to an emergency ward. Rylan said: 'Mummy Linda isn't well sadly so I won't be hosting the show tomorrow. 'Thank you to the emergency team at Princess Alexandra Hospital. Especially Tanya who really looked after my mum. 'Will keep you updated as she's on the mend. She's a trooper.'
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
Is Dr AI good for your health?
When we asked 21-year-old Harsheeta Gandhi from New Delhi how often she uses AI for medical help, she admits, 'I've honestly become a bit addicted to using AI tools to check symptoms or understand how I'm feeling—physically or mentally. Whether it's a sudden skin breakout or an unusual pain, I turn to apps like Gemini or ChatGPT for quick answers, instead of stressing or waiting for a doctor's appointment.' Similarly, Rohan Jha (29), also from New Delhi, uses an AI symptom checker whenever he experiences a mild headache or cold. 'It helps me stay calm and monitor my health. If things worsen or new symptoms appear, then I consult a doctor,' he says. Like them, many people across age groups are now using AI as a first step for medical help. Yet, despite its rapid development, a World Economic Forum report notes healthcare is still slow to adopt AI compared to other sectors. - Searches for AI Symptom Checker increased 134.3% in 2024 compared to 2023, showing that more people are turning to AI to check their health - Searches for AI Doctor also rose by 129.8% in the same period - Meanwhile, searches for AI for medical diagnosis increased by 49.3% , suggesting people are becoming more confident in using AI for health-related advice ( as per Google Trends 2024 ) WHY PEOPLE ARE USING AI AI uses simple language without medical jargon For Faridabad-based Tanya Bhatia (27), what appeals to her is how clearly AI explains things. 'I like that it breaks things down in a simple way. I've tried online symptom checkers, but ChatGPT and Gemini feel more helpful because I can ask follow-up questions. They help me understand possible causes without using too many medical terms,' she says. Affordable 'I chose to use an AI tool instead of seeing a doctor mainly because it's convenient, affordable, and saves time, especially for minor health issues. I know these tools aren't perfect and can't replace a qualified medical professional, but they're a helpful first step in understanding everyday health concerns,' shares Jha. 'AI said it's nothing serious' Both Harsheeta and Tanya admit skipping doctor visits when AI tools suggested their symptoms were minor. 'I've avoided seeing a doctor because AI said it was likely nothing serious, and I felt better after rest or basic meds,' says Harsheeta. Tanya shares, 'There were times I skipped visiting a doctor because AI made it seem like a minor issue, like a common cold. But I've never taken medication purely based on AI advice—I always double-check or wait to see if things get better.' Making medical reports readable From identifying the most suitable doctor for a particular medical condition to simplifying complex terminology, AI tools are helping users better understand medical jargon. After using ChatGPT to interpret his medical reports, a Reddit user remarked: 'Totally worth it, as long as you're aware of the risks concerning your personal health information and understand that what ChatGPT says might not be entirely accurate. I used it to review my medical reports, explore treatment options and procedures, and subsequently consulted my GP for further discussion.' Time-saving Simran Wadhwa (28), 'I usually use AI tools when I'm unsure about seeing a doctor. Sometimes it's just quicker and easier than booking an appointment, especially late at night or on weekends. Though at times they cause unnecessary worry. I've learnt to treat the results as a starting point, not a final answer.' In another case, Noida-based Divya Dwivedi adds, 'I don't use AI tools as a substitute for visiting a doctor. Rather, they help me better understand my symptoms and assess whether a doctor's visit might be necessary.' IS IT WISE TO AVOID SEEING A DOCTOR? Risk of misdiagnosis Mumbai-based chief pathologist Dr Rajesh Bendre, explains, 'Many people may misread their symptoms, leading to incorrect conclusions, unnecessary panic, or even self-medication. Symptoms of various health conditions often overlap, which can result in misdiagnosis.' He adds, 'Most AI tools are built using data from Western populations, which poorly represent the Indian context, and this limits their accuracy.' Anxiety from AI predictions 'Many patients tend to look up their symptoms using ChatGPT, Google Bard, or health apps, often jumping to extreme conclusions on their own. These assumptions can lead to unnecessary anxiety or, worse, missed serious conditions due to a lack of proper clinical evaluation,' shares Dr Prashant Chandra, a consultant - surgical oncology. He adds, 'People may dwell on inaccurate AI-generated diagnoses, which can trigger overthinking, stress, and anxiety. Always consult a qualified doctor before beginning any treatment.' WHY AI CAN'T FULLY REPLACE HUMAN DOCTORS As per AI experts, with all AI tools, relying on medical advice without a doctor's input can be risky. 'This applies not just to rare diseases but also to common ones. AI can help us learn more, do better research, and even discover new things—but expert guidance is still very important. A doctor's oversight should always be part of the process,' shares Jaspreet Bindra, an AI expert. He further states, 'AI often misses important context, like emotional distress or personal history. Human doctors treat the patient as a whole, not just a set of symptoms. They consider things like stress, lifestyle, or hidden symptoms that AI may overlook. That's why human oversight is still essential when using AI for medical advice.' In my experience, the AI tool didn't give the exact diagnosis but often came close. For example, it suggested a muscle strain, which aligned fairly well with the doctor's final diagnosis of a mild sprain New Delhi-based Rohan Jha It's important to see AI as a supportive aid, not a substitute for a doctor. Don't follow trends blindly. The increasing reliance on AI is worrying. The human touch and empathy a medical professional offers can never be replaced by technology Mumbai-based Dr Rajesh Bendre
New York Times
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- New York Times
Packable Beach and Picnic Recipes
CHRISTINE: I'm Christine Cyr Clisset. CAIRA: I'm Caira Blackwell. ROSIE: I'm Rosie Guerin, and you're listening to The Wirecutter Show . CHRISTINE: This episode is called: 'Packable Beach and Picnic Recipes.' ROSIE: Hey there, this is Rosie. Earlier this week, we published an episode all about the gear you might want to consider to help you level up your beach experience. We talked about shades, chairs, coolers, and more. But we didn't talk about one super important thing: food! Everyone has their own ideas for what makes a great beach snack. Some ice-cold fruit from the cooler? A delectable lunch of salads and dips? Or maybe just a bag of chips? Well, no matter your style, our friends over at New York Times Cooking have some ideas of ways to elevate your beach-snacking game. And today, we're bringing you a conversation about just that with Tanya Sichynsky. Tanya is an editor at NYT Cooking who writes the weekly newsletter The Veggie, and she recently wrote a piece for The Times that included a bunch of great recipes for a beach day or picnic. CAIRA: Tanya, welcome to the show. TANYA: Hi, guys. Thanks so much for having me. CHRISTINE: We're glad to have you. ROSIE: Thanks for coming. Well, so obviously anyone can bring anything to a beach, a park, a picnic. We know that. What are your general rules, Tanya, for the kinds of recipes and foods you want to pack for a day at the beach, for a picnic? TANYA: Obviously, this is all incredibly subjective, but if you're asking me — which you are — I'm going to tell you, it's trying to avoid really soggy food. You don't want something that's going to get real wet in a cooler or in a tote bag. So nothing super mayonnaise-y with soft bread, like that … to me, it's ripe for sogging. You want stuff that's really, I'll say packable and stackable. Whether you're working with a cooler or a big tote bag, you want stuff that will kind of Tetris into your vessel of choice and not get crushed. So if you're talking potato chips, you actually shouldn't decant your potato chips into a Ziploc bag if you can help it, because all the air in the bag will protect it. That kind of stuff. I think part of it is 'cooler versus tote bag' will tell me what kind of recipes I want to pack. CHRISTINE: So, like, a tote bag, meaning you're not going to keep it cool. TANYA: Well, I'm so glad you asked. I know that we want to talk about no-cooler recipes, but I will implore anybody, if they plan on being outside for a really long time, a great hack is just a water bottle. Put it in the freezer the night before and put it in the bag, because by the time you get to where you're going, the water will be semi-thawed, mostly thawed. You will have insulated the bag in some way by just packing a bunch of stuff into it, and it will keep some element of your meal cool. So if you're going with a couple people, just throw three frozen water bottles in there, and you'll stay hydrated, and your food will stay semi-cool. CHRISTINE: Oh, I love that tip. And also, if someone's going to freeze a water bottle, remember to leave an inch — TANYA: Always. CHRISTINE: — at the top, right? TANYA: Always. CHRISTINE: That is not filled so that the water can expand in the freezer. TANYA: Yes, it's multi-use in some ways. CHRISTINE: There we go. CAIRA: And just throw it in the trash when you're done. TANYA: And just throw it in the trash. And also, a lot of beaches — ROSIE: Recycle. CAIRA: That's what I meant. ROSIE: What are you, nuts? CAIRA: Just don't throw it in the ocean. That was my point. TANYA: No, there, exactly. We're recycling it. And then, really, for me, it's just, like, 'What am I not going to turn my nose up at if it's been outside for two hours?' We are not — at least, I'm not right now — talking about 'Is it adhering to the FDA standards of not outside for more than 90 minutes?' Look, we've all eaten weird stuff off a picnic table that we know that has been there for more than a few hours, more than the window. But won't you feel a little bit icky about eating? So that kind of brings me to the mayonnaise of it all, which is pretty shelf-stable. I don't worry about it too much, but if I'm doing, say, a chickpea salad or a pasta salad, maybe I will cut the mayonnaise down significantly and use more tahini or something like that, something that is okay at room temperature. It's essentially a nut butter. It's a seed butter. So if you're going to lug a peanut butter and jelly, and you feel cool about that, you probably would feel good about tahini or something like that in a chickpea salad. CHRISTINE: I love that. I never think about swapping tahini for mayonnaise, but I should probably do that more often. TANYA: We have over at New York Times Cooking a lot of salad recipes that are, like, chickpea-based salads that have some sort of configuration of tahini, mayonnaise, yogurt, more or less of each. And, really, it's completely … most of those recipes are really amenable, so you can just modify them to your tastes. If you're not really a mayonnaise person, you can do half-and-half yogurt/tahini, that rules. If you don't like tahini or you're allergic to sesame, mayonnaise/yogurt. If you are vegan, maybe you're using a combination of vegan mayonnaise or tahini. I've made vegan mayonnaise before, it's actually quite easy. CHRISTINE: What is it? Just oil? CAIRA: What is it? Yeah. TANYA: You use aquafaba, which is all the stuff at the bottom of a can of chickpeas. Yeah. So let's say you're making a chickpea salad. You have regular mayonnaise that makes you feel icky. You don't want to use yogurt. You have tahini. And you obviously have the can of chickpeas, because you're putting it in the salad. You drain the aquafaba, which is the liquid at the bottom of the can. And with an immersion blender, which I'm sure there is a Wirecutter pick for. CHRISTINE: Oh, we do have a pick. TANYA: Oh yeah. It's just the juice and the chickpeas, white vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice, some dry mustard, and then a really neutral oil, so we used a sunflower oil. And I'm telling you, it was like doing a magic trick when we did it. It immediately emulsifies. It tastes like mayonnaise. CHRISTINE: And it sounds like the ingredients in vegan mayonnaise, at least that recipe, those are pretty shelf-stable. You could take those out for a day without them turning bad. TANYA: Absolutely. CHRISTINE: Right. TANYA: Absolutely. And, again, if you have a little bit of a — I'm holding up a water bottle, for the folks at home — an insurance policy of semi-frozen water bottles, it will be cool enough, even if you did want to use regular mayonnaise, which tons of people will take to the beach, and it's never an issue. CAIRA: I'm a salt-and-vinegar-chips girl for life. Is there a salty snack you like to take to the beach? TANYA: Okay. I'm a sucker for BjornQorn. CHRISTINE: Oh, you're telling me all of the things that my kids want to eat. You all should go out on a picnic together. TANYA: I'm taking the kids to the beach. ROSIE: What is BjornQorn? CAIRA: Yeah, what are those? ROSIE: And why do you like it? TANYA: Okay, BjornQorn is vegan, cheesy popped popcorn. Very, very minimal ingredients. So if you are trying to cut down on super ultra-processed foods, this is a, I think, great alternative to something like a white-cheddar popcorn, Smartfood. So BjornQorn is made with nutritional yeast; nutritional yeast is dried, edible yeast. It usually comes in flakes. So good. I will make, frankly, a version at home of a BjornQorn. We have a recipe also on Cooking that is a vegan cheesy popcorn, same kind of combination of flavors. But, yeah, so BjornQorn. Okay, I always have hot dogs — from the editor of The Veggie. ROSIE: You always have hot dogs. TANYA: From the editor of The Veggie. ROSIE: Can you say more about that? TANYA: Yeah. Hebrew National, all-beef hot dogs, live and die by them. I love a hot dog, and I am taking hot dogs to the beach. CHRISTINE: No. TANYA: Yes. Hear me out. Okay, I did this last summer. So I will split-top a hot dog, so, like, butterfly it. I'll griddle it in my little cast iron skillet or on a griddle-top pan. I'll make two hot dogs a person, and then I will put the hot dogs and the buns in little aluminum foil roll-ups. You don't want to crush them. So I'll put them at the top of the bag with everything. If you will eat a ballpark hot dog some guy has been toting around through the stands of MetLife — ROSIE: I mean, fair. TANYA: — you will eat a beach hot dog. CAIRA: But that's not the same. TANYA: No, it is the same. CAIRA: Because a ballpark hot dog is still hot. What are you eating? A cold hot dog on the beach? TANYA: No, it is a — CAIRA: You warm it up in the sun? TANYA: It is room temperature. Sometimes it's still warm. Here's the kicker, though: Because I brought my frozen water bottle in the bag, I am bringing a topping, and the topping is pico de gallo. CHRISTINE: Oh, this is … you're hitting my heart here. I think this sounds like a delicious beach meal. TANYA: This is the perfect beach meal, and you've got the crunchy, crisp freshness of tomatoes and jalapeños, onions. Maybe you want to throw some scallions in there, definitely cilantro on top of the hot dog. Because you've butterflied the hot dog, it holds the pico de gallo in the hot dog. It's not going to just roll off. ROSIE: She's beauty and she's grace. TANYA: I made us put a recipe for this on New York Times Cooking. It is just a hot dog with pico de gallo, and the two tricks are the butterflying of the hot dog … I also put mayonnaise on the bun when I griddle them, so I will griddle the buns too. So also this helps with … if you're worried about your hot dog getting crushed, the outside might get a little crushed, but the inside, if you grill it on a cast iron skillet or a grill top, the inside of the bun will be a little bit harder, and it will protect the dog. CAIRA: Oh, you protect those dogs. ROSIE: Protect the dog. CAIRA: Well, let's say someone's at the beach all day, and they're packing a lunch, but they don't have a cooler. It might get a little warm in here. So what are some lunch ideas that you'd recommend for that and just generally things that won't go bad in the sun? TANYA: So I'm saying hot dog. I'm also saying Andy Baraghani has this extra-green pasta salad that I am obsessed with. It is my lunch today. It's downstairs, not in the fridge, just sitting at my desk. CHRISTINE: What's in this? TANYA: So you're using some short-cut pasta, whether it's rigatoni or a fusilli, but when I say 'short-cut,' I mean short tubes. You don't want a long noodle here. Snap peas, English peas, are the vegetables that are in here. And then the sauce is really, really easy to make, and it's made mostly of greens, so raw spinach, baby spinach or arugula, or a blend of both. And then basil, similar to how you would make a pesto, this is kind of … the sauce is really kind of like a looser pesto. ROSIE: Tanya, I'm looking at your article on The Times about easy recipes to take outside this summer, and I see something called a ham and jam sandwich. Talk about it. TANYA: Oh, absolutely. Okay, ham and jam sandwich, very straightforward. Similar to a French-style ham and butter sandwich that has been beefed up by the addition of some sort of fruit preserve, which is just a nice combination of flavors. It's really, really simple. If you are going to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or, I don't know, a turkey and cheese sandwich, the ham and jam sandwich is just like its kind of sexy, dignified cousin. It just feels like a fancy thing to eat at the beach, when really it's just, like, ham and cherry jam and some butter and a nice baguette. ROSIE: Let's say people have taken our advice to heart, Kit's advice to heart, and gotten a great cooler. What recipes do you recommend if we're lugging a big old cooler to the beach? TANYA: Yeah, I think this is where you're going crazy with the pasta salads and the dips. Any sort of dairy-based dips, a yogurt-based dip. We've got this great fresh ranch dip from Naz Deravian, which is really just like zhuzhed-up yogurt. So smart, great use of pantry seasonings, fresh chives. Ali Slagle also has a dill-pickled tzatziki, which is really fun. I don't know, I feel like pickles are so summery. ROSIE: We are a big pickle family. TANYA: Yeah, you got to get on the dill-pickled tzatziki train. It's just garlic, Greek yogurt, olive oil, finely chopped dill, and then a ton of grated pickles. CAIRA: So I know we talked about the popcorn, which is always a good, healthy snack, but what are some other things that you love to bring to the beach that won't get soggy or crunched, but is also still healthy? TANYA: Okay. Fruit feels like a cop-out answer, but I love a frozen grape. CAIRA: Oh my God. TANYA: So a Tupperware of frozen grapes, a little Baggie of frozen grapes. I'm popping them in the freezer. If you put a little lime juice, citric acid — CAIRA: Citric acid is my go-to. TANYA: — that is a really great — CHRISTINE: Wait, you guys, stop. What is citric acid, and why are you putting it on your grapes? TANYA: Okay, citric acid is a powder that looks just like granulated sugar, but it is a powder version of the naturally occurring acid that exists in citrus fruits. So it is a fine dusting powder that you could cover grapes with. This is what brings pucker to a Sour Patch Kid. So imagine frozen grapes tossed with a little citric acid, maybe a little bit of sugar. ROSIE: Do you put sugar on yours too? TANYA: Yes. ROSIE: You just do sugar? TANYA: Yeah. Okay. CHRISTINE: Hardcore. TANYA: So that is, like … and, I mean, the grapes are already sweet, so they don't really need any extra sugar. But yeah, toss those in citric acid. By the time you get to the beach, the grapes probably won't be frozen grapes anymore. If you are packing them in a cooler with ice, they might stay frozen. But if you're using them as the cooling element by just tossing them into a tote bag, they'll thaw by then. But they'll still be delicious, and they will hold some of their shape because they'd been frozen for most of the time. But that's a really, really easy, simple, healthy snack. I mean, again, fruit, okay. You didn't bring me on here to tell you to eat fruit, but that's a fun — CAIRA: That's a fruit in a fun way. CHRISTINE: That is delicious. TANYA: That's fruit in a fun way. ROSIE: Tanya Sichynsky, you are a legend. Thank you so much for being on our show. TANYA: This was so fun. ROSIE: This was really fun. TANYA: This ruled. ROSIE: Have fun at the beach, everybody. TANYA: Thanks. ROSIE: If you want to try out any of the recipes Tanya talked about today, you can find them in our show notes, or on the New York Times Cooking website. And if you want more of Tanya's recommendations, you can subscribe to the weekly newsletter The Veggie . That's it for us. Thanks for listening. The Wirecutter Show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Keel. Engineering support from Maddy Masiello and Nick Pitman. Today's episode was mixed by Catherine Anderson. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Elisheba Ittoop, and Diane Wong. Wirecutter's deputy publisher is Cliff Levy. Ben Frumin is Wirecutter's editor-in-chief. CAIRA: I'm Caira Blackwell. CHRISTINE: I'm Christine Cyr Clisset. ROSIE: And I'm Rosie Guerin. Thanks for listening.
Time of India
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Actress Tanya Ravichandran to tie the knot with cameraman Goutham George
Picture Credit: Facebook Actress Tanya Ravichandran, the daughter of popular yesteryear actor Ravichandran, has now announced that she is going to get hitched to cinematographer Goutham George. Official social media post Taking to her Instagram page, Tanya put out an image that had a silhouette of her kissing the cinematographer. She wrote, "Every frame leads to this - One Kiss, One Promise, "ALWAYS AND FOREVER" #GT @gouthamgdop. #GETTINGHITCHED" Soon after Tanya broke the news, her timeline was flooded with congratulatory messages. Notable among those who congratulated the actress were actresses Shivathmika Rajasekhar and Siddhi Idnani. For the unaware, actress Tanya Ravichandran, who has a Bachelor's degree in commerce and a master's degree in social work, made her debut in Tamil cinema with Solai Prakash's Bale Vellaiyatheva, featuring her and Sasikumar in the lead. Tanya Ravichandran work front She followed it up with director Radhamohan's critically acclaimed Tamil feel good entertainer 'Brindhavanam', featuring Arulnidhi in the lead. But it was in director R Panneerselvam's Karuppan, featuring her and Vijay Sethupathi in the lead, that she shot to the limelight. Tanya also made an impact with her performance in director Santhakumar's critically acclaimed 'Rasavathi', featuring Arjun Das in the lead. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Use an AI Writing Tool That Actually Understands Your Voice Grammarly Install Now Undo Meanwhile, Goutham George, the cinematographer with whom Tanya is getting engaged, is currently working on director Bakkiyaraj Kannan's eagerly awaited action thriller 'Benz', featuring actor Raghava Lawrence in the lead. The film has generated a lot of excitement as it will feature Nivin Pauly playing an antagonist for the first time in his career. Interestingly, the makers have already announced that Nivin plays a character called Walter in the film. Written and directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, the film has music by young music sensation Sai Abhyankkar. Cinematography for the film is by Goutham George and editing is by Philomin Raj. Art direction for the film has been done by Jacki while Pradeep Boopathi is serving as the creative producer.
Daily Mirror
12-07-2025
- Daily Mirror
'I was groomed at 14, raped and held captive for 10 years in abuser's house'
At the age of 14 Tanya Kach was groomed by a security guard at her school who held her captive for 10 years in his home and subjected her to horrific sexual abuse - she eventually escaped and now lives a very different life but is still haunted by her ordeal As a young girl, Tanya Kach's life was relatively normal until the age of seven when her mum Sherri suffered a mental breakdown and was hospitalised. Her parents eventually divorced when she was 10 and after dad Jerry was granted full custody, she moved in with him and his new girlfriend JoAnn. Along with the move came a new school - Cornel Middle School in Pennsylvania - but Tanya struggled to adjust and was bullied. She didn't get on with JoAnn and regularly ran away from home. However, she did make one meaningful connection - with a 38-year-old security guard at her school called Thomas Hose. Her fellow classmates didn't like him but he gave her special attention and made her laugh. "We started to get to know each other more. He would take me out of class just to talk to me," she told People magazine Investigates. About six months after he struck up a relationship with the vulnerable schoolgirl he called Kitty due to her love of cats, he caught her playing truant from class. He let her off and that's when he made his move. He kissed her and told her she should leave to be with him forever because he would treat her better than her family did. On the morning of 10 February 1996 Tanya ran away with him and moved into the house he shared with his elderly parents and son, who was just two years younger than her. The first week felt like a fun adventure as they sneaked about because he didn't want his family to know she was there. He treated her like an adult and they stayed up late watching TV and enjoying takeaways. "I was too young to realise I was being groomed, it was only a week later that his abuse started," she told the Sun. Her father assumed this was just another incident of her running away but on February 14 he filed a missing person's report. She became known as The Girl on the Milk Carton because in America, pictures of missing children are put on milk cartons to try and find them. Meanwhile, Thomas began raping and sexually abusing Tanya. "He raped or assaulted me multiple times a day,' she revealed. "Tom made me document the specifics of each assault in a calendar so he could brag to his friends about his new girlfriend. Tom told me if I fell pregnant, he would kill me. Every assault was like Russian roulette." He also said if his parents ever found out she was in the house, he would smother her. She was forced to live in his bedroom, using a bucket instead of the toilet. He would sneak her downstairs at night to shower when everyone was asleep and she only had his leftovers to eat. During the day when he was at work she would read, watch TV with the volume turned down low or listen to music on headphones to pass the time. Tanya did try to escape but was caught each time, with Thomas threatening to kill her and telling her that no one cared about her anyway and that her parents had moved on with their lives. "His coercion and grooming were so complete I lived in fear of upsetting him and being punished with rape or beatings," she recalled. Eventually he introduced her to his family and gave her the alias of Nikki Diane Allen. His frail parents had no idea she was being held captive under their roof. She claimed he had as much control over his family as he did over her. Knowing she was brainwashed after many years of his abuse, he started to let her out - but she had strict curfews. Eventually, when she was in her early twenties, she got a job stacking shelves at a local convenience store run by Joe Sparico and his wife, Janet. Seeing their happy, healthy marriage made her begin to question her horrific situation. Joe, who had a daughter of a similar age to Tanya, also began asking questions. "He would tell me, 'you are this young girl. You don't have parents in your life. You have no family. You're with this older man. Something doesn't seem right,'" she told She ignored his concerns at first but eventually broke down in tears and revealed everything to him. "I started crying and shaking. I blamed myself. I told him I did something so horrible in my life. I've been with Tom since I was 14." After looking her up on the database of missing children, Joe saw that she was telling the truth and helped her escape. When she returned home to Thomas, she was cleaning downstairs when the police knocked at the door after Joe called them. At the age of 24, Tanya was finally freed from her captor. She reunited with her father at the police station and "collapsed" into his arms. However when she got home, he and his girlfriend questioned her story, unable to understand why she hadn't escaped sooner and said that her story didn't add up. Her mother Sherri had remarried and supported her daughter throughout her attempts at recovery. She went to counselling, attended college where she obtained a degree in business management and got her driving licence. However the abuse she suffered meant she was physically as well as mentally scarred. After years of being brutally raped she had to have a hysterectomy, meaning she could never have her own children. Malnourishment had also led to hearing and sight problems and arthritis. After his arrest Thomas faced three counts of involuntary deviant sexual intercourse, one count of statutory sexual assault, two counts of aggravated indecent assault, one count of interference with custody of a child, one charge of endangering the welfare of a child, one count of corruption of a minor and one count of indecent assault. He wasn't charged with kidnapping because Tanya went willingly to his house. Thomas made a plea with prosecutors and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Tanya wishes she had gone to trial but she was advised she wasn't mentally fit to go through with it. "He was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but I wanted him to die in prison," she said. After serving his full sentence, Thomas was released from prison in February 2022. He still lives in the same house where he held Tanya captive and is a registered sex offender. Tanya lives just 15 minutes away from him and constantly fears bumping into him. However she is now happily married to a man called Karl McCrum who she met while working at K-Mart in 2008. They married in 2018 and she is step mum to his two children and has step grandchildren, who she says bring her "joy" she never thought she would experience. In 2011 she released her book, Memoir of a Milk Carton Kid: The Tanya Nicole Kach Story. Several films have been made about her terrifying ordeal, with the most recent being the 2024 Lifetime movie: The Girl Locked Upstairs: The Tanya Kach Story. It was made by executive producer Elizabeth Smart who at the age of 14 was abducted from her bedroom at her Salt Lake City home and tortured for nine months. Tanya still has flashbacks, suffers PTSD, anxiety attacks, nightmares and migraines to this day but she has found comfort in her family. Unfortunately after the release of her book she became estranged from her dad. "I tried with my dad," she said. "I tried so hard. It breaks my heart every day." Now Tanya shares her story in schools and at organisations to share the message about how dangerous grooming is and how easily it can happen. "I am trying to raise awareness that grooming can happen anywhere and right under your nose," she told the Sun. "Mums and dads must be aware it can happen in person, online anywhere. It happened to me."
