Travels with Tom

Thomas Konikowski, 16, was a junior at
Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island.
Tom was diagnosed with Fanconi Anemia in July 1998.

Fanconi Anemia is an autosomal recessive blood disorder that leads to bone marrow failure and the need for a bone marrow transplant.

Tom underwent a bone marrow transplant at Fairview-University Medical Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 26, 2003. Sadly, Tom died on February 17, 2004 of an intracranial hemorrhage.

Please join us on this journey remembering Tom.

Journal

Sunday, May 13, 2007 8:11 PM EDT

Happy Birthday, Tom! Today is your 20th birthday and how I wish you were here. You were born at 8:11 PM and that's why I waited until this time to write about you again.

Today Paul and I went to Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in Sarasota to celebrate Tom's birthday and Mother's Day. Perhaps "celebrate" is not the word to use, but I do celebrate Tom's life every day. He was a unique young man who blessed us with his presence for almost 17 years. I smile because he was my son and shed tears because he is no longer with me.

There was a concert this afternoon at Selby Gardens and we attended. The music was wonderful and the crowd appeared to be having a good time. Paul and I couldn't help but remember Tom as the quartet played and sang jazz and swing numbers all afternoon. How Tom would have loved it!

After the concert, we went to an Oriental buffet in Sarasota that has a Mongolian grill. Again, we were reminded of how much Tom loved the Mongolian grill at the Grand Buffet restaurant back home in Warwick.

When we got home, Paul remarked that we spent the day doing several things that Tom had loved. How I wish that he could have been with us!

This entry may be a bit long because I am including an essay for the English Comp class that I took last summer at Edison College. Our assignment was to write about a person who impacted our lives and one physical aspect of this person. I chose to write about Tom and his voice. If you ever heard him sing, you would know why I made this choice.


"TOM"

The morning sunshine streams into your room and that special spicy gumdrop smell of a late August morning in New England wafts in on the breeze. You look up at me and smile with your heart. I ask you a seemingly endless litany of questions, but I don’t really expect any answer at all. Then, to my surprise, you answer me. You begin to coo and in your own language woo me into joining you in conversation. You smile and laugh taking great delight in the discovery of your voice. Your infant hands reach out and entangle themselves in my hair as I raspberry your little belly while you chortle your joy in this special summer morning moment.

You are now approaching manhood and your voice has developed a velvety richness. You try on accents as if trying on clothes. In one moment, you are “Bond, James Bond,” with a throaty burr reminiscent of Sean Connery. Then, “Thank you, thank you very much,” brings Elvis Presley and his famous lip curl to life in our living room. Thanks to you, Pepé Le Pew, The Three Stooges, Humphrey Bogart, Professor Harold Hill, and even the Angel Gabriel have been guests in our home.

Your rich baritone rings out from behind the closed bathroom door as you ascend and descend the scales while the shower’s splashing water provides your accompaniment. Your next selection is your own medley from Phantom of the Opera followed by “Ya Got Trouble” from The Music Man. Your shower serenade ends with “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof. I can hear the happiness in your voice and I smile to myself knowing that this music brings you many special memories.

We are now in a very different world so many miles from home. Minnesota’s cold winter sunshine is streaming through your window as we wait for the anesthesiology team to prepare you for a lung biopsy. Breathing has become more difficult for you and a non-rebreather mask now helps you breathe. Noticing that it is a little after three o’clock, you lift the mask off your face and ask me why the doctor isn’t here yet. As I begin to answer you, we are interrupted by a soft knock at the door. Dr. Tom, the anesthesiologist, and his team come into your room. Once again, Dr. Tom points out that you share the same first name. You smile, nod, and tell him that you’re ready to go. Dr. Tom asks me to say good-bye for now to you. You remove your mask and despite your labored breathing, smile. I smile in return as I commit this moment to memory in my heart. We hug each other ever so tightly and I don’t want to let you go. I say, “I love you, Tom,” and you reply, “I love you, Mom,” the last words you will ever speak.


As you can see, Tom was very special. I wish that he were here, but I know that he is truly happy and at peace now. Someday we will be reunited and all this heartache will be in the past.

I want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day.

In peace,

Ann, Angel Tom's Mom

Hospital Information:

Patient Room: We love and miss you, Tom.

Home Address:
83 Fox Ridge Crescent
Warwick, RI 02886
401-737-3704

Links:

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