Dealing with a serious illness is terrifying and it breaks your heart. But it also forces you to take leaps. It teaches you how limited your time is and that it’s up to you to make the best of it. Tom, having been first diagnosed ovarian cancer when he was 17, had already mastered this lesson before I met him. He wasn’t one for putting something off. If he wanted to go to an event he’d book it, and he’d figure out the money later. If he didn’t have much energy he’d do it sitting down.
Tomen & Killian
Me and Tom met in an animation PLC course. For the entire first year he didn’t miss a single day of college. Only half of one, which he missed so that he could be interviewed by RTÉ about the importance of lowering the age of free smear tests in Ireland.