MARIA S. YOUNG / TIMES PHOTO
For 13 years, Tommy Campbell didn’t really want to be known as the kid with cancer. But now, almost four years after the lifelong Northeast resident passed away with complications from a rare genetic condition known as multiple endocrine neoplasa, every patient who passes through the oncology unit at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children will know Campbell’s name.
On Feb. 17, Campbell’s family, friends and former caregivers dedicated a new education center there that will allow young cancer patients, their families and the oncology staff to gather, study, confer and even have a bit of fun during their protracted hospital visits. The center features a 70-inch interactive “smart board” monitor, five desktop computers with software, printers, fully accessible furnishings and other amenities to make the hospital experience less institutional.
The nonprofit Tommy Campbell Foundation funded the center with the help of countless grassroots supporters.
“My son passed away in July 2012 and quickly afterward we decided to do something positive in Tommy’s name,” said Paula Campbell, Tommy’s mother.
At 25, the younger Campbell had been battling related illnesses for more than half his life.
ldquo;We decided we’d create a foundation and have a benefit,” Paula Campbell said. “Our first thought was St. Christopher’s (because) he was a patient here until he passed away. We don’t have corporate sponsors or big sponsors. It’s just everyday people who are making a difference.”
Tommy’s cousins Colleen Glennon and Jimmy McCann helped Paula start the foundation. The first benefit was such a success that the event has become an annual affair. This year’s installment will be held on Friday, March 4, at The Philadelphia Ballroom, 2014 Hornig Road, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. It will feature live music from the band Gypsy Wisdom, as well as dinner, drinks and raffles. Tickets cost $40 and must be purchased in advance via [email protected] or www.ticketriver.com.
The foundation has raised more than $50,000 since 2012 through the benefit celebrations as well as other activities throughout the year such as a dragon boat regatta and a Running of the Santas. The nonprofit has no paid staff, so all of the proceeds support young people. In addition to the education center at St. Chris, the foundation funds high school and college scholarships for students who want to further their educations in the medical field.
“This was always our long-term goal and our short-term goal was to do scholarships,” Glennon said of the education center. “We thought it would take 10 years and it didn’t. It took (less than) four. But we’re still fundraising because there’s still stuff to be done. There’s still stuff to be done to this room. We’ve had a lot of support.”
Organizers of the foundation chose to focus on education because it was very important in Tommy’s life. Despite being diagnosed with a grave illness at such a young age and enduring some 10 surgeries to remove tumors from his thyroid and other glands, he graduated from Archbishop Ryan in 2005 with an “A-plus” average, followed by Temple with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. He then became an intensive care nurse at a local hospital.
“He was very good at school and I guess that was because it was something he could control,” said Paula Campbell, who raised Tommy with the help of her husband, John Witmer.
Dr. Gregory Halligan of St. Chris supervised Tommy’s treatment throughout his illness and is named on a memorial plaque that now hangs on the wall of the hospital’s new education center. According to Peg Mulherin, an oncology nurse at St. Chris, Halligan went to great lengths to seek the best treatments for Tommy, consulting with colleagues across the country. Tommy traveled to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, Johns Hopkins in Maryland, Sloan Kettering in New York City and Banes Hospital in St. Louis for various procedures.
Campbell was a resilient patient, refusing to allow doubt or resignation compromise his will to persevere.
“Whatever he needed, he did, no matter how much he didn’t want to do it,” Mulherin said.
“There was always a future. He life was going to be as normal as possible and we did what we could,” Paula Campbell added. “There was a future and he was going to have that.”
Outside of the hospital, Tommy tried not to let on that there was anything wrong. Some of his close friends didn’t even know how ill he was at times. When he needed another surgery, Campbell would disappear for a while, only to return as cheerful as ever.
“He was fun, outgoing, smart, goofy, unique, just funny — a happy person,” said best friend Danielle Monica. “Just meeting him one time, he would make an impression on you.”
“When you met Tommy, it was a fun uplifting experience,” McCann said. “It was light — (like) ‘what are we going to do to have fun?’ — and joking. Me, my sister Jackie and Tommy were all around the same age and were like siblings. We did everything together.”
In spirit, they still do. ••
Spreading hope: Paula Campbell (above), Tommy’s mother, holds a memorial plaque at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. She created the nonprofit Tommy Campbell Foundation in memory of her son. The foundation has raised more than $50,000 since 2012. MARIA S. YOUNG / TIMES PHOTO
Remembering Tommy: A new education center at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children was dedicated to Tommy Campbell on Feb. 17. Tommy died in 2012 from complications from a rare genetic condition. The center features a smart board monitor, computers, printers and other amenities to allow young cancer patients and their families to gather, study and have fun during hospital visits. MARIA S. YOUNG / TIMES PHOTO
