Rethink Remembers Tommy

Tom was a loving fiancé, son, brother and uncle and loved dearly by his large and close family. He was like a brother to his cousins and a much loved and loyal friend to many. He was extremely devoted to his son Jack, who he loved dearly.

Tom had a very promising future. He was always the life and soul of the party and was always the trendiest person in the room. He was also a real family man and very much enjoyed spending time with his family. He was very musical and enjoyed listening to music and playing the guitar. He also had a passion for photography and travelling. Tom was full of compassion, with such a caring nature, willing to go above and beyond to help anyone. He had hoped to eventually work in mental health and help others with similar illnesses to himself.

As a child Tom developed a very rare disorder known as syringomyelia. This is damage to the spinal cord due to the formation of a fluid-filled area within the cord. As a result of this he underwent several decompression surgeries and had a Ventriculoperitoneal shunt fitted to drain the fluid from his brain. Due to the effects of the damage to his brain, Tom had to sleep with a Bipap machine every night as he often forgot to breathe. He was an extremely brave and courageous child and despite coming close to loosing his life, he still managed to keep a sense of humour.

Although Tom had underlying conditions which could have stopped him from living a normal life, he never let it stop him. He was so strong and fought so hard. He managed to do a lot of travelling as a child and teenager and tried lots of adventurous activities.

In 2010, shortly after the birth of his son Jack, Tom started to become quite paranoid and depressed. This later developed into psychosis (schizophrenia as we know now) and Tom was soon admitted to hospital. Tom appeared to respond very well to treatment at the beginning but this unfortunately did not appear to last long. He tried an array of different medications and was in and out of hospital throughout the year. His illness was quite aggressive and the voices and hallucinations were very powerful. Tom was a 'protector' and would harm himself in order to protect his family.

It was in January that Tom's life came to a very unexpected end. It appeared Tom had suffered the torment of his illness for long enough. He was taken to A & E after taking a few too many tablets which Tom believed would make the voices stop, he did not intend on taking his own life. Sadly, he had little choice as it appears he was not provided with the medical intervention he needed and his underlying conditions and the severity of his mental illness were not appreciated by the medical staff in A & E. He was later discharged to his normal psychiatric ward where he passed away on 12 January 2012.

Tom will be missed by so many and his strength and courage will never be forgotten.

Thank you so much for all your support so far, with a special thank you to Justine Lindsey who took part in a cycle from Liverpool to Leeds and raised a huge £700 for Tommy! We appreciate everyone's kindness and generosity with regards to helping support Tommy C's fund, thank you.

During Tom's battle with schizophrenia, it was evident that many health professionals had little knowledge and understanding of Tom's condition and there appeared to be a lot of stigma and negative perception attached to his illness. As a result of this Tom was often treated unfairly at times. We believe that Tom would still be here with us today if there was a better understanding of mental health and conditions like Tom's and we are therefore very passionate about the work that Rethink Mental Illness does everyday. With a better perception of mental health, health professionals can work more effectively with people suffering from mental illness.

Tom always wanted to help others like himself and we feel that through donating to Rethink Mental Illness, we can help others like him to lead happier and healthier lives.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank anyone who has donated to the charity in Tom's memory. Your support is much appreciated.