He graduated this spring with a nursing degree
Tommy Schomaker entered the world in 2000 with half a heart.
The otherwise-perfect 7-pound baby faced a life-threatening congenital defect that caused the left side of his heart to be critically underdeveloped.
“We found out at our fetal ultrasound at 20 weeks,” his mom, Colleen Schomaker, said. “It was grim, and initially we weren’t given a lot of hope.”
Just seven days after his birth at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Tommy underwent his first of six heart surgeries, marking the beginning of a long relationship with the Ann Arbor hospital and years of critical medical challenges.
The generosity of a little girl’s family gave the 8-year-old — who was running out of time — a chance to grow up.
Fast forward nearly 25 years.
Tommy now works as a nurse assistant on the same hospital floor where he once fought for his life. Today, some of those nurses are co-workers and the doctors who oversaw his care can’t help but grin as they see him walking the halls wearing hospital scrubs.
This spring, he earned his nursing degree from Michigan State University and hopes to work on a pediatric unit, particularly cardiac, so he can help other kids with heart disease.
A life shaped by surgeries
At just 7 days old, surgeons began working to correct Tommy’s defect. He endured surgeries at 5 months, at 2 years, and two more times before doctors told his parents he needed a transplant.
“We lived at Mott over the years,” Colleen said. “Then they sent us home to wait for a heart, and I was petrified. So many nights I wondered, ‘Will he be here in the morning?’”
As his condition worsened, the once-energetic second grader fell asleep under his desk and had trouble climbing stairs. “I would always explain it as ‘My heart hurts,’” Tommy recalled.
He was fading when a 6-year-old girl changed everything. Audrey Rae Brooks died of chemical meningitis in Minnesota, and her family chose to donate her organs.
The call from Mott came in the middle of the night. Tommy and his mom quickly packed and left their Rochester home for Ann Arbor.
“My dad was out of town, and my mom was scared,” Tommy remembered. “I asked my Aunt Linda to turn the music up so I could sing really loud.”
The transplant was a success. “I woke up, saw the clock, and thought, ‘Wow. I made it,’” Tommy said.
A new challenge
After his transplant, Tommy embraced life, making friends and living like a “normal kid.” He got his driver’s license, graduated from high school, and enrolled at Michigan State University to study business.
“A week after orientation at MSU, I went home after seeing the new Spider-Man movie and I had this pain down my spine,” Tommy said. “It was so bad I was screaming and crying.”
Days later, he was diagnosed with leukemia caused by immune-suppressing drugs that prevent organ rejection. To survive the cancer, Tommy needed six months of chemotherapy, which meant delaying his dream to be a Spartan.
“I was devastated. I broke down,” Tommy said.
He got to know and love his nurses at Mott who cared for him during his months of grueling chemotherapy.
“They were so caring and kind,” he said. That’s when Tommy decided to pursue a nursing degree.
“Without my cancer, I wouldn’t have found my calling to be a nurse. I have a fire inside of me to help kids. I can’t wait to take my unique experience and share it with families.”
He was hired as a nurse assistant at Mott while studying at MSU. “I get to work with nurses who took care of me as a kid. That was a full-circle moment.”
One afternoon on his shift, Tommy checked the vitals of baby Mateo, an infant born with a heart defect. In the room next door, Tommy stopped to say hello to a mother and her little girl whose heart was beating with the help of a mechanical device while she waited for a transplant.
None of it would have been possible without Audrey.
“I get goosebumps saying her name,” Tommy said. “A beautiful 6-year-old girl saved my life. Her heart is beating inside me.”
Today he lives to make Audrey proud by using her gift for good.
“I hope and believe I’m doing that,” he said. “I’m giving hope — just like she gave me.”
Watch Tommy’s video
