Tomatoestried to Kill meBut Banjos Saved My Life
Stories from the community
Everyone has a story. Your stories matter.
Keith Alessi had a story.
He was neither an actor nor a musician, and his journey to the stage was a highly improbable one. But this show is a reflection of the power and purpose our stories can have when we share them with the world in an authentic and honest way.
Everyone has a story. What’s yours?
We are inspired and amazed by the resilience, fortitude, and love shared by so many of the people we've met through our Tomatoes tours over the years. We wanted to create a space to collect and share these stories with the community. Find inspiration from people around the world (or future friends) and share your own story of resilience and purpose, of overcoming obstacles and facing life head-on.
INSPIRING COMMUNITY STORIES
When I was 70 I met a man that was near 85 and he told me his story of cancer. He said 20 years ago I was given 18 months to live. He said he was included in a study of 400 men with his type of cancer and he was the only one of the 400 that survived. I was as you might imagine totally amazed, so I asked him what he thought the secret of his success was. He said that doctor was a good man and he did his best with all his patients; but there was one thing he forgot to tell me, he never told me which 18 moths would be my last, so I determined live them all and let the calendars figure out the rest. I tell this story to every person that shares their cancer journey with me, so that they can decide for themselves which 18 months they want to be their story ending.
I was a Paramedic for almost 35 years and I saw a lot of death. Lost my Wife of 42 years to lung cancer in 2013 and I wanted so much for her not to have pain, not to be sick, not to die but the only thing that was mine to have was to learn from every minute we had together. To do better to be better and to listen to peoples stories and share what I have learned.
Pat was a hospice nurse and she gave us a master class in how she wanted to die. She wasn't sure I could do what she needed because I was one of this life saving paramedic guys. In the end it is always our honour to serve and she thanked me for the job I did for her. With every patient that I got to serve it was always my honour to make their journey just what they wanted.
My husband and I purchased a long arm quilting machine in February 2020. We had only been quilting for a few years but we knew we wanted to do more. There was a need for Comfort Quilts: veterans, foster children, cancer patients, babies, nursing homes, etc. And then, of course, Covid happened! But we had plenty of time to practice with the machine and it was all charity work so we spent months getting better. And that first year we completed 300 quilts. We have learned a LOT and attracted a few customers and many more quilty friends. The journey continues and we are still turning out 300 plus quilts each year. The work is immensely rewarding and we are together 24/7 (retired), grateful and blessed to be able to help our community.
SUBMIT YOUR OWN STORY
Have a story of overcoming obstacles? Share it with the Tomatoes community!
We'll review your story and post it to our website and potentially our newsletter to community members.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR CAUSE
Check out some of the incredible organizations we support through the Tomatoes project and consider making a donation to support their work.
Sophie’s Place at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, the sixth in the nation, is a dedicated music therapy environment to promote creative expression, safety, and solace for patients and their families throughout the healing process.
Visit Website
ECAN was created with the primary goal to raise awareness of the risk of Esophageal Cancer posed by persistent heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (known as GERD). While increased awareness remains ECAN’s primary focus, educating patients about their options for prevention, early detection and treatment has become a priority. ECAN has become a trusted and reliable source for the latest in medical research affecting those at risk for Esophageal Cancer.
Visit Website
Wellspring is a Canada-wide network of charities, offering programs and services, at no charge and without referral, to anyone, with any type of cancer, at any stage in their journey. Wellspring provides a community of support for those living with cancer and their loved ones, driven by our members’ needs.
Visit Website
