Tom raised our daughter’s spirits in her final months
It felt like we’d lost a member of the family when Tom
have that frame in our bedroom,” Yasmin, says fondly. “We put a picture of Amani when she was young in it.
“It was just so generous of him and his wife Kelsey and that was them – always a support and joy, even when he was ill himself, and going through so much with his own family.”
At the time, Tom was in Spain having treatment at a private hospital.
Yasmin goes on: “The day after
Amani passed away, Tom messaged me to say he and Kelsey were sending love.
“I said, ‘The time you gave to Amani was the best gift. You gave her some of the best moments in 2021 and she was so excited’.
“He said, ‘Oh Yasmin, that really means a lot’. He was really good at reassuring us. Just keep going, keep fighting.” Another example came on February 6, when Yasmin found Amani clutching her phone. She explains: “It was gobbledygook what she’d written as she had lost the feeling in one side of her body and had been very poorly. Her vision was going.
“But she’d sent Tom a message in a burst of energy and even though he wouldn’t have understood, he replied. Both of them held on – Amani to get her Masters and Tom for his concerts.”
Amani was diagnosed with grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme, a fastgrowing brain cancer, on her 22nd birthday. Her battle lasted 22 months.
Tom – who leaves wife Kelsey and children Aurelia Rose, two and Bodhi, one – lived for 18 months after the same diagnosis in 2020. Solicitor
Khuram says: “It was like losing another member of your family – a family with a unique bond.”
Yasmin says: “It totally knocked us to hear of his death. Heartbreaking. But a lesson from Amani and Tom is that whatever you are faced with, you can still make a difference.
“They could have curled up in a heap, but there was still so much that Amani and Tom managed to achieve after their diagnosis. We can all take something from them.”