A young winner of a Pride of Reading Award in 2013, Tom Parry will be at the awards lunch this year to present the award to another young star.
Tom was just 15 when he won the Young Person of the Year accolade, this year sponsored by The Abbey School.
The teenager, then living in Woodley, was recovering from heart surgery and helping his mother battle cancer.
As a baby Tom had undergone an operation on a hole in his heart and underwent two further procedures including heart surgery in February 2011.
Almost exactly a year after his operation his mum, Melanie Kaye, then 53, was told she had breast cancer.
With his older brother working full time, a lot of the family’s daily responsibilities fell to Tom, who was only 14 at the time.
Miss Kaye, who underwent a double mastectomy in November 2012, was told she was in remission in May 2013 and she is due to accompany Tom, now a dad himself, to the awards this year.
She said at the time: “I am very proud of Tom. Not long after recovering from surgery he had to cope with me being ill, as well as all the normal teenage stuff. It has been a pretty tough couple of years.”
Tom was nominated by youth counsellor Paul Cassidy who said: “When Tom’s mum became ill he really stepped up. He was coping with an awful lot. Many people the same age wouldn’t have been able to deal with it all.”
Tom, who was attending The Bulmershe School at the time, was literally shaking with excitement on receiving his well-deserved award. “I’m a happy boy, and all’s good,” he said.
Now 26, Tom lives in Swindon to be close to his daughter who’s at primary school.
“Life is going well,” said the dance music fan who enjoys going to concerts. “My health is at an all-time high and with each heart scan I have at the hospital I seem to be getting better and better.”
The warehouse operative has even joined a gym and as a Reading FC fan manages to go to five or six games each season.
“Mum is also in so much better health. She is now engaged to an amazing guy and they are buying their own place together,” said Tom.
Reflecting on his day in the spotlight at the lunch ceremony in 2013, Tom said: “I remember the day of the ceremony well.
“We arrived all dressed up of course. It was the first time that me or my mum had ever been invited to an award ceremony like this so it was amazing to get to experience it together.
“Of course we were a bit starstruck getting to meet celebrities such as Chris Tarrant, Danyl Johnson, who I still keep in contact with, and Matthew AlIwright.
“Then, if that wasn’t enough, we sat on a table right at the back and one of the gentlemen, who happened to be the chairman of a massive company, had won a prize of a day at Ascot.
“He gave the prize to my mum and even organised his personal driver to pick up my mum and her friend.
“It finally came to my category and I could hear the person starting to describe me and then I got butterflies and I got really excited.
“My name was called out and it takes me a second to get up, just at the realisation of me winning. I felt like it was my 15 minutes of fame!
“I enjoyed my three-course meal and, once the ceremony was over, we went out into the reception area and enjoyed everyone’s company for a while before heading home after the most amazing and giving day I’ve had.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be a part of the big day once again,” said Tom.
