Exmouth has always been a magnet for visitors from the Birmingham area but there was no fan of the town keener than eight year-old Tommy Plant.
The youngest of four brothers, he and the family would drive down on a Friday night, often staying at the Premier Inn where his mother would insist on a room with a view of the sea. Why? Because young Tommy was bewitched by the beach, and the waves, and most of all by the coloured lights along the prom.
“He loved those lights,” says his mother Alison. “Back home he’d grin and use his hands to shape the way they hung in the darkness. He was a lovely little boy, so happy, always had a smile on his face.”
But Tommy also had a problem. From the day he was born he suffered from pulmonary hypertension, a condition that restricted the flow of oxygen to his heart. By the age of eight, he’d survived three cardiac arrests. The fourth, on October 1, 2020, was too big a fight for this brave little boy and he sadly lost his battle.
The loss of her youngest son left an enormous hole in Alison’s life but she marked his passing by founding a charity, Forever Tommy’s Trust, dedicated to raising the public profile of what to do in the event of cardiac arrest. To date, tireless fundraising has paid for three defibrillators, all installed in the Birmingham area. The fourth, at a cost of £1700, will be available on Exmouth Rowing Club’s seafront boat house and was formally dedicated to Tommy’s memory.
ERC’s Suzanne Isaacs said: “We’re only too happy to be part of the Plant family’s amazing efforts to honour the passing of their little boy. That the loss of one life could save others is truly a blessing.”
Alison, who arrived with her family to be part of Tommy’s weekend, could only agree. “It takes something like this to realise how kind and generous people can be. Tommy was football-mad all his life, and team members from the Blues (Birmingham City FC) have been fantastically supportive. Now we owe our thanks to the people of Exmouth who have always made us so welcome.
“Aside from St Andrew’s stadium, Exmouth seafront was Tommy’s all-time passion. To be able to contribute a defib within sight of Tommy’s beach would put a big, big grin on his little face.”
By Graham Hurley
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