Tommy's story
From Mary Snow
CNN
BETH PAGE, New York (CNN) -- It was spring of 1996 when 18-year-old Tommy Joannou playfully posed for a photo with his mother and brothers.
Days later he had a tragic accident that, to this day, has left him severely brain damaged.
"The hard part is a lot of people say, 'Oh, I wouldn't want to live in that condition.' And who would? Nobody would. But when push comes to shove, I've heard a lot of people who don't want to die, when push comes to shove," says Tommy's mother, Rosalee Joannou.
Push came to shove for Rosalee Joannou, she says, when she was told her son was in a persistent vegetative state with little hope of surviving.
The accident happened when the then-teenager was on the hood of a car. It started moving and he was thrown to the ground. Joannou underwent several brain surgeries and did not show improvement. His family took him home and kept fighting.
"One hundred percent, they told us, he will not eat food -- and he does. One hundred percent, they told us, he will never breathe on his own -- and he does... I don't think doctors are liars, I think that they just don't know enough about the brain," says Janice Seaman, Tommy's sister.
And the case of Terri Schiavo has hit home in Beth Page, New York.
Years ago, Joannou, like Schiavo, had his feeding tube removed.
"Everything he does -- when he learns to pull himself up on handles on the wall, we were so excited. Anything he does -- the first time he laughed, we were so excited. The first time he cried, we were so excited. These are all huge milestones," says Rosalee Joannou.
These days, he can shake hands, laugh at jokes and respond to relatives around him, but he cannot speak.
The Joannou family credits intensive therapy -- 70 volunteers a week -- and their faith for Tommy Joannou's progress. His mother hopes his legacy will be one of hope.
But it also comes with a great deal of pain.
Rosalee Joannou breaks down when she says, "When I go to bed every night, I dream about him every night. And I think about him ... "
Rosalee believes the legacy of Terri Schiavo will be that more people will prepare living wills, but she disagrees with the decision to remove her feeding tube.
