Thomas Shiels Hyman took his time joining our family. Born in Glasgow, Scotland on October 14, 1961, he spent almost 10 months in the comfort of our mother’s womb before he decided it was time to get a move on and join the Hyman brood which consisted of his two sisters (Debra and Janice) and brother (Bill).
And join us he did. Tenacious, smart, driven, smart-assed, and ever so loving, Thomas could be a hammer in a velvet glove. He was the baby in the family and in typical baby-of-the-family fashion let us know he was smarter than all of us. And in some ways, he was, but of course, we wouldn’t admit that. The challenge to lead the conversation at the Hyman family Thursday night dinners was legendary, Thomas tended to nose out the competition.
In the summer of 2018, Thomas began to have some challenges with balance and walking. The list of symptoms he experienced would grow until October 2019, when he was diagnosed with MSA (Multiple System Atrophy). This disorder eventually overtook his body, walking and speaking became more and more difficult.In August, 2020, Thomas was admitted to a long term care home so that he could receive 24 hour care. He continued to have complications, but we never lost hope. Thomas was always one of the strongest people we knew both mentally and physically. His passion, love of life and family and an insane level of curiosity leaves us at a loss to understand how this could have happened to him.Thomas went to the hospital for complications related to MSA in early January, but his condition improved shortly and we were looking forward to him returning to his home. Unfortunately, he contracted COVID and developed pneumonia, which ultimately led to his passing on February 4, 2021.
He was 59 years old.We are establishing the Thomas Shiels Hyman Fund for MSA in loving memory of our brother, son, father and partner, and know he would have strongly supported it. There is much still to learn about MSA and the level of support for patients and their families is sadly lacking. We hope to raise money in Thomas’s name to change that.