Tommy's Place on Cape Cod provides escape for families fighting childhood cancer
FALMOUTH - Imagination is a powerful medicine. The way a child's mind can turn pages into life. It's not only a mechanism of learning, but a way to empower. Sometimes, it's even a way to escape pain.
On Tuesday, Olivia Ennis celebrated her fifth birthday. She may not be good at coloring in the lines, but she excels with adversity.
"One day changes everything"
"You live a normal life and then all of a sudden one day changes everything," said Olivia's mother, Rebecca.
In March of 2023, Olivia became sick. Doctors discovered she had leukemia. "It was almost like you're in shock and it's like did I just? is this real?" Rebecca said.
As Olivia began treatment, she further dipped into her alter ego: Spiderman. "Once she got diagnosed her obsession, I just feel like it skyrocketed," Rebecca said.
It became her way to flee the constant medicine and treatment. "I always say like 'you're Spiderman, you're fighting what's happening in your body. You are Spiderman,'" Rebecca said.
Olivia's parents were also hoping to escape their reality. "The normal stresses of life, everything is like just amplified, because you have a sick kid," Rebecca said.
They are finding that release in Falmouth. It's all thanks to an organization called Tommy's Place.
Tommy's Place founder Tim O'Connell
It's a decked out home for children and families battling cancer. Tim O'Connell came up with the idea years ago when a renter couldn't make their reservation at his Martha's Vineyard property.
"Rather than give it to my friends, I ended up driving to the Floating Hospital in Boston," O'Connell said.
He asked if any patients and their families wanted to stay for free. A Lynn family took him up on the offer, leaving behind a lifechanging letter.
"I said if these people are that grateful, there must be hundreds," O'Connell said.
He spent years building Tommy's Place. This week Olivia won their lottery system. Each room of the expansive property has a theme, from a movie theater to an arcade, to Taylor Swift. It's a place for a kid to be a kid. It's a place for them to find their true power.
Tommy's Place also owns and operates a second vacation home in Centerville for kids fighting cancer.