By Jake Dickman
NKyTribune intern
On October 12th, Covington Catholic Senior Thomas Burns had his world turned upside down. It was on that day that Thomas was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer prevalent in bones.
In Burns’s case, the cancer was found in his pelvis. He was understandably filled with a rush of emotions, not knowing how this was going to affect him.
“When they first told me I had cancer, I really didn’t know what to think,” Burns said. “Mainly I was annoyed because I knew this would mess with the rest of my senior year. A little part of me was scared too, because I don’t know how this will affect my future.”
Burns is, of course, defined by more than his battle with cancer.
He currently lives with his family in Fort Wright. His parents Dave and Julie work at Cincinnati Children’s, which is where he will do his 30-week chemotherapy treatment. He also has one sibling, Charlie, who will be a freshman at Covington Catholic next year.
After hearing about his battle with cancer, the communities of both Covington Catholic and St. Agnes, where Burns went to grade school, have signed up to deliver food for the family. Once the list opened, it was immediately filled by friends and family who wanted to do their part. So much so, that the list is currently filled up through March.
“This really helped a lot,” claims Burns, “I kind of assumed that I would have a big support system, but I really didn’t expect it to be as big as it is. It really makes my situation easier.”
A group of Burns’s close friends decided that the food was not enough, however, and they wanted to recognize what he is enduring. So, they created shirts with Burns’s face on them and sold them around the community.
The project was spearheaded by Simon Fieler, a junior at Covington Catholic. Simon is a neighbor of Burns and one of his good friends. After hearing of Burns’s diagnosis, he joined forces with his friends and Covington Catholic religion teacher Al Hertsenberg to come up with a plan to raise money for the family. The group decided to make shirts to spread awareness for their friend. The final design was decided upon, and it includes a picture of Burns’s face with the words “TB Strong” printed onto it.
Originally, Simon and the group decided that the shirts would be pre-sold for $10 in the Covington Catholic cafeteria during each lunch period. However, word quickly spread around the community, and Simon was immediately getting orders from families who don’t have students currently attending Covington Catholic. These orders included many students at Notre Dame Academy who attended St. Agnes with Burns.
In order to accommodate this high demand, Simon agreed with the Covington Catholic Spirit Shop to have the shirts be pre-sold on their website. Posts were made on social media, and schoolwide emails were sent encouraging students, including those who may not know Burns, to buy the shirt.
In total, 801 shirts were pre-sold around the Northern Kentucky community. From Covington Catholic families to everywhere in between, so many are showing their support for Thomas Burns.
Upon hearing about their plan to create shirts, Covington Catholic Athletic Director Tony Bacigalupo agreed that anyone who buys a shirt would be granted entry into the Covington Catholic vs. Highlands basketball game on January 17, 2023. Once this news was released, Simon was again showered with orders from Highlands families wanting to buy their shirts to show their support, despite the fierce rivalry with Covington Catholic.
It was decided that the 801 shirts would be printed along with extras in order to accommodate for those who missed the pre-order sale. All final profits will go to the Burns family to help them through this tough time.
The group’s work did not go unnoticed by Burns either, who once again is excited and grateful for the support being shown to him.
“I’m not sure the exact number of how many have been sold, but I know it’s an insane amount. But yeah, the shirts are so cool. Back to what I said about the support system, it really shows how many people are supporting me through this.”
Burns is grateful to his friend Simon, for all he has done.
“Simon has been such a great help through all of this. Going out of his way to do a lot of the work with the shirts was a really nice thing of him to do, and I couldn’t express how much I appreciate it.”
It’s safe to say that this is a fundraiser that the Burns family as well as the entire Covington Catholic community will not soon forget.
Jake Dickman is a student at Covington Catholic High School and an intern for the NKyTribune.
