A bit busier than any ordinary 23-year old adult, Tommy was in school, had a job, and was also an athlete. But as he checked his Facebook message, his life completely changed. How did he end up becoming the world’s youngest grandfather?
It was all of a sudden… in just a few months, he was holding his newborn grandchild. Let’s see how Tommy ended up breaking a record he had never dreamed of. His incredible story has impressed the whole world, and for a very good reason!
For Tommy Connolly, life was normal. Although he was quite busy with his jobs as a real estate agent and going to the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, he was happy.
He had enough time to spend with his friends and family and even do sports! But one day, he received an odd message on social media.
Tommy wasn’t “into sports,” he was actually a great athlete! He was specialized in track and field and heading in for international competitions.
Continuing a career in sports, Tommy worked hard to win regional level competitions. Or so he thought…
Tommy would also work part-time jobs during the summer, and during his studies as well.
In his spare time he would go hiking, water rafting and rock climbing.
Tommy studied business and economics, hoping that one day he would have his own business. Thankfully, he knew how to properly spend his money and he had saved a lot in the past few years.
Dedicated to be a winner both in terms of academics and sports, Tommy was truly an inspiring young man. But his journey would soon show him life wasn’t exactly easy!
Tommy also had a girlfriend - Olivia Tauro, that supported him, no matter what his goals were. They had been known each other since they were eight years old.
She even told him he could travel abroad so that he could achieve his dreams. And she was also by his side when Tommy’s life completely changed…
Looking back at the strange message he got from Facebook, Tommy had never thought his life would take such a turn! It was a message from his cousin who had moved to Southport.
They hadn’t spoken in a long while, actually it has been over a decade since they talked to each other.
“I was really excited to hear from her because I’ve always had a soft spot for her,” told Tommy to Daily Mail.
But he didn’t expect to learn the startling news from her… Tommy said that she “was my favorite little cousin, she was the sweetest girl and we got along so well.”
Kiarna was only 16 years old when she wrote to Tommy on Facebook. He was very happy to hear from his cousin after nearly a decade, but didn’t expect to learn that something was wrong with her.
They exchanged some messages and Tommy realized that something was off with Kiarna. She needed help right away!
Tommy recalled her situation after he learned more about what was happening to his cousin: “She was homeless, no shoes, no phone, with less than a backpack full of clothes” But she wasn’t exactly in danger.
It was someone else that needed a lot more help than she needed…
Learning that his 16 years old cousin was living on the streets, Tommy was shocked. She was sleeping outside, on her own and she even had trouble with the law.
Trying to cope with the news situation, Kiarna turned to drugs but then was able to stop. It was clear she was in the worst situation, but neither Tommy nor her knew how exactly to fix this mess.
Apparently, her boyfriend was sent to jail and now Kiarna had to fend for herself. She was not just a minor, but also homeless and with not exactly the best future ahead of her.
“Life dealt Kiarna a poor hand, and she’s had to play it best she could,” wrote Tommy on Facebook when he decided to tell his story. He had no idea that his post would take the world by storm!
“She’s spent more time on the streets than anywhere else, and knows the police better than she knows her own family,” added Tommy. However, everything was about to change.
Tommy’s heart was broken that Kiarna had ended up in this situation. He even blamed himself for not being there to help her, but he had no idea what was happening to her…
Without any hesitation, Tommy knew he had to intervene. She didn’t ask me if she could stay with me but I had that day off work so I drove down to the Gold Coast straight away and picked her up.” “I took her to lunch and she told me her story,” recalled Tommy.
Soon enough, their lives would completely change!
When Tommy learned about her life on the streets, he realized how much his cousin needed help. “It made me want to do whatever it took to help her.” “It made any problems I ever had seemed irrelevant because the life she has had is so intense.
My focus just immediately turned to her,” he added.
Initially, Tommy was just excited to meet his cousin after not seeing each other for over a decade. But as she told him her story, he could barely keep his composure.
“I went and picked her up and she basically started telling me about her situation, which was hard for me to hear because she was my favorite little cousin when I was growing up.”
Tommy decided Kiarna would go home with him, and together, they would figure out their next step. Although leading a busy life, Tommy knew he had to do whatever it took to help Kiarna lead a better life.
His cousin couldn’t read, was homeless and had no support whatsoever. This was going to change, thought Tommy.
What Tommy didn’t know was that Kiarna had one more secret. She was too afraid to tell people about it, especially to Tommy, thinking he may freak out. You see, Kiarna’s life, until she became homeless, was tough.
She had been in and out of foster care, but Tommy was going to change that. He offered to become her guardian.
Tommy’s goal was to make sure Kiarna would get back on track, get educated and stay safe. What he Didn’t know was that his cousin was 23 weeks pregnant!
She was afraid to tell him, thinking he may not want to help her anymore. However, Tommy’s reaction was incredible!
To Tommy, family is family, and he was going to personally make sure that his cousin had all the support she need to have a brighter future. No matter the sacrifices he had to take, he knew it was the right decision.
Still, he was clueless about his cousin pregnancy. What did he do when he discovered Kiarna was with child?
Leaning your cousin you just met after a decade was homeless was as shock for Tommy. He was also surprised to learn she was pregnant.
However, he still wanted to be her permanent guardian, and her unborn child’s future now depended on his choices. But Kiarna had one more problem!
After learning she was pregnant, child services had been following the teenage mom and let her know that once the baby was born, they would have to take it away from her. That thought had tormented Kiarna for a long time.
“Since carrying this gorgeous boy, all of my friends kept telling me that he would be taken away from me,” Kiarna revealed in the interview.
“This made my pregnancy very difficult. All I wanted was to give this little man a better life than I had – a second chance was all I wanted,” she said.
But to do so, she had to fight for a better life, and it was difficult. Since Tommy came into her life, her task was much easier, though…
Tommy was now racing against time to become his cousin’s legal guardian. He first tried to become his foster parent but was told the didn’t qualify for it.
The two cousins were devastated to hear the news, especially knowing that the baby’s fate was uncertain. But they didn’t give up!
“Everyone likes to tell me this is such a big responsibility,” said Tommy, looking back at all the hardships he had encountered. He took legal advice and did everything in his power to become his cousin’s guardian.
He even spent some of his savings and rented a bigger apartment for them. “I wasn’t thinking about uni or work or anything, all I was doing was thinking that she needed me,” said Tommy.
“I’ve spent the last few months working, moving houses, having meetings with different departments, signing forms, being assessed and monitored, chasing funds, setting up her bank accounts…” said Tommy.
But he wasn’t finished, he said, adding that he was also “buying baby stuff, furniture, going to hospital and doctor appointments and getting [her] settled in.” And there’s more!
Tommy was even Kiarna’s personal teacher. He taught her to read and write, and even how to drive a car. Kiarna learned fast!
She passed the driving test and now had a learner’s permit! Everything was going great. Then, as he made these improvements, Tommy was ready to reapply for guardianship.
Tommy finally became Kiarna’s legal guardian, which basically made him her dad! Now Kiarna was safe and she would be able to keep her baby!
“Happy to say she has a new home, as I’ll be taking care of her from now on,” Tommy wrote. Now, the two were waiting for her baby to be born…
Some people’s reaction to Tommy’s new decisions were that he was putting his future in jeopardy. They argued that he was doing more than he should have.
Remember that he was going to become an international athlete. However, he had put sports on a pause when he decided to change his cousin’s life.
Even his studies were a bit behind, but Tommy didn’t care about it. He knew family was more important! He did continue working and he knew he did the right thing.
The baby’s due date was now here! It was just two months after Tommy became his cousin’s legal guardian.
On March 16th, Kiarna gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy. Meanwhile, Tommy was in the hospital waiting room, writing a college assignment. However, when the moment came, he got inside the room and filmed the moment, and cut the umbilical cord.
The next day, he was at the university, delivering a presentation. You could say Tommy was quite a busy grandpa now!
Although not exactly his blood, Kiarna’s son Kayden was Tommy’s grandchild! At 23 years old, Tommy was a grandfather! Tommy’s girlfriend was very supportive, helping the young mom to adjust to her new life.
This was quite a strange family, but neither of them cared! “She’s the toughest girl I know!” said Tommy about his cousin. “All she wants is for him to have a better life than she’s had.”
“There’s still a long way to go, but things are on track and she has the opportunity she deserves. When bad things happen, it’s your family that supports you,” added Tommy.
The local community learned about their story and set up a GoFundMe page so that people could help them. “Christmas came early for Kiarna today,” Tommy wrote on Facebook later that year…
She received funding for the first time, she’s moved into a house to get us a brand new fridge, washing machine, dryer, TV unit and some things for the kitchen,” wrote Tommy. “We are very lucky.
Been a while since we’ve been able to wash our clothes properly,” added the young grandpa.
“My cousin does 90 percent of the work,” said Tommy about caring for his grandson. “If it’s one or two years of my life I have to put on hold to make sure two lives are going to be saved, it’s nothing at all,” he added.
Tommy still works as a real estate agent and dreams of opening his own business. In the end, he even got to do it!
Tommy started his own real estate company, UN Real Estate. Although his old boss said he couldn’t do it, he managed it on his own.
His boss told Tommy he was too inexperienced and young to achieve such a goal. But for Tommy, it all sounded like he had been challenged, wo he decided to prove his boss wrong.
“Never tell somebody they CAN’T do something,” he told his old boss.
Motivated by his doubt, Tommy was able to achieve the “impossible.” As for the name of his company, Tommy said UN comes from the word “unreal,” meaning that the real estate agents are “NOT stereotypical.” Tommy said: “We are real people.”
What makes the real estate agents at his company “unreal” is that they are not “sleazy manipulative pushy rude cheesy salesmen.” His company motto is: “We don’t wear ties, we don’t tell lies.” As for his story about becoming a grandfather at 23 years old, Tommy couldn’t believe it went viral!
“Why did the post go viral? It was family helping family. That should always be a standard thing.
Since then, we’ve had so many random acts of kindness from people we don’t even know,” said Tommy. Tommy is now hoping others would do the same and pay it forward, since even small kind gestures can change the world.
“They say the best gifts in life come badly wrapped. When he was born, it all started to make sense. I lost some friends and family along the way…” said Tommy, looking back at how it all started.
“They never saw the bigger picture. All I wanted was to keep this boy safe and happy,” added the proud grandfather.
“I’d pick him every day of the week, 365 days of the year. I may not be your real dad, but I’m your family and I’ll always be here for you,” Tommy wrote in his social media post.
“I haven’t seen my real dad for over 13 years. I learned that a father is what a father does…” He couldn’t have said it better!
“Family is what family does. Happy birthday to the happiest boy in Queensland, the best looking boy in the family, the best anti-depressant that money couldn’t buy,” wrote Tommy on his grandson’s birthday.
“… And the future world champion in whatever he chooses to do. I love you kid,” Tommy added.
Now Kiarna and her son have a roof under their heads and they can call it home. Kayden is now having the best childhood Tommy, Kiarna and Olivia can offer.
Kiarna just got her high school diploma and a job so she can support and take care of her son on her own. Meanwhile, Tommy is indeed the youngest grandpa in the world!