It’s not your typical romantic start to a love story, but Ann and Tom Buman met in a cemetery and have now been married for over 30 years! Earlier in 2021 they purchased a new home in Lindley, New York, but after a visit to the Emergency Room in Corning during the beginning of Fall, Ann has been referring to Kevin Guest House as her “home away from home”.
Tom was extremely close to his father, Eugene Buman who unfortunately passed away earlier in the year. At the beginning of September, Tom was experiencing extreme fatigue, but Ann suspected it was depression from his recent loss. On September 14th they decided to seek medical treatment by going to the ER in Corning. After some initial testing, it was determined that Tom has leukemia. This was quite a shock for the couple, but they were advised that there wasn’t time for a second opinion, and he would need immediate treatment. They tried three local hospitals, but unfortunately a bed was not available. Since he was instructed not to go home, later in the evening Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center was alerted of the situation and encouraged the couple to travel to Buffalo for treatment. They tried to coordinate transportation by ambulance and helicopter, but the weather conditions in Buffalo were poor. Ann ended up driving them through the night, arriving at Roswell around 3 AM on the 15th. The next day was Ann’s birthday and she never imagined she’d be spending it in a new city unexpectedly.
During that initial visit, Tom ended up staying at RPCCC for 28 days. At the time, they weren’t aware of Kevin Guest House, so Ann and Tom’s mother, Patricia Buman took turns staying at a local hotel as they commuted back and forth for all his blood and platelet transfusions. That quickly turned very costly, so other family members helped contribute financially. After a short time at home, a bone marrow match was located …. a young gentleman in Germany! The Bumans returned to Buffalo on December 15th to prepare for the bone marrow transplant. Tom had a successful procedure on December 23rd, which means they’ll be staying in the area for at least 100 days.
As a result of the distance home (2.5 hours one way) and to stay safe throughout treatment during a pandemic, the Bumans stay in contact with family and friends through Facetime. Their four supportive children who helped contribute to hotel costs include Brian Buman, Britney Clark, Aundria Neally and Brett Buman. Ann and Tom love spending time with their 10 grandchildren by making homemade apple cider, partaking in Easter egg hunts, and Tom’s mother Patricia paints rocks that the family hides in the woods for the grandchildren to find. One of their granddaughters wants to be a doctor when she grows up, and they all play a dice game called “Bones” on FaceTime from the hospital. Although they spend a lot of time together, they all have their own favorite NFL team to cheer for!
Since they couldn’t celebrate the holidays together, their children ordered a special Christmas tree for Ann’s room. Their family back home picked out their favorite ornament from their own trees to loan to Ann for the holiday season. She plans to keep the tree up for their stay in Buffalo and their family will make homemade themed ornaments for each month to rotate out through springtime.
When asked about her favorite feature of Kevin Guest House, Ann quickly replied that, “there’s always a warm meal ready after a long day visiting Tom at the hospital”. This takes off a huge burden for her, as she no longer worries about spending her limited moments shopping or preparing food and instead uses her time to visit with her husband. She expressed that with the purchase of their new house and appliances, they never planned for this emotionally or financially. They both are extremely grateful to be involved with Kevin Guest House. Ann has been known to repeatedly text her children stating that she’s at her home away from home. She also commented that “In a world that has so much negativity, it’s so wonderful to be offered so much by Kevin Guest House. Especially at a time when it’s really needed.”
