Monday, April 05, 1999
Tory Koch's mom returns good will
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — For weeks, Pam Koch whispered “Paris, France” into the ear of her 5-year-old daughter, Tiffany. So when a Dream Factory volunteer in 1988 asked Tiffany and her older sister, Tory, where they wanted to go on their trip, Tiffany dutifully answered with what she thought her mother had whispered: “Pair of shoes.”
Instead of shoes — or Paris — the organization that grants wishes to sick children sent the Koch family to New York so the terminally ill sisters could see the “Lady,” as they called the Statue of Liberty.
Four years after the Tristate wept when Tory Koch lost her valiant — and public — battle against cystic fibrosis, her mother is working to award dreams for other chronically and terminally ill children.
Mrs. Koch stepped up last month to become the volunteer director of the Dream Factory's Middletown chapter, which serves northern Hamilton, Butler, Warren, Preble and southern Montgomery counties. More than 50 chapters across the country grant an average of 4,000 dreams each year to children, ranging from trips to Disney World to big-screen TVs.
The Dream Factory started 19 years ago in Hopkinsville, Ky., and relies on private donations.
“The trip came at a time in our lives when we felt like there was no hope,” said Mrs. Koch, who lives in Lebanon with her husband, Bill, and four surviving children.
“We were surrounded by hospitals and treatments and doctors. To get away from that for a week ... it was a dream come true.”
Tiffany died in 1991 at age 8 from cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease that affects 300,000 people nationwide and kills half of them by age 31.
The Cincinnati Enquirer and other media chronicled the life of her older sister, Tory — from her experiences receiving a double
lung transplant in 1993 to pushing the pedals of her purple bike for the first time. Tory's unwavering optimism inspired thousands; the petite blonde's death in 1995 was a dramatic denouement.
Jennifer Buescher followed each chapter of Tory's life. The West Chester teen, now 14, clipped articles and stuffed them in a folder along with information on the latest research techniques and treatments for cystic fibrosis.
Born with cystic fibrosis, Jennifer knew firsthand about pounding the chest to loosen the thick mucous lodged in her lungs. She can explain patiently why she has to take a pill every time she eats, to help her body digest and absorb the nutrients of the food.
And like Tory, she wants to go to New York for her dream vacation. Only this time, it's Tory's mother planning the trip, not taking it.
Jennifer's prognosis is much brighter than Tory's was. She is relatively healthy. Her lung capacity is good. Jennifer is active in sports and is a freshman at Mount Notre Dame high school. And she has been hospitalized only once.
Cystic fibrosis is a constant, nagging presence in Jennifer's life, but it doesn't define this vibrant teen-ager who loves dancing and wants to go bungee jumping.
She doesn't want to be treated differently, despite twice daily having to slide into a vest that vibrates and shakes loose mucous in her lungs.
Most of her life, Jennifer has taken dance classes, ballet, tap, jazz — anything with a beat she can move to.
That's part of the reason she wants to go to New York and see a Broadway show. Jennifer can appreciate all the hard work and practice.
The similarities between Jennifer and Tory resound within Mrs. Koch. The way they speak. Their intelligence. Knowing that the two girls share the same disease and both dreamed of New York.
“Deep down, it is a little more difficult,” Mrs. Koch admitted. “In some ways, I start reliving it all over again. But if I can fulfill her dreams, it helps take me one step closer to healing.”
Mrs. Koch regularly visits the graves of Tory and Tiffany, marked by two stone lambs that serve as stand-ins for tombstones.
The lambs are nicked and chipped. One's missing an ear, but the Koch family couldn't bear to put up the stones. It seemed too final.
Sometimes Mrs. Koch feels glued to her bed, frozen from grief. But the lessons of Tory and Tiffany compel her to get up, start her day. Love her other four children and husband, Bill, and help others.
“I hope in my lifetime, I can touch just a portion of the lives Tory and Tiffany touched in their short time here,” Mrs. Koch said.
She believes they're looking down, cheering her on in this new role. “I believe they're sitting in the bleachers saying, "Go get "em, Mom, you can't lie down now. People need you.'”
TO HELP
The Middletown chapter of Dream Factory needs volunteers, board members and donations. To help, call Pam Koch at (513) 425-WISH or (513) 425-9474.
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