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American Morning

The Family Tom

Aired December 25, 2003 - 08:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The family you're about to meet, at first glance, might not appear to have much to be thankful for -- 14 children, 11 with special needs, raise single-handedly by their adoptive mother. Together, Susan Tom and her kids face serious challenges. But this family is resilient, self-assured and the subject of a new documentary called "My Flesh and Blood."
The film is a year long look at their remarkable lives and was a winner at the Sundance Film Festival this year and is now being shown in New York and Los Angeles.

I visited with the family in northern California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Susan Tom is a 55-year-old single mother of 14. She claims she's not a saint, but an ordinary woman.

SUSAN TOM: Has anybody heard any good jokes?

O'BRIEN (on camera): I read a quote that you said, "Children are a gift."

TOM: Children are a gift. You have to take them at face value, you know, especially if you adopt, and to watch them grow and learn things and become productive, contributing adults, I think is a great thing.

O'BRIEN: Why take on so many kids?

TOM: Well, I didn't start out thinking oh, gee, I'll get 14 children. But I found my children. These were my kids. And so I brought them home. Four are from Russia and one is from Korea.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): This is how it all started, according to Susan. She was once married and has two biological sons. But she always wanted a daughter and decided to adopt a baby girl from Korea.

TOM: Emily, at two, came down with an arthritis type disease, which, at the time, was fairly devastating for her because she couldn't walk and she couldn't use her hands.

O'BRIEN (on camera): What it really did, as well, though, was kind of open up the door to children with disabilities coming into your home, is that right?

TOM: I think so. I think that I understood that my window of acceptance was bigger and that I could deal with it.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Soon, there were 14 children under one roof, 11 with serious medical problems.

TOM: Anthony is 21. He has the genetic skin disease which causes a glitch in your collagen seven, which is what keeps your skin stuck to you. Margaret is 20 and she was premature and had brain surgery. Marion is 17. Cassena (ph) is 16 and she was born without legs. Katie (ph) is 15 and she has fetal alcohol syndrome and mild cerebral palsy. Hannah is 13 and she was born without legs. Chloe (ph) is 10 and she has arthrogryposis, and you're born with joints that don't bend. Libby (ph) is 11 and she has spina bifida. Faith is 10 and she was badly burned when she was four months old. And Joe is 15 and he has cystic fibrosis and diabetes and is bipolar.

O'BRIEN: Even people who have big families, to have six when -- or to have 14 when you're talking about a number of children whoa are disabled with serious disabilities, that's got to really complicate things.

TOM: Well, you've got to remember, not all 14 are at home. I mean if you do your job right, they grow up and move out. And I expect all of them to grow up and move out and have, you know, good paying jobs and support me in my old age.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): The day I visited the Tom family, the kids were busy making Christmas tree ornaments and Susan was preparing a rather large lunch.

TOM: Three pounds of cheese.

O'BRIEN (on camera): How do you pay for the treatments, the clothes, the shoes, the wheelchairs, the food?

TOM: Some of the kids have Social Security disability and with that comes Medical and Medicare. And that pays for wheelchairs and hospitalizations.

It says Chloe and Katie.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And, as she added children, she refinanced her house to build extra bedrooms. Today, there are nine children living with her in her spacious yet crowded California home.

TOM: What can I do for you?

O'BRIEN: Susan is a loving mother, good humored and supportive. She encourages the children, no matter what their disability, to be self-assured and independent.

TOM: I hope that they feel secure with themselves. I hope they, you know, know that they can do anything that they aspire to do.

O'BRIEN: The documentary shows the Tom family as they really are. You witness their suffering, tears, joy and laughter. And you realize how Susan's optimism affects her kids. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get a lot of guy friends at school. I actually like it, not having legs, and I can do some stuff that they can't do and they like actually think it's like fascinating.

O'BRIEN: Susan says that everyone will take away something different from this film and she makes it clear that she didn't agree to participate because she was on a crusade for adoption.

TOM: It is not my place to change anybody's mind. I may be able to open their window and they may view things a little different. And from that they may grow. But it is, that's not my job and that's not -- I'm not on a crusade, I'm not on a mission. I just collected my kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The documentary about Susan Tom and her family will be shown on HBO on Mother's Day. It's being considered for an Academy Award nomination for best documentary.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired December 25, 2003 - 08:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The family you're about to meet, at first glance, might not appear to have much to be thankful for -- 14 children, 11 with special needs, raise single-handedly by their adoptive mother. Together, Susan Tom and her kids face serious challenges. But this family is resilient, self-assured and the subject of a new documentary called "My Flesh and Blood."
The film is a year long look at their remarkable lives and was a winner at the Sundance Film Festival this year and is now being shown in New York and Los Angeles.

I visited with the family in northern California.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Susan Tom is a 55-year-old single mother of 14. She claims she's not a saint, but an ordinary woman.

SUSAN TOM: Has anybody heard any good jokes?

O'BRIEN (on camera): I read a quote that you said, "Children are a gift."

TOM: Children are a gift. You have to take them at face value, you know, especially if you adopt, and to watch them grow and learn things and become productive, contributing adults, I think is a great thing.

O'BRIEN: Why take on so many kids?

TOM: Well, I didn't start out thinking oh, gee, I'll get 14 children. But I found my children. These were my kids. And so I brought them home. Four are from Russia and one is from Korea.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): This is how it all started, according to Susan. She was once married and has two biological sons. But she always wanted a daughter and decided to adopt a baby girl from Korea.

TOM: Emily, at two, came down with an arthritis type disease, which, at the time, was fairly devastating for her because she couldn't walk and she couldn't use her hands.

O'BRIEN (on camera): What it really did, as well, though, was kind of open up the door to children with disabilities coming into your home, is that right?

TOM: I think so. I think that I understood that my window of acceptance was bigger and that I could deal with it.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Soon, there were 14 children under one roof, 11 with serious medical problems.

TOM: Anthony is 21. He has the genetic skin disease which causes a glitch in your collagen seven, which is what keeps your skin stuck to you. Margaret is 20 and she was premature and had brain surgery. Marion is 17. Cassena (ph) is 16 and she was born without legs. Katie (ph) is 15 and she has fetal alcohol syndrome and mild cerebral palsy. Hannah is 13 and she was born without legs. Chloe (ph) is 10 and she has arthrogryposis, and you're born with joints that don't bend. Libby (ph) is 11 and she has spina bifida. Faith is 10 and she was badly burned when she was four months old. And Joe is 15 and he has cystic fibrosis and diabetes and is bipolar.

O'BRIEN: Even people who have big families, to have six when -- or to have 14 when you're talking about a number of children whoa are disabled with serious disabilities, that's got to really complicate things.

TOM: Well, you've got to remember, not all 14 are at home. I mean if you do your job right, they grow up and move out. And I expect all of them to grow up and move out and have, you know, good paying jobs and support me in my old age.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): The day I visited the Tom family, the kids were busy making Christmas tree ornaments and Susan was preparing a rather large lunch.

TOM: Three pounds of cheese.

O'BRIEN (on camera): How do you pay for the treatments, the clothes, the shoes, the wheelchairs, the food?

TOM: Some of the kids have Social Security disability and with that comes Medical and Medicare. And that pays for wheelchairs and hospitalizations.

It says Chloe and Katie.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): And, as she added children, she refinanced her house to build extra bedrooms. Today, there are nine children living with her in her spacious yet crowded California home.

TOM: What can I do for you?

O'BRIEN: Susan is a loving mother, good humored and supportive. She encourages the children, no matter what their disability, to be self-assured and independent.

TOM: I hope that they feel secure with themselves. I hope they, you know, know that they can do anything that they aspire to do.

O'BRIEN: The documentary shows the Tom family as they really are. You witness their suffering, tears, joy and laughter. And you realize how Susan's optimism affects her kids. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I get a lot of guy friends at school. I actually like it, not having legs, and I can do some stuff that they can't do and they like actually think it's like fascinating.

O'BRIEN: Susan says that everyone will take away something different from this film and she makes it clear that she didn't agree to participate because she was on a crusade for adoption.

TOM: It is not my place to change anybody's mind. I may be able to open their window and they may view things a little different. And from that they may grow. But it is, that's not my job and that's not -- I'm not on a crusade, I'm not on a mission. I just collected my kids.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The documentary about Susan Tom and her family will be shown on HBO on Mother's Day. It's being considered for an Academy Award nomination for best documentary.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com