Tamas family values

When a childhood illness threatened Andrei Tamas ‘24, his sisters Ligia Tamas ’23 and Bianca Tamas ’25, found comfort — and role models — among the nurses caring for him, starting the three of them on the path to the Lenoir-Rhyne School of Nursing.

“I remember noticing how he just wasn’t eating, and he was looking very pale but dark around the eyes,” Ligia Tamas recalled, describing her brother at age 11, in March 2013. “My mom took him to the emergency department and refused to leave until they found the problem. They discovered he had cancer.”

Staying strong through challenges

While their parents accompanied Andrei Tamas to Levine Children’s Hospital in Charlotte, N.C. for treatment, the 11 Tamas children stayed with their extended family in the Hickory area.

“My parents immigrated from Romania. Most of my dad’s family is still there, but my mom’s family is here,” Ligia Tamas — who was 12 at the time her brother’s diagnosis was made — shared. “So we were separated between my mom’s siblings and my grandma, based on school schedules and where the buses went. It was hard because we’re all really close, and it happened so fast, we didn’t understand what was going on,”

Meanwhile, Andrei Tamas faced a long journey of treatment and recovery between the spring and fall of 2013. “I had tons of surgeries, and I had to stay in the hospital for an extra two months after those. Then I had to go back and do a little bit of treatment, then stay home for a few months just to keep an eye on everything,” he explained.

“Our dad was always working. Our mom stayed at the hospital. We were split up, so we didn’t see each other much,” Bianca Tamas added. “I’ll always remember the moment Andrei walked through the door when he came home, and we were all finally home together. That was the happiest day ever.”

Finding a sense of purpose

Ligia Tamas carried her own lasting impression from her brother’s long hospital stay. “I would see all the doctors coming in and out. So many different doctors. Then I noticed that the ones who were actually caring for him, comforting him, playing with him, making him happy, were his nurses.”

Nursing seemed like a good fit for Ligia, who loved science and always saw herself working with children. Andrei Tamas likewise saw an outlet for his talents, and his time as a patient gave him some new motivation.

“The whole experience gave me focus and pushed me toward the medical field. I’m extremely good at math, so I would have probably gone into something like research. Going through cancer myself really moved me to do patient care instead.”

Bianca Tamas’s siblings describe her as a natural caretaker, so she has moved toward nursing because she wants to give other children the comfort and encouragement they need. “When Andrei was sick, I just had to watch and wait,” she said. “I want to be able to tell a child, ‘Hey, it’s going to be okay.’”

Looking out for the future

After Andrei Tamas’s recovery in late 2013, life in the Tamas home returned to controlled but affectionate chaos. Two more siblings arrived — bringing the total number of Tamas children to 13 — and the family thrives with an assortment of aunts, uncles and cousins meshed in each other’s lives. Ligia Tamas chose to attend Lenoir-Rhyne so she could remain a part of it all, but LR was already part of her family, too.

She transferred to LR from Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC), as Andrei Tamas enrolled in his freshman year after completing the LR High School Scholars Academy (HSSA), and Bianca Tamas began her time at HSSA.

Ligia Tamas will be the first to graduate from a university when she finishes her bachelor’s in spring 2023. This year she is focused on clinical work, preparing for the state board exams and completing her honors research project on different types of cancer and their treatments.

“I’d like to work in pediatric oncology, but I’m being prepared really well for any kind of nursing,” Tamas shared. “Our professors work with us really well. They practice with you and help ease your stress to be sure you know what you need to know. I feel like I’m ready to work.”

Bianca Tamas knows she and her older brother and sister won’t be the last nurses in the family.

“Despite the past, I think Andrei motivated all of us into going into nursing or the medical field in general. Even our younger siblings are considering it.”