- 12/06/2007 (2:42:49 pm)
- Media
…..
Dreams of the future, then two tragedies
A mother miscarried. Days later, she died.
By STEPHANIE HAYES, Times Staff Writer
Published December 6, 2007
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LARGO - Tammie Hamaoui was fragile, but hopeful. She had just suffered the miscarriage of her baby, who died in the womb at 21 weeks.
Friday, she and her husband, Sal, relaxed on the couch. He was nervous to rest his legs across her. But Mrs. Hamaoui grabbed her husband's feet and placed them on her lap until he got comfortable and dozed off.
Later, they took a walk in the fresh night air. They came home and lay in bed, holding hands. They talked about their childhoods. Their own children, Alicia and Anthony. Their roller coaster 19-year romance. How far they had come together.
He said he'd have a million more babies with her.
The next day, unexpectedly, Mrs. Hamaoui died at home. She had a tear in her aorta, her family said. She was 39.
***
They met in a nightclub in Virginia, where the Marines had stationed him. He thought she was gorgeous. They were barely 20.
Home in Florida, he drove past beach condos and imagined them living in one. They dated off and on for four years. Then, she headed south without looking back.
The car broke down in North Carolina. He was working three jobs, but he dropped everything to get her.
"What did you get yourself into, baby?" he asked. "I hugged her and kissed her and brought her back."
She stayed by her husband through law school, rocky business ventures, debt and depression. She was there when he emerged on the other side.
In 2003, Mr. Hamaoui launched Full Impact Pro Wrestling, staging family-style professional wrestling shows all over Florida. Mrs. Hamaoui worked behind the scenes, the oil in the joints.
She'd order food and take tickets. She'd greet fans and snuggle their babies.
She preferred the fun-loving wrestlers. She loved "Superstar" Sean Davis, a 300-pound blond wrestler and comedian whose trunks said "You're Just Jealous" on the backside.
Whenever he tried to buy pizza, she'd slip it to him for free.
***
She had a metal locket with Alicia and Anthony's pictures, plus more on a key chain, and tons more in her purse.
She drove them to school every day, and took them to visit their grandparents. If Anthony, 10, wanted a hamburger at midnight, she'd get it for him. When people gave Mrs. Hamaoui gifts, she gave them to Alicia, 12.
Sometimes, people assumed Alicia belonged to her husband's sister, Joann Hamaoui, because they look alike. Joann joked lightly about the long labor.
It bothered Mrs. Hamaoui. She wanted people to know Alicia was hers. But she never let on - she didn't want to hurt feelings.
"My brother told me," said Joann Hamaoui. "I would have never known. She was so kind."
This year, with the wrestling business successful, Mr. and Mrs. Hamaoui decided to try for another baby.
One morning, in a fit of excitement, Mrs. Hamaoui woke her husband. She showed him a pregnancy stick. It was blue.
"What does it mean?" he asked.
They named the baby Joseph and looked to the future.
Stephanie Hayes can be reached at [email protected] or 727 893-8857.
Biography
Tammie Hamaoui
Born: Nov. 21, 1968.
Died: Dec. 1, 2007.
Survivors: husband, Sal; children, Anthony and Alicia; in-laws, Ibrahim and Rewayda Hamaoui; brother, Terry; sisters, Cheri and Donna.
Services: Visitation from 6-8 p.m. today at Moss Feaster Funeral Home Serenity Gardens Chapel, 13401 Indian Rocks Road, Largo. Funeral at 1 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, with burial at Serenity Gardens Memorial Park.
[Last modified December 5, 2007, 22:54:51]
