The story below is from our July/August 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Photo above By Aaron Spicer
Award-winning allergist, celebrated citizen and… resident rock star? Dr. Thomas Fame finds all kinds of ways to give back to the community — even through music!
The second oldest of nine children, Dr. Thomas Fame originally hails from Rochester, New York, later training in medicine while serving in the U.S. Air Force. He and his wife, Leah, along with their three girls, moved to Salem in 1992, where he has practiced allergy medicine ever since. His excellent reputation along with long-standing practice, Fame Allergy & Asthma, has earned him dozens of awards, including multiple consecutive years of our “Top Docs” awards in the Best Allergist category.
He works with patients who generally feel “sick all the time” with various respiratory illnesses. From nasal and sinus conditions, chronic asthma and bronchitis to skin eczema and allergies of all kinds (including animal, pollen, food and drug/vaccine), Fame and his team are experienced in a variety of medical issues related to our respiratory health. While he’s passionate about his job, it’s not an easy one, given the many ways our bodies tell us when something isn’t right.
“You have to really understand how this complicated ‘machine’ we call the human body works, and listen to a patient’s symptoms, then figure out what could have gone wrong in the machinery to cause those symptoms,” he says. “Then you reach into your ‘toolbox’ of medications (which you also have to have a great understanding of how they work) and try and fix the problem. Medicine is not multiple choice like on your boards, but that is just where you start.”
While he says he doesn’t know what he’s done to deserve the accolades, Dr. Fame has only ever tried to be himself, and listen to people. “And besides trying to find a ‘fix’ for their problem, I like getting to know who the person is, what they do, what they’re involved in,” he adds. “Often that extra time listening to someone also helps me ‘solve their medical problem’ by exposing an important piece of the puzzle. But people just like that someone is taking an interest in them, and I do!”
Fame’s practice allows him the freedom to treat patients and his staff with special care. He loves people and solving problems, though his favorite part of the job is when someone gets better and he and his patient can celebrate that newfound health together!
When he isn’t helping patients, Fame is busy helping communities — not only ours, but in Haiti, too! He has been working in Haiti for the last 27 years, with over 50 visits to a rural valley community where he’s built and run schools, worked on clean water projects, business development and also started a large public health team and now-clinic. In addition to this incredible outreach, he is also a member of the Salem Rotary Club and an active member of his Catholic church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, in Salem. He has also written two books on these experiences, “The Lambi’s Call: A Haitian Journey” and “A Lambi’s Call: Breaking the Chains.” He was also named the Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year in 2009; the Roanoke Chapter of the NAACP Citizen of the Year – Medicine in 2011; and a 2016 Salem Outstanding Citizen.
But wait, that’s not all! Fame has always wanted to play the drums, and started taking lessons years ago. He is now a drummer with a local rock band, the Southbound Gypsies. “It won’t take the place of my medical career, but it’s been lots of fun bringing joy to people who listen to us!”
The story above is from our July/August 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
