Heather Tom made is Performer Of The Week in the 9-9-08 issue of Soap Opera Digest.Congratulations Heather
Hereīs the write-up from Soap Opera Digest:
Ever since she moved back to L.A., Katieīs orderly,color-within-the-lines existence has been upended by the scandal and tragedy thatīs rocked her family .Heather Tom has beautifully conveyed every harrowing situation, especially when Katie discovered she is pregnant.
To say the least,the news was unexpected, since Katie,a recent heart transplant recipient, didnīt think she could conceve. With a shell-shocked gaze,she reeled as she recalled her one night with Nick, her niece Bridgetīs husband. As she tried to process the doctorīs warning ("Pregnancy puts a great strain on the heart...) ("Thereīs an increased chance of rejection") Katie became dizzy and flushed.True to her forthright nature, she quickly summoned Nick to his boat, where her agitated, fidgety demeanor signalled distress.
"Iīm pregnant", she said so matter-of-factly that Nick didnīt belive her. Reality set in as Katie proceeded to berate herself for betraying Bridget. "Everyone says that things happen for a reason", she raged, wracked with nauseous sobs. "Well,where is the lesson in this,Nick? Where is the good? This will bring nothing but misery to everyone involved...It will kill Bridget. And the baby,assuming that he livves long enough to be born, he wonīt thank me. Growing inside my screwed-up body, swimming in the sea of chemicals I take, heīll probably be deformed or sickly, a freak like his mother!"
Katies self-loathing was palpable as a helpless Nick tried to comfort. But later,after a horrifying nightmare about Storm, Katie had a change of heart. With her face full of wonderment and resolve , she shared her epiphany with Nick: "That day on Catalina is ours, right or wrong" she said, her voice gaining hope and energy with each sentence. "No one can take it away from us, and I promise that as long as there is breath in this body, I will nuture this baby, I will fight darkness and deception. I will love life. I will love this child".
In those handful of scenes, Tomīs soul-stirring performance showed Katieīs transformationfrom sensible wallflower to awesome mother-to-be. The beauty that Nick saw all along, Katie finally found in herself.