Tommy seemed to be just an ordinary dude in his early 20’s. He was a student, he was employed by a real estate agency, and he was an accomplished athlete. However, on one fateful day, he received a startling message on social media. His life would never be the same.

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That message altered the course of his entire life and made him realize that he was one of the youngest grandparents on planet Earth. It all happened so suddenly—Tommy’s heart-wrenching story will blow your mind. Keep reading to find out the crazy turn of events that led to this unassuming young man becoming a grandpa at such an early age.

1. Regular Student

Tommy Connolly was not so different than many other 23-year-old guys. He studied at the University of Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, worked part-time at a real estate agency, and spent his free time with a close circle of family and friends.

His life seemed to be going in the right direction until, suddenly, he received a shocking message online. His entire world was blown to pieces, and yet, even this sudden shock wouldn’t be enough to ruin this determined young man’s life.

2. A Top Athlete

In addition to his active social life and his full-time studies, Tommy was also a top athlete. He was a star in track and field, and his coaches admired his drive and commitment. He was so good that he even competed on an international stage.

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Tommy had torn up the competition in his region, as he was incredibly hard-working and dedicated to the sport. But he could have never guessed that his track career would have to wait when something came up out of the blue.

3. Free Time

Tommy mostly enjoyed spending his free time outdoors, participating in fun activities like hiking, white water rafting, and rock-climbing. He also worked hard at his part-time jobs, especially during summer vacations, so that he could save up money for the year.

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This young man was full of life and energy, and he utilized all that Australia has to give to its inhabitants. Soon, he would have to find another way to use that energy… with his grandson! How in the world did this boy become a grandfather at 23 years old? Keep reading to discover the amazing truth.

4. Entrepreneurial Dreams

At his university, Tommy studied economics and business management because he had entrepreneurial dreams. Unlike a lot of other people in their early 20’s, he was good at managing his money and had even saved up a tidy sum. But that was far from it.

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Tommy was motivated, both academically and athletically, to soar to new heights. He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him. After all, not many 23 years old’s can accomplish so much by this age. And yet he was just at the beginning of a long road, and it was a hard road indeed.

5. His GF

Behind every successful man, there’s usually an even more successful woman. For Tommy, that was his girlfriend, Olivia Tauro. They had a happy and healthy relationship, and she always supported him in athletics and in business.

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Before they began dating, they had already been friends for several years. Because they were so close, she always encouraged him to go beyond Australia and to chase his dreams. Olivia would prove to be his rock in the trying times ahead.

6. A Shocking Message

Then, suddenly, on one seemingly normal day, Tommy got a Facebook message from his cousin. He had mostly lost touch with her since her family moved away to a place known as Southport. Though he hadn’t heard from her in about 10 years, she had some shocking news for him.

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“I was really excited to hear from her because I’ve always had a soft spot for her. She was my favorite little cousin, she was the sweetest girl and we got along so well,” reported Tommy. They were quite close when they were growing up together.

7. A Troubled Teenager

Her name was Kiarna and she was just 16 years old when she sent Tommy this Facebook message. He was so glad to hear from her and wanted to catch up right away. However, after just a couple of messages, he understood that something was amiss.

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He soon learned that, since he had last seen her, she had lived a very troubled life. She was barely making it. And he said, “She was homeless, no shoes, no phone, with less than a backpack full of clothes.” She wasn’t the only one, however, who was in grave danger.

8. A Difficult Situation

Tommy was hurt and amazed to hear what a difficult situation his favorite cousin was facing. She told him that various domestic issues had forced her to take to the streets all by herself. She was living outside in the Gold Coast area with next to nothing.

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Just to survive, she had resorted to stealing and other crime, leading to her getting arrested on multiple occasions. To try and cope with her awful life, she resorted to drugs at once point, but, according to her reports, she had gotten clean. Kiarna was facing some trying times, but neither of them could have realized how soon it would change.

9. Her Life in Danger

Her life was in danger. Since her boyfriend was locked up, she was entirely alone on the cold streets. Plus, since she was a homeless minor, her future was looking grim. Anything could have happened to her while she was homeless.

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“Life dealt Kiarna a poor hand, and she’s had to play it best she could. She’s spent more time on the streets than anywhere else, and knows the police better than she knows her own family,” Tommy posted to Facebook. But this was about to change. Nothing would ever be the same.

10. Getting to Work

Tommy was very upset that his precious cousin was facing such trying times. He also felt guilty that he hadn’t become aware of this situation any sooner. He knew that he had to get to work to help her out, even if it meant sacrifice on his end.

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Without her even asking, Tommy sprang into action. “She didn’t ask me if she could stay with me, but I had that day off work, so I drove down to the Gold Coast straight away and picked her up. I took her to lunch and she told me her story,” Tommy later reported.

11. Kiarna’s Story

Her tale made Tommy very sad. He said, “It made me want to do whatever it took to help her. It made any problems I ever had seemed irrelevant because the life she has had is so intense. My focus just immediately turned to her.”

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Tommy may have thought that it would be a happy reunion, but by the end of it, he was heartbroken. He concluded, “I went and picked her up and she basically started telling me about her situation, which was hard for me to hear because she was my favorite little cousin when I was growing up.”

12. Bringing Her Home

Without thinking twice, Tommy told Kiarna that she could come to stay with him. He knew that he had to help in her any way that he could. Although he was busy with studying, working, and track, he couldn’t sit by and do nothing.

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When she first came back to his place, she was alone and couldn’t even read. Tommy was determined to help her improve. When he did the unthinkable, Tommy had no idea that Kiarna was holding a dark secret that she was scared to share—even with Tommy.

13. A Huge Decision

Life had not been easy for Kiarna, as she had gone from one foster home to another before ending up homeless. This led Tommy to make a huge decision. This cycle was about to end. He said he wanted to be her permanent guardian.

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This young man was determined to make a difference in this young girl’s life. He wanted to ensure that she would grow up to be healthy, and he was dead-set on sending her back to school so that she could learn how to read and write.

14. Her Secret

Kiarna’s big secret was that she was already 23 weeks pregnant. She was very scared that telling this to Tommy would make him reluctant to help her. Yet, by his words, family is family and he was not going to give up on Kiarna.

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Rather than helping from afar or taking her to a shelter, he would do whatever it takes to personally assist his loving cousin—no matter the cost. He could have not guessed that this would have such a crazy outcome.

15. Another Life in Danger

Tommy was definitely surprised when Kiarna told him that she was pregnant, but that did not deter him from taking custody of his cousin. Not only was her life in danger, but so was the life of her unborn child.

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Kiarna reported that child services had already contacted her and told her that her baby would be taken from her after it was born. This tormented her each and every day, as she couldn’t bear the thought of being separated with her child.

16. Another Try

“Since carrying this gorgeous boy, all of my friends kept telling me that he would be taken away from me. This made my pregnancy very difficult. All I wanted was to give this little man a better life than I had—a second chance was all I wanted,” explained Kiarna.

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With everything going on the background, giving her future son a better life was going to be far from easy. Yet, because Tommy was now supporting her, she had a newfound hope for the future.

17. Fighting the Clock

Since the baby would soon be on his way, Tommy was fighting the clock to file all the legal documents in order to become Kiarna’s official caregiver. It was a difficult process, and there were many obstacles that they had to climb.

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However, when they first tried to file the paperwork, the found out that Tommy was not allowed to be Kiarna’s legal guardian. Both he and his cousin were distressed and worried about the fate of her son. But they refused to give up.

18. Pulling Out All the Stops

Once he sought legal counsel, Tommy found out that he could do things to overcome those legal obstacles. He then pulled out all the stops to ensure that he could care for Kiarna. He even dipped into his life’s saving to rent a bigger apartment for them.

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Tommy even gave up training for track and field. He explained, “Everyone likes to tell me this is such a big responsibility, but I wasn’t thinking about uni or work or anything, all I was doing was thinking that she needed me.”

19. Preparations

“I’ve spent the last few months working, moving houses, having meetings with different departments, signing forms, being assessed and monitored, chasing funds, setting up her bank accounts, buying baby stuff, furniture, going to hospital and doctor appointments, and getting [Kiarna] settled in,” said Tommy. And that was far from it.

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Tommy even began tutoring Kiarna is various subjects like reading and writing, in addition to teaching her how to drive a car. Because of Tommy’s lessons, she passed a driver’s exam and got her learner’s permit. It truly seemed like she was setting down a better road.

20. Becoming a Dad

Now that both of their lives were getting better and they had all their ducks in a row, Tommy, again, filed for custody of his cousin who was still technically a minor. They both crossed their fingers and hoped for success. This time it worked! Tommy became Kiarna’s legal guardian.

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“Happy to say she had a new home, as I’ll be taking care of her from now on,” reported Tommy. They were both glad and relieved. Not only was Kiarna in a much better situation, but her baby’s future was looking much brighter than before.

21. The World Reacts

Though Tommy was sure that he made the right choice to become Kiarna’s legal father, some thought that he was in over his head and that he was sacrificing his dreams. Before he dropped out to help his cousin, Tommy was on a path to becoming a world-class athlete.

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For Tommy, however, some things were more important. No matter what happened, the family would always be a priority for him. Even though he was still studying and working hard, Tommy had to do what he felt was right, and that meant helping Kiarna.

22. Getting Ready

Kiarna’s big day was coming up fast, and her life was already incredibly changed from the one that she had lived when she was homeless. She had a roof over her head, clothes on her back, her own driver’s license, and even braces on her teeth.

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Then came another big surprise: Tommy brought home a kitten for her! She had always wanted a furry friend. Now that their big day was coming, Kiarna and Tommy couldn’t have prepared any more than they already had. And they never could have predicted how much they would love the new addition to their family.

23. The Big Day

Almost two months after becoming Tommy’s legal daughter, Kiarna gave birth to a lovely little boy on March 16th. While Tommy was in the hospital waiting room anticipating the birth of his grandson, he made good use of his time by working on an assignment for university.

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Tommy captured the birth on camera, severed the umbilical cord, and even gave a presentation the very next day in one of his classes. Kiarna decided to call her child Kayden. This meant that Tommy, at only 23, had legally become the world’s youngest grandpa.

24. A Growing Family

With baby Kayden at home, everyone helped out to help take care of the growing family, including Tommy’s girlfriend. Altogether, this happy family was not so different than most other families, though they may have had their quirks. They really didn’t care what other people thought of their peculiar situation.

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“She’s the toughest girl I know!!” Tommy boasted about his cousin. “All she wants is for him to have a better life than she had. There’s still a long way to go, but things are on track and she had the opportunity she deserves. When bad things happen, it is your family that supports you.”

25. Their New Life Together

Kiarna, Kayden, and Tommy thus began their new life together as a family. After hearing their heart-wrenching story, their community also started helping out. One person even started a GoFundMe page for Kiarna, and they raised lots of money.

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“Christmas came early for Kiarna today,” posted Tommy on social media. “She received funding for the first time, she’s moved into a house to get us a brand-new fridge, washing machine, dryer, TV unit, and some things for the kitchen. We are very lucky. Been a while since we’ve been able to wash our clothes properly!”

26. New Duties

Beyond his schoolwork, Tommy also works as a real estate agent and just got some new duties to boot. He said, “My cousin does 90 percent of the work—and if it’s one or two years of my life I have to put on hold to make sure two lives are going to be saved, it’s nothing at all.”

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While working as a successful real estate agent, Tommy continued to plan for his dreams. His goal was still to have his own business, and, to nobody’s surprise, this motivated youngster kept working towards that end even while taking care of a family.

27. Never Say Never

One day, Tommy opened his own real estate company, UN Real Estate, despite his former boss telling him that he’d never be able to. He had told Tommy that he was too young, that he lacked experience, and that he couldn’t handle it.

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But Tommy had other ideas. He saw this condescension as just another challenge to meet, and he set out to set the score. He also followed one word of advice from that same old boss: “never tell somebody they CAN’T do something.”

28. UN Real Estate

When he was asked why he had decided to call his company UN Real Estate, he responded that it wasn’t because the company was “unreal.” Instead, he said he saw the people who worked with him as un-agents. He concluded, “We are NOT stereotyped real estate agents. We are real people.”

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He said that his brand of real people are not “sleazy manipulative pushy rude cheesy salesman.” That’s why his company’s motto is “We don’t wear ties, we don’t tell lies.” But this wasn’t all that was changing in Tommy’s life.

29. Spreading Kindness

Tommy was still shocked to see that his heartwarming story of saving Kiarna went viral online. “Why did the post go viral? It was a family helping a family. That should always be a standard thing. Since then, we’ve had so many random acts of kindness from people we don’t even know.”

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someone else. He hopes that this will spread kindness even further. He emphasizes the fact that social media can’t alter the course of the future, but little bits of kindness do have that power.

30. The Greatest Gifts

“They say the best gifts in life come badly wrapped. When he was born, it all started to make sense. I lost some friends and family along the way… They never saw the bigger picture. All I wanted was to keep this boy safe and happy.”

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Tommy continued in his writing, “I’d pick him every day of the week, 365 days of the year. I may not be your real dad, but I’m your family and I’ll always be here for you. I haven’t seen my real dad for over 13 years. I learned that a father is what a father does.”

31. Kayden’s Birthday

“Family is what family does. Happy birthday to the happiest boy in Queensland, the best-looking boy in the family, the best anti-depressant that money couldn’t buy, and the future world champion in whatever he chooses to do. I love you kid,” wrote Tommy.

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Nowadays, Kiarna and Kayden live in their own home and have since gotten back in touch with some other family members. She is raising Kayden in the best way possible, hoping to provide a bright future for this happy kid.

32. A Success Story

Even with all the truns and twists, this is definitely a success story as everyone is doing well. Kiarna got her GED once she learned how to read and write, and she now works full-time to support her lovely boy.

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Though Tommy may be an amazing young grandfather, the world’s youngest grandmothers are—if you can believe this—younger than he is! Keep reading to find out about an amazingly young Romanian grandmother.

33. A Young Grandmother

The youngest grandmother alive is a Romanian gypsy named Rifca. Nowadays she’s in her 30’s, but she became a genuine grandma at the age of 23. This is because early marriage is quite common among gypsies.

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This marriage was not your typical gypsy marriage, however. At the tender age of two, Rifca was promised to another family. But she had different ideas, as she fell in love when she was 11 years old.

34. The Rebel

Rifca’s parents were not happy to hear that she had taken to another after she was already pledged to one boy. But Rifca was a rebel and decided to run away instead of complying with her parents’ wishes. At the time, she was only 11.

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Her lover was a 13-year-old called Ionel Stanescu. He worked at a jewelry shop and because their love was so strong, they decided to elope and ignore her parents. They took a risk.

35. Getting Married

Without her parents’ approval, Rifca and Ionel married in secret. She explained, “I wanted to marry him, so I agreed, and of course after we had spent the night together then there was no way anyone could separate us.”

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But there was trouble ahead. According to the customs of Romanian gypsies, the groom’s family is supposed to give a sizable dowry to the bride’s family. Since there was no such payment, Rifca’s father grew angry. Not only did she disobey her parents’ wishes, but she also cost them a lot of money.

36. Maria

Soon after their marriage, Rifca became pregnant. She gave birth to a little baby, Maria, at just 12-years-old. This made her an incredibly young mother, but that’s not the end of the story.

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After she gave birth to Maria, her husband’s family, at last, paid the dowry and resolved the looming problems. “My dad was really annoyed at being cheated out of the right to decide who would be my husband and the dowry,” said Rifca.

37. Going to School

“But then I got pregnant and I was 12—a year later—and that meant that my husband’s family paid my father a dowry and then there was peace.” Just like mother’s around the world, Rifca wanted her child to have a bright future.

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This meant that, unlike her, she wanted to send her daughter to school so that she could get a good education. But things didn’t go exactly as planned, as Maria wanted to follow in her mother’s footsteps.

38. Like Mother Like Daughter

Though Rifca and Ionel bid their daughter to pursue her education, Maria decided to drop out when she was 10. She made this decision because she fell in love with a boy and they wanted to get married.

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“I did not try to stop my daughter getting married because this is the tradition, it’s what happens,” explained Rifca. For Romanian gypsies, marrying at such a young age is quite normal. The following events would just go to show: like mother, like daughter.

39. The Next Generation

Only a few months after they got married, the next generation was welcomed to the world. Maria was pregnant. Only six months after they got married, Maria welcomed a baby boy into her family. She named him Ion. This meant that Rifca was a grandmother, and Rifca’s mother had become a great-grandmother at the ripe old age of 40.

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“I am happy to be a grandmother but I wished something else for Maria—and something else for me,” said Rifca with sorrow. She had hoped that her daughter, who is now a full-time mom, would have stayed in school and created a better life for herself.

40. Little Ion

“Ion is a good boy—and he is already engaged to a girl aged eight. Boys are always good to have—they don’t have to suffer as much as girls, I think” explained Rifca in an acknowledgment that gypsy culture is harder for girls than boys.

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Rifca, only 23-years-old, became the world’s youngest grandmother. At the time of writing, Guinness World Records does not have a category for youngest grandmother or grandfather. But we’re sure that Rifca and Tommy would be in the book if they did.