Zach Martin served as a North Carolina state trooper, and after dealing with pain in his leg that began in August of 2022, he went to the doctor to find out what was going on. “The doctors did several rounds of steroid injections, but by December of 2022, he couldn’t walk and they did more tests,” said Ginny Martin, Zach’s wife. “It showed a large tumor in his left femur.”
Zach was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone or soft tissue cancer that primarily affects children and young adults. Zach was 33 at the time of his diagnosis, and his cancer progressed rapidly. “You think someone our age shouldn’t get cancer,” Ginny said of Zach’s illness. “He had his whole career ahead of him. He should have watched our kids grow up. Sometimes life isn’t fair, but he gave it one heck of a fight.”
On Feb. 10, 2024, just after his 35th birthday, Zach Martin passed away at the Service League of Greenville Inpatient Hospice, an ECU Health hospice house with eight beds, private rooms, a health garden and a chapel/meditation room. “From the moment we walked in the door, they treated us like they’d treat their own family,” Ginny said.
A difficult road
Zach was a High Point, North Carolina native, and he and Ginny met when he moved to Belhaven to work in law enforcement. “Zach was a jokester, and he never met a stranger,” Ginny recalled. “He was always making people laugh.” They married in 2014 and had their first son, Greyson, in 2015. Their second son, Lawson, was born 6 years later.
After Zach’s surprising diagnosis, he began chemotherapy as soon as possible. Yet, his recovery wasn’t easy. At one point, he rolled over in bed and snapped his femur; he required surgery to replace 40 percent of the bone with a titanium rod. He was in the hospital for 10 days, and after returning home, he went through intense physical therapy from January to May of 2023. “He had to learn to walk again, and all during this time he was having chemo,” Ginny said. This was followed by radiation, during which time the family temporarily relocated to High Point so Zach’s family could help watch the boys. In August, Zach completed radiation, but later that month, scans showed the cancer was back and spreading rapidly. He began another type of chemotherapy, but he didn’t react well to it. “Between October and December, we were in the emergency department at least four times a month because of his pain,” Ginny shared.
Just before Christmas, Zach was in a great deal of pain, but no medication helped. He was admitted to the hospital on Jan. 2 in the hopes they could control his pain and to administer inpatient chemotherapy, but he again didn’t respond well to the treatment. “He had neurological toxicity, where he slept for days, didn’t eat or drink and didn’t know me or his mother or our kids,” Ginny said. “They started talking about hospice then, but thankfully he came out of it.”
Zach was able to go home on Jan. 20, but after a week at home, he was readmitted to the hospital for uncontrolled pain. “We knew at that point that his cancer was spreading like wildfire. He started having blurry vision, so we asked for a scan of his head and brain to be done, and the scan revealed that the cancer had spread to the lining of his brain. At that point, there was nothing they could do, and they suggested we discharge to hospice,” Ginny said.
Ginny said she knew there was the option to have in-home hospice, but she had been Zach’s caregiver for the past 18 months and she didn’t want her kids to see their dad so sick at home. “I told Zach I would rather we go to an inpatient hospice with nursing care 24/7 so I could be his wife for his remaining time.”
A home away from home
Zach was brought to the ECU Health inpatient hospice house via ambulance, accompanied by an escort of state troopers. “The first person I met when we arrived was the chaplain,” Ginny recalled. “And Dr. Clifton was his doctor. I can’t say enough great things about the hospice house.”
Marilyn Davis-Okubudike, the bereavement coordinator at the inpatient hospice house, recalled meeting Ginny for the first time. “I met her at the door, and when she came in, I had my arms out and hugged her,” Marilyn said. “I felt her need and the connection. There were others there for Zach, but I wanted her to know we were also there for her. I took a special interest in her and the children, as well as Zach’s mother.”
Marilyn said doing this sort of work is a calling, and not one that everyone can do. “It’s a beautiful service to take care of people. I feel rewarded by this experience because it’s all for the patients and their families. We’re called to care for each other.”
Dr. Margaret Clifton is the hospice medical director, and she also feels a close connection to the patients and families she serves. “It can be really emotionally challenging, but it’s meaningful work,” she said. “I enjoy getting to know the patients and their families. For me, there is a lot of meaning in making death a little less awful. If I can do that, I feel like I’m making the world a little softer.”
Ginny remembers Dr. Clifton – and all of the hospice staff – as being very supportive. “They listened and were nurturing through the whole thing,” she said. “If we didn’t understand something, they explained it. I got to bring the kids there, and his state trooper friends came to visit. The night he took his last breath, I came down the hall crying and Dr. Clifton was crying too. They all cried with us. One nurse came in on her day off just to be with us. You don’t find people like that – they are angels on earth.”
“Zach’s time at the hospice house will be something I carry around forever,” Dr. Clifton shared. “The thing that stands out is the community involvement. When he arrived here, he was escorted by the highway patrol. They shut down the road and there was a firetruck with a flag and highway patrol cars lining the ambulance bay. There were always officers here to visit, and they even brought his patrol car and parked it outside his room so he could see it. And when he died, they escorted his body to the funeral home in Washington, and there’s a picture of his oldest son with all of the highway patrol saluting Zach’s casket.”
After his passing, the Memory Bear program made bears not only for Zach’s boys, but also his mother, brother and sister. “They made the bears from his uniforms because I wanted the boys to have bears with the actual uniforms he wore,” Ginny said. “They were very accommodating as to what I wanted.” She also wanted a recording of Zach’s voice, but when they realized he was unable to speak, Dr. Clifton suggested they record his heartbeat instead. “Now it’s something sitting on the boys’ shelf that they can have forever, and they can press that bear and hear their dad’s heartbeat,” Ginny said.
While Zach and his family were at the inpatient hospice house for just six days, their experience was memorable. That’s because it’s like a home away from home, said Marilyn, a place where every team member works to meet the needs of the patients and their families. “A lot of people haven’t heard of us, but this is one of the best things ECU Health can offer the community and the 29 counties we serve. We need people to see what a beautiful jewel this place is.”
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ECU Health Home Health & Hospice
“I was just doing what is right.”
Sheila Grady, Community Liaison with ECU Health’s Home Health and Hospice, has never been one to seek the limelight in her 29-year career. In fact, she’d rather be behind the scenes, helping people and making a difference.
“She has a heart of gold, and she’s going to do whatever it takes to assist and serve our patients and families,” said Sarah Taylor, Sheila’s supervisor and the manager of marketing and hospice volunteer coordinator. “She understands we are a business, but we’re in a people-serving business and that’s our number one goal.”
When Aaron Hair contacted Sheila about having two memory bears made after the death of his father, her drive to do what’s right while serving patients and their families got people’s attention.
“My dad was diagnosed with cancer two years ago,” explained Aaron. “When the decision was made that he would stop treatment, he was admitted to palliative care at the Medical Center, but his doctor and nurses recommended the hospice house in Greenville.”
While his father was in the hospice house for less than 24 hours before passing away, Aaron recognized the hospice team members made a difficult situation easier to bear.
“They made us feel at ease and explained everything,” Aaron said. “From the facility to the staff, they were all top notch.”
After his father’s death, Aaron and his family wanted to make use of the Memory Bear program, a service of ECU Health’s Home Health and Hospice team that makes teddy bears or pillows using an article of clothing from the family member who passed away. Sheila has run the program for the past two years.
Sarah noted that it was Sheila’s leadership that made the Memory Bear program what it is today.
“Now we have workshops in Greenville and Kenansville, and we’re serving all hospice patients on our service. And there’s a lot of love put into these bears,” Taylor said.
The work, Sheila emphasized, is done entirely by volunteers.
“These are nurses who pick up materials and drop off bears after their shifts,” Grady said. “Some are retired from health care, and some are retired teachers. They come from all walks of life, and they don’t ask for a dime.”
Aaron contacted Sheila directly to request two memory bears, one for each of his daughters. The challenge, however, became how to get his dad’s shirts to the seamstresses.
“I live in Johnston County but was working in Havelock. It would have been challenging to get the shirts to Greenville,” Aaron explained. As they talked, Sheila learned that his commute took him right by her office in Duplin County. “She gave me her personal cell phone number, and I called her when I was on the way so we could plan a meet-up. She didn’t have to do that.”
As for Sheila, it was just an example of her drive to do the right thing.
“He was a young man who lost his father,” she said. “He was an only child, and he was asking for something for his family.”
Once she got the shirts, Sheila realized that Aaron had only asked for bears for his daughters, but nothing for his mother.
“She called me and said, ‘You didn’t mention making anything for your mom,’” Aaron said. “But I only asked for two bears because that’s the limit set on the brochure, and I wasn’t going to ask for more than that.”
Sheila, however, emphasized that the two-bear limit is a flexible parameter. ”We listen to the person’s story and we make what is right for each person. I knew we needed to make a pillow for his mom.”
A few days later, the seamstress working on the project contacted Sheila with another observation.
“She said, ‘This man didn’t ask for a thing for himself,’ and she told me they had enough material to make a pillow for Aaron, as well,” she said. “So that’s what they did.”
When it came time to deliver the items, Sheila again went out of her way to ensure they were delivered prior to a planned trip out of town. When she brought the items out, Aaron learned that not only had the bears and pillow for his daughters and mom been created, but that a pillow had been made for him as well — made from the shirt his dad wore the last time the two of them went fishing together.
“I hadn’t thought about myself,” Aaron admitted. “It was heartwarming for someone to think about that.”
Sheila confirmed that it was common for family members not to think of requesting a pillow or bear for themselves, even when it’s someone familiar with the program.
“One of the nurses who hired me for this job – her husband died suddenly. I reached out to her and told her, ‘I want to make a bear for you,’ and the nurse said she had never even thought about it. We made her a bear, and later she sent us a picture of her in bed with the bear made from her husband’s pajamas,” Grady said. “Below the picture she wrote, ‘I still have him with me.’ That’s what the Memory Bear program is all about.”
After his meeting with Sheila, Aaron knew what he wanted to do.
“When I left the parking lot that day, I went home and called my brother-in-law, who works for ECU Health, to get Mrs. Grady’s supervisor’s name so I could let them know what she had done,” Aaron said. “Mrs. Grady is a loving and caring lady who I feel I have known my whole life.” He ended up writing an email that garnered a lot of attention.
“I had no idea he would write that email,” Sheila said. “I don’t do this for the recognition.” She was recognized, however, at a surprise gathering in her Kenansville office on Oct. 9. “I was shocked, and it’s difficult to surprise me,” Sheila laughed. “When I saw my husband and family in my office that day, I knew something was up.”
However, she is quick to pass credit to others.
“The team makes this happen,” Sheila said. “The nurses, PTs, aides, OTs and social workers. The chaplains. The seamstresses who make the bears. They’re the real heroes.”
That her home office in Kenansville has won multiple Patient Choice Awards this year bears that statement to be true.
Sheila also emphasized that the ECU Health hospice service, which is made unique by the Memory Bear program, is deeply important.
“I wasn’t sure I’d like the hospice setting when I was first hired,” she admitted. “But I want to make a difference in people’s lives, and that’s what we do. Now I educate people about our home health and hospice services and assist with referrals, and I love it because I know I am making a difference.”
Her supervisor, Sarah, agreed: “We can walk the journey with these patients and their families, and Sheila is the type of person who is going to make sure the family is OK and she can bring them some peace.” Sarah also noted that the Memory Bear program has gained a positive reputation in the community: “Now we have people say, ‘Oh, you’re the hospice with the memory bears?’ and that’s awesome.”
Sheila has plans to retire in mid-November, although she’s not retiring from the Memory Bear program just yet.
“I have another grandchild on the way, so I’ll be spending time with my family, but I come from a long line of people who believe work is a good thing,” Grady said. “I’ll volunteer with the Memory Bear program for sure.”