24/08/2018
To my UM family and friends: My brother Marty passed away in Nairobi Kenya yesterday.
Many of you already know that Marty was on a trip to Kenya with me, my son Michael, and our dear friend Beth Miller, when our van was struck by a truck. Michael and I were fine as our seat belts held, but the van rolled over many times and both Marty and Beth were ejected. Marty suffered a severe C 5,6 fracture, but I was able to get him stabilized on the scene and we successfully transported him to the best hospital in Kenya and one of the best in Africa, where he received excellent care. Prior to surgery to stabilize his cervical spine, Marty was very cognizant, and was aware that he was now a quadriplegic, and would likely remain so the remainder of his life. He was committed to working as hard as he possibly could to rehabilitate himself, and regain as much function as possible. We had already begun to arrange for him to be brought by air ambulance to the UM SCI program, where he was excited to work on his rehab with some of the best. But he was resolute that if he could not regain function, he would find different ways to bring meaning to his life.
The surgery was a technical success, but Marty had suffered very severe damage to the spinal cord, and he had not regained any neurological function of the arms or legs following removal of the fractured vertebral bodies that were compressing his spine. Two days following surgery he began to rapidly deteriorate because of swelling of the cord, and finally succumbed late August 23. Marty was 56 years old.
Marty will be cremated in Africa and I will bring him home sometime next week, as there are significant issues I still need to attend to, especially caring for our friend Beth who is still hospitalized in serious condition.
Marty loved animals – and ultimately died trying to see one of the most amazing animal events in the world – the Great Migration. The family is going to honor Marty’s ultimate wish in his death, and use the money from his estate and fundraise, to turn his property, which has hundreds of beautiful deer, elk, peacocks and even a buffalo, into a permanent sanctuary for animals. Nothing made Marty happier than bringing children, especially handicapped children, to his property so they could experience the beauty of animals. We intend to set up a non-profit and endowment, so that his property will be used for this purpose in perpetuity.
We will have a second event in Marty’s honor in the fall at Marty’s house, where we will distribute his ashes on his property in Armada, and tell each other wonderful stories about our interactions with Marty. The funeral next week will undoubtedly be a somber event, but by the time of the second event we hope that everyone will have had a chance to process his death, and enjoy the ultimate Marty Party, where we tell stories about our interactions with Marty. If you can only attend one of these events, we would prefer you attend the second event, as this is what Marty would want.
There is a Kenyan saying that talks of the living dead, and says that as long as you are remembered and your memory is positively impacting people, you are not dead. Granting Marty’s final wish that his property is turned into a sanctuary will help ensure that Marty never dies. Marty lived his life the way he wanted, and his person died yesterday doing something he loved. But his spirit – what a spirit - will live on forever.
More details regarding the funeral, ceremony at his house, etc. We are beginning to accept donations to the non-profit that we set up to support our work in Kenya, that was sponsoring this trip, www.michiken.org , but we will create the new non-profit ASAP and distribute that information. I also intend to lead a trip to Kenya next summer, and I’d love as many people as would like to go to go with me to see the Migration, spread some of Marty’s ashes over the Serengeti/Mara, and meet the beautiful people of Meru, Kenya – where many of us have been working for the past decade.
I can’t tell you how much it has meant to me to have the outpouring of support I’ve received.
Dan
Michigan & Kenya - a partnership, a community MICHIKEN