February 9, 2009
Dana-Farber shuttle driver Martin Ortega fulfills last wish with Jimmy Fund Clinic gift
Martin Ortega holds his newborn grandson last month. (Ortega family photo)
Whether talking sports, politics, or just giving tips on where to get a good cup of coffee, shuttle driver Martin Ortega was a friendly, familiar presence for Dana-Farber staff riding a van that ferries workers between Dana-Farber's main campus and Brookline Place offices. Then one day he was no longer there to share smiles and conversation.
Ortega had suffered a seizure at home related to a then-undiagnosed inoperable brain tumor. Never able to return to driving and the job he loved, he stayed in touch with his former colleagues up until his Jan. 18 death — and devised a unique way to honor the Institute.
Last Thursday, Ortega's wife, Dianne, and sister-in-law, Joan Smith, came to Dana-Farber to donate a Nintendo Wii video game console and assorted games to the Jimmy Fund Clinic. The family had enjoyed playing on the system after Martin Ortega's illness worsened and he was not able to travel much outside their Charlestown, Mass., home. "Every night, that was our special time," Dianne Ortega recalled. "Once he got too sick to play, he told me he wanted to give it to Dana-Farber so that kids could use it while receiving treatment. It was his last wish."
Dianne Ortega (left) gave a Wii system and games to Lisa Scherber of the Jimmy Fund Clinic to honor her husband's memory and devotion to his DFCI job. (Saul Wisnia photo)
In accepting the gift, Jimmy Fund Clinic Activities Coordinator Lisa Scherber said the system would be kept in the clinic's private infusion rooms. "It will be great, helping them stay active when they're hooked up for chemo," explains Scherber. The Wii requires participants to jump, swing, and make other movements. "Knowing the story behind it makes it even more special. This will bring a lot of laughter and smiles to those rooms."
This was the same atmosphere that existed on Ortega's shuttle, which he drove back and forth twice hourly from the 10 Brookline Place campus to the main building at Jimmy Fund Way for three years. "He loved talking about the Patriots and Red Sox, and would always have the radio on during the Jimmy Fund WEEI/NESN Radio-Telethon," recalls Dana Kelly of Dana-Farber's Division of Development, who helped arrange for the Ortegas' gift. "I'm chatty, and he didn't mind that. He was a great guy to ride with."
Upbeat ear
A native of Puerto Rico, Ortega moved to Boston when he was just a year old due to a heart condition that required treatment at Children's Hospital Boston. Married 27 years, he and his wife settled in Dorchester, Mass., and raised a son and daughter while he worked for many years as a foreman at a company that manufactured automobile brakes. After he was laid off, he went back and earned his high school diploma before taking his shuttle driving position with Dana-Farber and Partners in 2004. "People really took to him right away," says General Services Director David Fordham, who oversees Dana-Farber's shuttle program. "Martin was very good at his job, but it was the human side of him that most touched me. We'd talk about politics, the vacations he and his wife were taking, and of course always sports. He always had an interest in making things better, and would suggest improvements."
Fordham likened his late colleague to a talk-show host, who even though he might have the same conversation 20 different times a day, always listened with an upbeat ear. John Donovan, director of Transportation for Partners, remembers Ortega telling him "this is the best job I ever had" — a sentiment that endeared him to co-workers. Many attended his wake, including Donovan and fellow shuttle driver Ricardo Alves.
"After he was diagnosed, what he missed most was being around his passengers and co-workers," says Alves, who had often driven or taken the subway home with Ortega at shifts' end. "He wanted to come in and volunteer, but his health just didn't make it possible."
In addition to his wife and his sister-in-law, Ortega leaves a son Daniel, a daughter Anne Marie, and his first grandchild Nathaniel Martin — born on January 7.
— Saul Wisnia
Saul_Wisnia@dfci.harvard.edu
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made in Martin's name to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, at 295 Devonshire St., Boston, MA 02110 or www.mass.wish.org.
