Junior Olivia Martz sat in silence at the South Carolina church. She sits like it’s a normal day, not like she’s sitting in the pew attending her mothers funeral.

A few months before, Olivia’s mother, Hayley, was admitted to the hospital. 

She had been diagnosed with type two diabetes and was in a coma. 

Days before everything happened, Olivia knew something was off.

Haylye seemed more affectionate than usual.  

“She said that she appreciated me,” Olivia said. “I felt like this time it really meant something. She kept holding me.”

Hayley was a single mom of three — twins and Olivia. She couldn’t afford insulin to keep up with her diabetes, even though she was working into the evening.

That left Olivia alone, stuck many nights taking care of her siblings, taking care of the house. Olivia cleaned the dishes, picked up everyone’s bedrooms and did anything she could.

“I remember, for a while, I blamed myself,” Olivia said. “I thought, ‘Why was I so selfish?’” 

Still, she felt like she could have done more to help her mom out. 

Hayley’s diabetes took a toll on the family.

 Everyone was drained in different ways.

“I had to put on the mom role,” Olivia said. “My mom did what she needed to do to provide for us.”

Hayley divorced her husband when Olivia was around the age of ten. Olivia, her mother and twin siblings moved all over the state of South Carolina.

From Gaston County to West Columbia to Lexington.

Her father was never in the picture as she got older.

“He always had a drinking problem,” Olivia said. “My mom was fed up with it and so she left him.”

When Olivia was younger, fights would spark when her dad was drunk. 

“I remember there were times where I would try and stop the yelling,” Olivia said.

Most of the time, it would only consist of shouting, but once in a blue moon, things would get physical. That’s when Oliva would get headphones and take her siblings to their rooms, shielding them.

After the divorce between Olivia’s parents, her father moved to Montana.The next time Olivia saw him was at the hospital after her mother fell into a coma.

 “Suddenly, I had to give him mercy and grace,” Olivia said. “That was really hard. Especially when you are sitting in the hospital.” 

For a couple of days, machines closely monitored Hayley. Family joined Olivia in the waiting room. No one was telling her details. Hayley’s health continued to decline.

Olivia was in the hospital room when her mother passed away.

“They turned her oxygen off,” Olivia said. “Then turned off the heartbeat monitor and everything else. It felt like I was starting to lose a part of me, right in front of me.” 

In the pew of that South Carolina church, Olivia didn’t cry. 

“I just sat there,” Olivia said. “Nothing had hit me yet.”

With her dad in rehab, Olivia’s only option was to move in with her aunt and uncle to Kansas City after the funeral, a pair that they have spent little to no time with.

The transition felt weird at first. 

 “It was a reality check,” Olivia said. “They call this place home.”

But Olivia didn’t. 

Over a couple of months she was able to form a bond with them.

 “We have a better relationship now. “ Martz said. “It’s stronger, and I feel like I can trust them more.”

Olivia enrolled at Northwest her sophomore year. 

The first couple days of school were difficult for her.

She always looked forward to seventh hour concert choir.

That’s where she met her best friend, sophomore Phoebe Baumgartel.

“I treated her like we’d known each other for years, but I think it helped her get more comfortable and adjust.” Baumgartel said.
This fall Olivia played JV tennis. Olivia now sings in select ensemble choir. She just applied for a job at Target and goes to CrossPoint church every Sunday. Olivia attends youth group multiple times a week. She feels welcome, and has finally found a place to talk. 

“What happened happened for a reason,” Olivia said. “I think it’s important to share what I’ve been through.” 

 Though she is always busy, Olivia still has those moments of quiet. Moments where she thinks about her mom.

“It was hard, especially on my 15th birthday,” Olivia said. “Because she was gone. I really miss her. She was the best for me and tried her hardest. I wish she was there to make me a cake and to surprise me or something. That was really hard for me.”

Olivia keeps thinking about her future. Graduating next year terrifies her, but she has ideas about what she wants. She’s thinking about going to Florida State, and becoming a teacher. 

“I would like to succeed for her sake,” Olivia said. “I always knew that she wanted the best for me. And for me to try my hardest. I think that’s my way of honoring her because she gave this life as much as she could.”