Family and friends of Amber Bianca Martinez are still reeling from the shocking and tragic loss of the young Caymanian doctor who was killed in Friday’s fatal collision in East End.
The 29-year-old has been described as an inspiration to all young Caymanians and will be terribly missed.
For Deidre Carmola and many others who knew and loved the young doctor, her death seems like a nightmare from which they are still hoping to wake up.
“[I was] looking forward to a talk and a call… a late night message from her saying she got a few minutes just before exam so she thought she’d reach out. This weekend I missed seeing her calls, her messages. I had forgotten that something happened to her, then I remembered,” Carmola said shakily as she spoke with the Cayman Compass Monday in a telephone interview.
Martinez was reportedly killed when the silver Honda Fit she was driving crashed shortly after 6am on Friday, 21 Oct., on the Queen’s Highway, in the vicinity of Sunnyfield Road.
Martinez, who recently graduated from the University of Pécs Medical School in Hungary, was the lone occupant in the vehicle.
Carmola, who grew close with Martinez and her family while working with her through the scholarship and tertiary programme, said she was very proud of her and loved her as a daughter.
“Amber didn’t belong to me, but I have to thank them [her parents] all the time for just letting me have the kind of relationship with her [I had]. I tell her daddy that all the time, ‘Thank you for sharing her,'” she said.
“She just took every opportunity that was laid before her. She never one time faltered and said ‘Well, it’s too much,” Carmola said, adding, “She was a trailblazer. She didn’t stop to think and decide how much it was going to cost her, it wasn’t part of who she was.”
She said Martinez’s death was a “great loss” for the community, but it was most devastating for her parents and siblings. She said they will need all the support they can get.
“Her parents are distraught. I don’t know how they’re going to make it through. They’ll have to focus on their [other children], but it’s going to be a difficult task ahead for them,” she said.
Ambassador for the Cayman Islands
Martinez graduated with her doctor of medicine (cum laude) from the university, after earning a bachelor of science degree in health science with a minor in public health from the University of Miami, and an international baccalaureate from Pearson United World College in Canada.
Carmola, who nominated Martinez for the recently concluded Cayman Connection Caymanians Making Waves Awards, said the entire situation was a “real tragedy”.
“I think when people die in a certain way that is so shocking, and so horrible that you can’t comprehend. When you have a young woman like her who devoted her life to helping people, you can’t correlate her death with that kind of tragedy; that makes it more difficult, and then the questions as to why,” she said.
Martinez, she said, would always check in with her while studying in Hungary and when she returned to Grand Cayman.
She said she and Martinez would also talk about Carmola’s cancer diagnosis and the medical elements surrounding it.
She said she reminded Martinez often how proud she was of her when she called her from Hungary and reminded her that she was blazing a trail for others to follow.
“She accomplished what many don’t and that is to set out to attain a goal, come back and deliver on that goal. If we looked at her whole life in perspective, we would say that she came and she did and she left an impact.”
Carmola said that most people will leave this world without accomplishing as much as Martinez had in her young life, adding, “Did she get to fulfil her life dream? In one way she did, but she didn’t get all of it, but she still got most of it.”
Martinez never missed a chance to showcase the Cayman Islands and was a senior International Student Ambassador at the university, she said.
“[She was] using that opportunity to bring awareness to the Cayman Islands and to highlight our foods and our culture,” Carmola noted, recalling that Martinez had submitted a recipe for curry chicken and rice and beans that was included in a cookbook published by the university.
Martinez was also selected to give the address at her graduation,” she said.
The young doctor had just started working at the Health Services Authority and had been recently honoured by East End MP and Parliamentary Secretary Isaac Rankine.
Carmola delivered remarks at that ceremony about Martinez and her journey.
Rankine, in a statement over the weekend, acknowledged Martinez’s sudden death.
“Like so many in our community, I was shocked and saddened to learn of the tragic passing of Dr. Amber Martinez… The loss of this bright young Caymanian will be particularly heavy to bear, considering only a few weeks ago we celebrated with Amber in recognition of her achievement by becoming a medical doctor,” he said.
Rankine said he visited Martinez’s family and offered his condolences.
“I also wish to offer my condolences to Amber’s extended family and friends. During your time of grief, I pray that you find peace in knowing and remembering how admired Dr Amber was within our community,’ he said in the statement, which was shared on his official Facebook page.
He added that an update regarding Martinez’s funeral will be posted when more information becomes available.
‘Keep her memory alive’
Carmola said she would like to see the guard rails along the Queen’s Highway completed and named ‘Amber’s rails’ in the East End resident’s honour.
She said her [Carmola’s] father C A “Sammy” Jackson started the construction of those rails and she wanted them to be completed in Martinez’s memory.
“She can’t just be forgotten,” Carmola added.
She said she wanted young Caymanians to be inspired by Martinez.
The doctor had launched a blog documenting her medical studies called Amber’s M.D. Journey, which she used it as a guide for others on the same path.
In one blog entry she looked back on her time in medical school.
“Reflecting on my journey, my path has not always been easy. It has been challenging. There were times I felt this day would never come. Moments when I felt like quitting. Nights where I couldn’t sleep. I cried many tears, but I never ever gave up, and now, here I am, a medical doctor. I did it! My hard work has finally paid off and my dream is coming true,” Martinez wrote in her post as she celebrated her graduation.
Her most recent entry was posted on 13 Sept. in which she talked about applying to the UK National Health Service and her hope to work there.
In the post, she offered advice and a step-by-step guide to the application process.
She ended it by saying, “If you’ve made it this far like me, congratulations and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours. Good luck with the job hunting process!”
Beneath that final post were three anonymous messages of condolences.
“Rest in peace beautiful, smart lady. I’ll always remember you,” one read, while another simply said, “I will always remember you Amber.”
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