Giving thanks

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In 2013, Greta Sedlock found herself in a hospital room at UW Medicine Harborview Medical Center with her son Matthew, who had a potentially fatal tear in his aorta. Dr. Ben Starnes, chief of the Vascular Surgery Division, explained to them that Matthew’s severe diagnosis qualified him for a clinical trial involving a surgical method that Ben pioneered.

Matthew participated in the trial, which entailed a minimally invasive procedure that Ben performed using a personally fitted stent. The operation saved Matthew’s life. It also spared Matthew, now 47, the long-term complications often associated with traditional open-chest surgery. Today he is healthy and well.

“I was so grateful that Matthew qualified for that clinical trial, and I was so impressed by Dr. Starnes’ compassion and expertise,” says Greta.

To thank him for saving her son’s life, Greta created the Matthew Endicott Fund for Dr. Benjamin Starnes. It supports the research efforts of Ben and his team at Harborview. Ben, a national leader in vascular surgery research, came up with the idea for the fitted stent procedure while serving as a U.S. Army surgeon during tours in Kosovo and Iraq. It is one of many treatment methods he envisioned while operating in the resource-constrained environments of the battlefield.

Greta’s gift is now bolstering Ben’s efforts to improve treatment methods for diseases of the blood vessels. For her part, the gift holds another special meaning: It is supporting exactly the kind of work her late husband Tom loved.

“Tom would have been so impressed by Ben Starnes’ background and the innovative work he is doing at Harborview,” Greta says of her husband, who passed away in 2011. “He was in awe of those great thinkers who find creative solutions to advance science.”

Tom, a tax attorney by day, was a science enthusiast who was especially proud of the latest breakthroughs in biotechnology and medicine happening at his beloved alma mater. This passion led him to create in his will the Thomas Joseph Sedlock Icon Endowed Scholarships for UW students studying science, technology, engineering and math. Specifically, the scholarships go to students who are creative risk-takers following unconventional paths in their research. Tom believed these were the people who often made the most groundbreaking discoveries.

As Greta reflects on her late husband’s legacy, her son’s health and her experience with Harborview, she can’t help but see a powerful tie-in between the fund she created for Ben Starnes and the scholarship her late husband created.

“It’s poignant to think about the fact that Tom’s scholarship is supporting those students who may become scientific game changers just like Ben Starnes, the very man who saved Matthew’s life,” she says. “I’m so thankful to play a role in supporting such amazing minds at the University of Washington.”