Reeling from her own personal tragedy, Amy Dillman Black didn’t know if she could help others in their time of need.
She was still grieving the miscarriage of her first child, a baby boy she and her husband Dennis had named Riley. She spoke to her friends and family about her doubts about returning to her role as a neonatal nurse for St. Vincent Health. How could she take care of the most vulnerable babies, all while still in the midst of her own grief, she asked.
Still, Black ended up going back to the job she felt was a calling. She found that her compassion and dedication had only intensified with her own heartache.
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Black died unexpectedly in 2014 at the age of 33. But her spirit of caring lives on through the people who loved her most.
“There are so many people who knew Amy,” said Joyce Dillman, Black’s mother. “She would stop and see people all the time in the hospital, or she took care of their child, or she attended their child’s funeral. I’m constantly hearing stories like that, from so many people whose lives she touched.”
Her family and friends have created a scholarship at her alma mater, Center Grove High School, designed specifically for students interested in nursing. The group gave out its first scholarship last year, and is raising money to do so again this spring.
By helping others enter the field of nursing, all of the things that Black stood for are amplified.
“This is to keep the specifics of Amy alive, about her life, and the importance of nursing and paying it forward,” said Frosty Dillman, Black’s aunt.
Joyce and Tom Dillman remember and described their daughter as bubbly, free-spirited and outgoing. She was well-organized, and in roles ranging from class president to choir, was counted on to plan fundraisers, parties and other events.
As an adult, Black had dedicated her life to nursing. She worked for 10 years in neonatal intensive care at St. Vincent Health on the northside of Indianapolis.
Her father said that she knew she wanted to be a nurse while she was still a freshman at Center Grove. She started talking a lot about the health care field.
“It was a good fit for her, because she always cared about other people. She always looked for the good of other people regardless of the situation,” he said. “She approached it as a calling, rather than a job.”
Black was always interested in the human side of her job. In nursing school, she would ask to ride along with her uncle, Steve Dillman, on firefighter runs.
She wanted to know how to handle tragedy, and the best way to comfort those who were suffering, Steve Dillman said.
“She’d come by and I’d take her on runs, to let her see what was involved. She was just a special, special person,” he said.
Her career was marked by grace, particularly for families whose children were being treated at the hospital. She helped organize lunches at Ronald McDonald House as a volunteer for Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health.
She was instrumental in helping St. Vincent create a better system to helping families struggling with the grief of losing an infant. She was the first to volunteer for the committee and wanted to ensure staff members were more responsive to the grief families were enduring.
Black had lost her son, Riley, to a miscarriage. That experience provided her with an insight into grief that she channeled back into her job.
In a very real way, Black also provided an example for her own mother on how to cope with losing a child.
“She was able to put one foot in front of the other after the loss of her child, so it’s helped us to do the same,” Joyce Dillman said. “You never get over it, but you learn to deal with it.”
Black was at the first day of work at her new job as an oncology nurse at Community Breast Care in Greenwood when she collapsed. A blood clot had dislodged from her leg and traveled to her heart. Black would never regain consciousness and died two days later, on July 26, 2014.
Her death was shocking, sudden and difficult to cope with for the people around her. But in the grief that followed, the family grew closer honoring Black. That was the inception of the scholarship fund.
It stemmed from an event friends and family planned shortly after Black’s death, to help build a college fund for Ty and Drew, her other children.
The carnival drew hundreds of people and raised more than $20,000. That success made a larger, yearly event more realistic.
Family members tried to figure out a lasting way to let Black’s legacy carry on. A scholarship, given to a student who was interested in nursing, was the best option.
The project was particularly important to Black’s cousin, Lyndsay Gilman Ward. The two girls were separated by just two years, and Black acted as an older sister. She encouraged Gilman Ward to strengthen her faith, and would drive her to church if she wanted to go.
Faith was very important to Black, and she was a longtime member at Mount Pleasant Christian Church.
“We were similar age, and I looked up to her. Everything she did was really cool,” Gilman Ward said.
To get the scholarship fund going, Gilman Ward partnered with the Center Grove Scholarship Foundation. The first Running for Amy 5K run was scheduled in 2015 to raise money for the fund.
Black was a runner, regularly taking part in 5Ks and fun-runs for charities throughout the community. A race seemed a fitting way to raise money in her name, Frosty Dillman said.
“Anything she ran for had a purpose,” she said.
Organizers set a goal of 100 participants, which would help fund a $1,000 scholarship with some money left over to carry fund from year to year.
The first race was conducted on Nov. 14, 2015 — a celebration of Black’s birthday, on Nov. 13. Nearly 150 people ran. This year, they’re expecting more participants.
“It’s one day a year for everyone who knew Amy to come together and remember a life well-lived,” Gilman Ward said.
To help support the cause, the Johnson County community has rallied around the scholarship fund. Ray Skillman Automotive Group has offered to pay for the cost of printing shirts for the event. The Greenwood Fire Department is offering its emergency medical services for the race.
With these and many other generous sponsors, organizers can contribute more to the scholarship fund, Gilman Ward said.
Because of the community’s help, the first ever Amy Dillman Black Memorial Scholarship was awarded last school year. The scholarship went to Isabel Puck, a Center Grove graduate now attending Purdue University.
She was chosen from a number of applicants because of her like-mindedness to Black.
“She wrote that (nursing) wasn’t just going to be a job, it was a calling for her,” Joyce Dillman said. “She had the same aspirations and goals as Amy.”
The family was present at the scholarship presentation and couldn’t help but think of Black.
“I remember watching Amy get a scholarship, so when I saw this young lady, it brought back so many memories. You just want to carry that along,” Joyce Dillman said.
Working on this race, and ensuring the success of the scholarship fund, is a way to keep Black’s legacy alive. Her friends and family want to be sure that Black’s name is ingrained in the Center Grove community, so that people remember the good she did for generations.
“Someday, her sons are going to be walking through Center Grove High School, and there’s their mother’s name,” Gilman Ward said. “It’s important that they see her name, and know that this scholarship exists because of what their mom did in the community.”
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Running for Amy 5K Run/Walk
When: 9 a.m. Nov. 12; check-in starts at 8 a.m.
Where: Freedom Park, 850 W. Stop 18 Road, Greenwood
What: A benefit run and walk to raise money for the Amy Dillman Black Memorial Scholarship, given to Center Grove High School graduates who are interested in careers in nursing.
Cost:
Early registration through Wednesday
- Adults: $20 for short-sleeved shirt or $25 for long-sleeved shirt
- Kids ages 6 to 12: $10
- Kids 5 and under: Free, though no shirt
Day-of registration: $25
How to sign up: Go to getmeregistered.com/RunningforAmy5K
Donations will also be accepted at the race website, or by going to the scholarship website at weblink.donorperfect.com/AmyDillmanBlack
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