Deb Niemiec: Her big heart and retirement

SOMERSET — Basically, Deb Niemiec will never retire, because she will never stop helping others.

That is what she did as a Somerset Trust Co. bank trust officer and that is what she is doing helping her community and her daughter's charity.

Then there is setting an example of perseverance. But, first, let's delve into some of Niemiec's time at the local community bank and her retirement last week.

The bank

Niemiec started at Somerset Trust Co. in 1988.

"My kids were 8 and 9 years old." She gave a little laugh and shook her head where she sat in a small conference room at one of the bank's buildings. She had given up her office for others to use because she was leaving soon. Typical, Deb.

She wants to talk about her kids. A proud mother and grandmother.

"Both went to St. Peter's and they both eventually went to Somerset Area High School where they were both were successful high school athletes.

Then, about 10 years after graduation, it was her daughter's third child, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at the age of 2 1/2, that changed all their worlds.

So at age 2 1/2, he had to start treatment. At the time the protocol was three years of chemotherapy. Basically, he was given chemotherapy daily.

"Thatcher turned 10 this month. He is doing well in school. He started cross-country running this fall," Niemiec said.

Her daughter and her family, who lived in Florida when their child became sick, eventually moved to the Pittsburgh area. During the treatment process, Angela Degnan and her family started a charity to help other families dealing with such a situation.

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"For as long as I can remember, Deb has been a bastion of service," Degnan said. "Serving on various boards, committees, assisting in community functions (along with the very community-centric Somerset Trust Co.), coaching Special Olympics swimming and winter sports, and being an active member of St. Peter's Catholic Church, she has always prioritized incorporating service and community involvement into everyday life.

"Her example certainly affected my life in that regard," she said. Her mother's support has been one of the strong foundations in her life.

Deb's own fight

Thatcher's grandmother knows all too well about what is involved in cancer treatment. She finished her treatment in March. Niemiec found out she had cancer in 2022. She went through treatment and is good now. Niemiec credits the bank for being supportive and allowing her to work from home until she finished treatment.

"She was/we were so lucky to find it early," said her daughter. "We were all worried and stressed but also prepared and focused and very overwhelming I'm sure if you ask her. She handled it like a champ and we could not be more proud of her perseverance through it all," said Degnan.

Under chemotherapy, one is always watching the numbers or the absolute neutrophil count (ANC), Niemiec said. ANC is an estimate of the body's ability to fight infections, especially bacterial infections, and tells the patient how much resistance they have to fight anything from the outside.

Her grandson finished cancer treatment in 2019 and he was able to go to Disney World in Florida through a Make-A-Wish trip in January 2020. His grandmother, of course, paid for her own way to go along, and said, "I can still see him skipping through Disney and having such a wonderful time."

When the family returned, COVID-19 kicked in and the family went back into quarantine as a protective measure.

"When your kid is undergoing treatment it is like watching your kid swimming in a shark tank," Niemiec said. "And you have the other little kids and you don't want to hold them back. It is a very delicate balance."

Shirt drive

Niemiec wanted to help her daughter's charity with a shirt drive. But her plans were put on hold first with COVID and then with her own cancer.

In fact, an adult Zipshirt was made for Niemiec to use during her treatment and she realized even more its benefit.

"I'm going to do a shirt drive. I'm going to be retiring, so I'm going to do that shirt drive," she thought. "I put a message on the bank message board. The response I got was amazing.

There were contributions from all of the branches covering several counties and the bank's administration.

Angela's story

It was 2016.

When the Degnan family found out that it was not a common virus that was causing the youngest child's illness, but it was ALL.

"It was absolutely devastating to us. In that moment you have such little information, and I remember distinctly how heavy the uncertainty of everything was, Degnan said.

"We knew he had a blood cancer, but it took time to determine the translocation which would dictate his treatment protocol and prognosis. Once he began treatment, we then waited again to establish efficacy, which would decide his level of risk and if he stayed on that particular protocol. It was a lot, especially having two other small kids at home at the time."

Then there was coping with a little boy going through chemotherapy treatments.

"It all happened so fast, and he was so sick, I would say we were more eager for the treatments to begin and then prayed his body would respond well," Degnan said. "Coping with all of this came from our strong faith, our loving, caring and wonderful parents, siblings, extended family, friends and surrounding communities.

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"In those moments you're certainly asking God for a lot. We had so many people praying for our little guy and we could not have been more grateful.

"You learn quickly on the oncology floor that it's a place that will change you forever. Boston Children's (where Thatcher (her son) was originally diagnosed) and UPMC Children's (where he was treated for 3.5 years) were outstanding – the oncologists, nurses, social workers, child life departments – the entire staff was unmatched."

It was while there that the charity Zip With Us (ZWU) was formed.

Like a security blanket

"Thatcher was gifted a homemade ZipShirt from someone at the hospital. At the time we had no idea how impactful it would be, but it truly was like a security blanket to him, Degnan said.

"It really is a very basic and functional item for these kids to have throughout treatments.

"We knew how helpful it was to Thatcher for treatments and for those 3 a.m. emergency room visits ... get your ZipShirt, put the lidocaine cream on the port, cut the press 'n seal and put it on top, zip the shirt back up and then you'll be numb by the time we get to the hospital and they are ready to clean and access you ... and now you can keep your shirt on for the entire process, Degnan said.

"We learned quickly through the countless hospital/ER visits that most kids did not have these medically adapted garments. Fellow oncology parents, doctors, nurses and other staff members were constantly asking us where we got the shirt and/or how they could get one," she said.

One shirt at a time

"We had the idea almost immediately but knew we were not in a place to shift any focus to implement in the first year, however, by 2017, we had much of the paperwork submitted, had a business plan, made a website, started working with a couple seamstresses – actually, we have had some beautiful and talented women in Somerset do some volunteer sewing throughout the early years – and we started one shirt at a time," Degnan said.

Every one is custom

"They would get shipped to anyone who reached out via our website or socials and to UPMC Children's at first, and now we service over 80 pediatric hospitals worldwide and send thousands of individual orders annually, she said.

"Everything is free for hospitals and individuals get one free ZipShirt per patient. Everything is custom. If an 8-year-old loves dinosaurs, has multiple port/line locations and a gtube then they get a medically adapted shirt that works specifically for their medical needs as well as something that makes them happy.

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"It's been one of our greatest honors to let the kids pick their designs," Degnan said.

Deb and Angela's story

"My mom has always been my biggest supporter. She has helped in any way she was able to since we started Zip. Now that she's retired, hopefully, we can fill all her spare time with the piles of work we have in the office (ha!).

"To know Deb is to love her," Degnan said. "She is always game for whatever so I suspect she'll embrace jumping in and doing whatever she can to service the pediatric oncology community."

In the fourth quarter of 2023, ZWU brought Drew's Cruisers adapted medical onesies under its umbrella, which will be a major focus for the charity this year.

"After connecting with the incredible Slocum Family in North Carolina, it is a privilege to carry on the tradition Mandy Slocum started to honor her son Drew’s life by donating custom onesies to infants who have cancer and other life-threatening diseases and receive their treatments through central lines like Hickmans," Degnan said.

A Hickman line is a soft, small, long, hollow tube that is placed into a vein in the chest and ends in a larger vein just above the heart. A Hickman line is used long-term to access veins and can be used to give chemotherapy, intravenous medications, nutrition and to draw blood for labs.

Touching the heart

Everything has touched the Niemiec and Degnan's family's hearts.

It's all been an unexpected, healing and uplifting experience.

"The community involvement-volunteer seamstresses/tailors, the schools/individuals/clubs/places of business that hold shirt drives, those who make donations of any size or spread the word about our mission, the thousands of bits of feedback we receive from parents, patients, caregivers, hospitals and medical professionals. Working with our sponsors and grantors. Collaborating with all the hospitals we serve and meeting other like-missioned organizations," Degnan said.

How to help

"We are honored by all the support we get," she said.

The public can host shirt/onesie drives and fundraisers, and make donations.

An official charity for the 2024 Dick's Sporting Goods Marathon, folks can register with Zip With Us and fund raise and help raise awareness. The website updates with volunteer opportunities as well. There are sponsorship opportunities for businesses to support the organization as well as specific hospitals.

First and last thoughts

"Cancer brought us a lot of pain and sadness, but it has also allowed us to appreciate more joy in our everyday lives," Degnan said. "The work we do at Zip is a constant reminder to not sweat the small stuff and to embrace the beauty and extraordinary of any 'ordinary' day. We're always planning and setting new goals in life and with Zip ... and we certainly love and rely on our village to make it all happen."

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Somerset area family donate special shirts to cancer patients