Courtesy of the Reitz Family Thomas Martins (left) and Carolyn Martins-Reitz.

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Thomas Martins loved to celebrate his birthday. "For months ahead of time he would constantly be reminding us about his birthday," Rudy Reitz, Martins' stepdad, told BuzzFeed News. "And then all of a sudden this hit, so we were trying our best to reassure him that we would have some sort of a birthday celebration. "Even when I was with him in the hospital, he was asking about his birthday, and I told him, 'Don't worry. We'll fix you up. We'll get out of here and you'll have your birthday.'" Martins died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on April 6, the day he turned 30. It was just nine days after his mother, Carolyn Martins-Reitz, died from the same disease. "They were each other's whole world," said Reitz. "Her entire life revolved around making sure that Thomas was healthy, loved, and stayed active."

Martins, who had Down syndrome, never left the hospital, but he did get one last birthday party: He had been attending the Felician School, which serves students with special needs, since he was a child. Up until he fell ill, he was a part of the school's over-21 program. In the wake of Martins-Reitz's death, it was his school family who stepped in to give him one last birthday party. School officials sent a birthday cake and a bunch of pizzas to the hospital. They also set up a video chat for all his friends at school to sing him "Happy Birthday." "The nurses brought the screen into the room, and probably 20 people all sang 'Happy Birthday' to him with a cake," said Reitz. "He passed away not long after that, so one of the last things his subconscious got to hear was people singing him 'Happy Birthday.'"

Courtesy of the Reitz Family From left: Sharon Reitz, Carolyn Martins-Reitz, Rudy Reitz, and Thomas Martins.