Mission Moment: On the Wings of 22 Cardinals, the Story of the Secret Garden Soars

Just off Peachtree Road in Buckhead, the Anna and Hays Mershon Secret Garden may be the worst-kept secret at Shepherd Center. The lush garden has long been a cherished refuge for patients, families, and staff looking either for quiet contemplation or a vibrant sense of community on the city’s iconic thoroughfare. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the hospital locked down to keep vulnerable patients and critical staff safe, the oasis became a lifeline for families and friends desperate to see their loved ones, even if they couldn’t touch them. 

“The Secret Garden was the only link to our family,” says Stephanie Holloway, whose husband, Rob, spent nearly six months at Shepherd recovering from a traumatic brain injury. “We missed so much that year,” Stephanie says. “We missed our son Grady’s prom, his graduation ceremony, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, all of that. But the Secret Garden enabled us to at least see him and hear him. That was our little ray of sunshine.”

Rob Holloway, a former sergeant for the Carrollton Police Department, was shot in the head during a high-speed chase and then crashed into a utility pole at 100 mph in April 2021. A fighter and a man of deep religious faith, Rob has regained his ability to walk and speak—haltingly but miraculously. In July 2024, he addressed Shepherd Center’s joint meeting of the Board of Directors and Foundation Board of Trustees in a speech. “Never give up in life,” he told the audience. “Shepherd Center is filled with people who love and serve others. They extended grace and 134 patience while working with me. They loved my wife like family and took care of us both. They gave us our lives back.” In expressing his gratitude, Rob singled out the fence in the Secret Garden. “I thank you for that fence because I was able to see a lot of friends.” 

In non-pandemic times, the Secret Garden is used for horticultural therapy sessions, recreational activities, birthday parties, picnics, and more. It has been the site of proms and homecomings for adolescent patients and weddings for patients past and present. Tall oak trees provide precious shade, and graceful sculptures line a winding walkway where patients get outside for the first time after many weeks or months in an acute care hospital. 

In that COVID spring of 2021, Eric Busko and his wife, Mary, spent many hours in the Secret Garden, celebrating nature while she recovered from a stroke in Shepherd’s Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program. “Mary loved nature,” Eric says. “Any time we spent in the garden meant a lot to our spirits. And during the COVID lockdown, throngs of people would line up on the other side of the fence. For all of us, that garden fence was kind of a portal to our family and friends.” 

In a quiet moment with his wife in the Secret Garden, Eric hatched an idea for a perfect anniversary gift—something not only to commemorate their enduring romance but also to express their appreciation to the dedicated staff at Shepherd Center. Eric collaborated with his friend Andrew Crawford, a master metalsmith, to design an extraordinary, ornate iron gate connecting the Secret Garden to the sidewalk outside. The gate is packed with gorgeous details curated from the Buskos’ life together, such as 22 cardinals representing their 22-year marriage. Each bird has an uplifting word or Bible verse engraved onto it. Mary loved music, so Eric included a treble clef in the design. And he added four oak limbs with leaves to give a sense of movement and to blend with the garden’s oak trees. Sweet messages are scattered throughout, such as “You Are My Sunshine.” 

Eric’s original plan was to surprise his wife and have the gate installed before the couple’s 22nd anniversary on August 7, 2021. But two weeks before that date, shortly after being discharged from Shepherd, Mary died due to medical complications from her stroke. She was only 52. Devastated but undaunted, Eric—who now serves on Shepherd’s Board of Trustees—turned the anniversary gift into a memorial, dedicated in October 2022 with a plaque to all the employees of Shepherd for their “unsurpassed care, love, and hope.” 

“I hope for hundreds of years, as people come through that gate, somehow the story gets passed down,” Eric says. “It’s definitely in memory of my incredible wife, but it is also meant to honor all the people of Shepherd for all that they do.”

Written by Teresa Weaver

This story is an excerpt from “Mission Moments: 50 Years of Rebuilding Lives One Moment at a Time,” a book celebrating Shepherd’s 50th anniversary in 2025.