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a True Hero
Matt celebrated his 15th birthday in October 2006, and a month later, on November 15th, was diagnosed with T-cell ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia). At 15 years of age, with a 7-inch mass in his chest and a white blood cell count of around 280,000 (the normal being from 5,000 to 10,000), he was classified as high risk. Fortunately, he took well to initial treatment. Within a few days he had shed 3 pounds of tumor cells, and weeks later, an examination of his bone marrow did not show one bad cell. This did not mean his treatment was over, though. In fact, the most intense phase of his treatment had not even begun.
For a while, he was receiving steady doses of chemotherapy, and doing just fine, until one admission in January 2007, for a high dosage of methotextrate. On the second day of the intense treatment, the chemotherapy caused his kidneys to fail. For days he ate no food whatsoever and was forced to lie completely still and flat while a machine cleansed his blood. Matt’s weight dropped from 135 pounds to 104 pounds, requiring a feeding tube to be inserted. He developed stress hyperglycemia, which he combats with insulin injections.
Throughout his treatment, Matt’s faith and spirit were strong and he always had a smile on his face. “There was always something telling me, even when I was at my worst, that I can and will get better,” Matt said. Matt has been an inspiration to so many people with his positive attitude as he faced what he refers to as his character building experience.
Matt started back to school full-time last August as a sophomore, helped manage the soccer team in the fall, participates on his high school academic team, practices with the junior varsity track team, has his driver’s license, hangs out with his friends, goes to school dances - everything a normal teenager does. He just has to do a little extra - chemotherapy.
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