Wednesday, July 22, 2015

MATTHEW MADE A NEW FRIEND AT COLUMBIA
Matthew has a new heart warrior friend named Morgan.  She just found out today (Monday) that she needs another open heart surgery Tuesday or Wednesday (we are still waiting to hear).
Please keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers in the coming days and weeks.  We know this road so well and it was so great that Matthew had a chance to meet her.  I think it was helpful for both of them.

And for all of you local Sherman folks, she attends the Gunnery in Washington so you read the shirt correctly!!!! 

Monday, July 20, 2015

BABY S TURNED ONE YESTERDAY!!

In the midst of our crazy week a very special little boy, Baby S turned one, he is doing great, so blessed to be s part of his life!! Here is a note from his Mom!!!
Hi Marie,
It's been a while since we spoke.... But we always talk about your amazing deeds! We are forever grateful to you and your family. We just celebrated out Chaim D's b-day-can't believe it's already a year.

I grabbed this pic this morning and I felt I had to share with you!
You deserve it!!

Sunday, July 19, 2015

GOOD TO BE HOME
As always, God is good to us and we arrived home yesterday (Monday, 7/20) and Matthew and I are settling in to our new normal with a few more medications than when we left.  Just need to stay on top of them and try to take it easy.

We are sending our records down the CHOP in Philadelphia so they can review everything and hopefully come up with a plan to treat the plastic bronchitis.  Not sure where it will take us but it is our next step.  Keep your fingers crossed that we find some answers that will make Matthew's life a bit easier for now.

Otherwise, we are just thankful for all of the support, calls, texts, emails, thoughts and prayers that come our way when these situations arise.  Thank you again.

And, coming home to these guys is the best gift we could ask for!!!

Friday, July 17, 2015

MATTHEW OUT OF ICU -  UPDATE FROM 7/17/15
First and foremost, thank you to everyone for all the texts, emails, messages and phone calls and most importantly the prayers, my apologies for not responding to them all. Matthew is on the floor since yesterday. He continues to cough up casts but they are fewer and fewer and his oxygen is being weaned slowly. He is between 1 and 2 liters via nasal cannula and he is sating between 86% and 94%. We actually took a short walk outside this evening in the garden downstairs, it was so good to breath fresh air!

After some discussion with Matthew's doctors, we decided to send his medical records to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for review. They have a program there that is specifically focused on Matthew's issue, Plastic Bronchitis and he may be a candidate for a procedure that they do, that can help alleviate these acute episodes of respiratory distress. We will likely be heading there in the coming weeks. We have added many more medications and treatments to his current regimen, 16 doses of medicine daily with 4 x 20 minute chest pt treatments with his vest. Matthew continues to smile through it all and laughed loudly tonight while face timing with his brothers and Nana and PopPop! Michael and Ryan are coming to visit tomorrow and we can't wait. We are hoping to be discharged home on Monday.

Thanks to Barbara Richardson for bringing dinner over tonight, I'm only sorry I wasn't home to taste it! Keep the prayers coming,  we still have a long road ahead of us!
Thanks,

Marie, Mike and especially Matthew. 


MATTHEW DOING WELL UPDATE FROM 7/14/15
Update from Marie from last night 11:00 pm

After a long day in the ER, Matthew got admitted to Cardiac ICU where he is surrounded by lots of people who know him and love him! He went to the OR tonight for a bronchoscopy, right before he went in he coughed up a large cast from his plastic bronchitis. He only spent one hour in there and they were able to remove the few remaining casts. In true Matthew fashion he had done most of the work beforehand!

He is back in ICU now resting comfortably on 4 liters of nasal cannula oxygen and is sating at 90%, as I always say God is good!

Thank you for all the texts, messages and emails and most of all the prayers, we are so blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing group of family and friends!
Good Night from New York,


Marie, Mike and especially Matthew

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Matthew Heading Back to Columbia This Morning
 
It has been an amazing summer so far for Matthew.  Lots of friends, swimming, and fun with a trip to Hersey thrown in the mix!

Unfortunately, Matthew began to cough yesterday and threw up last night.  Although Marie continued his treatments, it was decided that being at Columbia is probably the right course of action.

So, Marie has just gotten in the car to take Matthew to Columbia.  This reoccurance is sooner than anyone hoped or expected so please keep them in your thoughts and prayers today.

Hope to update you later today.

Mike, Marie, Michael, Ryan, and especially MATTHEW

Monday, May 18, 2015

Great Day for a Race - Thanks and Congratulations to Dylan Shiland

Despite a rainy start, we had an amazing day on Saturday for Dylan Shiland's Eagle Scout 5K!  Dylan had an army of volunteers and things ran very smoothly.  We were so proud to be a part of it and grateful to Dylan for choosing Matthew's Hearts of Hope as his charity to support.   Congratulations on earning your Eagle Scout badge.  You certainly deserve it!

Our winner of the day was Joe Beatty who came in first overall.

Thanks to all of the racers, the sponsors and everyone who made the day possible.  We feel so blessed and honored to be a part of it.

Watching Matthew cross the finish line was truly a notable event for us - very special!

Mike, Marie, Michael, Ryan and Matthew
 


 




Thursday, May 14, 2015

Why Running or Walking This Saturday May 16th Means So Much

This year Mother’s Day was extra special after the last few months with Matthew. As you know he had his fourth open heart surgery on November 10th 2014 and we were very surprised to be hospitalized twice so soon afterwards. The official diagnosis is Plastic Bronchitis and Matthew will now add a Pulmonologist to the list of doctors he will see on a regular basis.

Matthew is a complicated little man and hides his complexity very well behind his cute face and amazing smile!  He lives with half a heart.   He is what is called a single ventricle patient as he pumps oxygenated blood around his body and then it comes back through the lungs to be oxygenated again and then pumped back around his body from his heart again. He has no spleen and his liver is mid-line instead of in his right lower quadrant. He has two lungs with three lobes and his heart is on the right side and faces backwards. He now takes 10 doses of medicine a day to help his heart and lungs. He will likely have a heart transplant at some point but we are hoping it is later rather than sooner.

These past few weeks have included some emotional highs and lows but through it all we have had an outpouring of prayers and support from an amazing group of friends and family and for that we are extremely grateful!

But we are the lucky ones.  Just being on the floor at Columbia with some of these really sick kids makes us realize how lucky we are to have Matthew back home with us.  There were some kids on the cardiac floor who we met when we went to the hospital the first time but were not there when we were readmitted.  This is the reality of life with a child with CHD.  And this is why we do what we do.

This Saturday Matthew plans on walking and running the 5K Run in Sherman as part of Dylan Shiland’s Eagle Scout Project. I know he would love to have some company on scenic Church Road not only to support MHOH and Dylan, but to support all of those kids who may very well depend on the research that is being done for Congenital Heart Defects which is directly where the funding will go.

Many people never meet their hero, I gave birth to mine. He has a faith like no one I know and faces the many challenges he has with incredible bravery, I know he has inspired many people around him including me to be a better person.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Eagle Scout Hosting 5 K Run to Support Matthew's Hearts of Hope
 
So proud to announce tht Sherman resident and Eagle Scout Dylan Shiland has generously offered to coordinate a 5K run to support Matthew's Hearts of Hope as a part of his Eagle Scout project.  The race will be held on Saturday, May 16th starting at 9:30 am.  The cost to participate is $20.00 on or before May 16th 2015 and $25.00 for everyone on race day.  You will need to preregister by April 30, 2015 to receive a t- shirt  There will be prizes in various age groups and all are welcome to walk or run!

Dylan was born with a hole in his heart so this project is one that holds a very personal meaning for him.  We are grateful that Dylan chose our organization so if you can please come and support both Dylan and MHOH on May 16th we would be so grateful.

Monday, April 20, 2015

Home Again - A New Normal
 
Hi everyone!  First we want to thank you again for all of your support over the last few weeks. We got home late last week and have just been trying to get into a rhythm with new medicines and new things to keep track of.  But we are thankful to be home nonetheless.
Matthew’s oxygen levels are holding steady at 92% to 93%. His appetite is much improved and he is slowly gaining back some of the weight that he lost.  He continues on twice a day Pulmozyme Nebulizer and Chest PT. We saw Dr. Sadeghi, the pulmonologist yesterday and he is happy with Matthew’s progress. His lungs sound good and he ordered a Chest PT Vest which Matthew will wear for 20 minutes every morning and night. Matthew has been homeschooled this week by his wonderful kindergarten teacher Mrs. Davidson, and the messages sent back and forth between his friends and him warmed all our hearts! He is very excited to return to school today Friday and see all his friends.
Although Spring Break wasn’t all we wanted it to be, we are happy to have Matthew home. We ventured out last night for a quiet family dinner to celebrate Mike’s birthday, we all enjoyed some much needed family time! Matthew has enjoyed watching the NY Rangers playing in the NHL playoffs with his brothers, although he wishes the NJ Devils were playing also, maybe next year!
We greatly appreciate all the prayers and messages these past few weeks, we felt them more than you could ever know!  Matthew is back to his smiling self again and that my friends is worth it’s weight in gold!

Monday, April 13, 2015

Update After Cardiac Cath 

God is good.  Matt got out of the cath lab and is in recovery.  The doctors looked at his lungs, his heart pressures, and his blood flow, and everything was better than expected!  Matthew did not require a stent in his Fenestration because the previous collateral vein back to his heart is still there - one of the biggest concerns going into the cath.  Marie and I are thrilled with these results and know that they are surely the result of all the prayers.

As of now, it looks like Matthew will probably be able to come home tomorrow, again good news.

The doctors do want him to get chest PT and nebulizer treatments, just to be sure this does not happen again, so that will be another procedure for Marie to add to her daily list of special tasks for Matthew, but it certainly seems worth it.

It is not lost on us that seven years ago today we first found out that Matthew had a Congenital Heart Defect.  This is the day that Dr. Snyder came into our lives and we learned that we had a long road ahead of us.

We would also like to say that the team of doctors that are in Matthew's corner are the most compassionate, committed physicians that we could ever hope for.  Columbia is the place we know we can go and get the best possible care and where they take their patients into their operating rooms and their hearts.  Thank you Dr. Vincent, Dr. Snyder and Dr. Torres.

Again, thank you all for the thoughts and prayers, we can not express enough how much we feel and appreciate them.

Saturday, April 11, 2015


Update on Matthew 4/10/15 at 4:00 pm

Here is an update from Mike Hatcher:
 
"Matthew just got out of the OR and they were able to get a lot of the build up out of his lungs, which is very great news for today.  He is on a breathing tube for now, but hopefully it can be taken out by tonight.

The doctors still need to evaluate the next steps to take, and Matthew still needs to have the cardiac cath to see if everything is OK with the Fontan and his bloodflow, since they were actually only able to do the bronchostopy this morning.  We will know more in the next few days.

Thank you again for all the thoughts and prayers, we all feel them working."

Mike & Marie

 

Update on Matthew 4/11/15

Matthew is doing better today. They are trying to tackle the build up that is still in the lower portion of his left lung.  His left lung was completely blocked so they were able to extract most of the blockage during his bronchoscopy yesterday.  He is getting a lot of chest PT trying to get him coughing, since that will help clear what is left in his lung.

He got his breathing tube out around lunch time and one of the bigger IV lines too.  He is on clear liquids and just drank a cup of lemonade.

They are trying to get him healthy again.  Hopefully next week they can conduct the cardiac catheritization and address the issues with his heart.

Right now, he is very much looking forward to a visit from his brothers tomorrow!

Thanks again for all the thoughts and prayers, we really appreciate them

Update on Matthew Sunday, 4/12/15
 

Matthew had another good day yesterday, Sunday. He did get one more line pulled out of his leg and his brothers came down for a visit.  He actually got up and walked around a little bit so all in all a good day. Keep the positive thoughts flowing. Thank you so much everyone!


 


 

Friday, April 10, 2015

Cardiac Catheritization Tomorrow Wednesday

Hi everyone. We just wanted to let you know that tomorrow Wednesday at 11:00 am Matthew will be having another cardiac catheritization. They are going to put in a stent to open up the closed fenestration in his Fontan Circulation. They will check all his pressures and also looking at his left lung via bronchoscopy.
He will be in ICU tomorrow night. They hope to have a plan on how they will approach his treatment after tomorrow.
He is enjoying his Lego game on the iPad and was watching Frozen tonight! As always, he is smiling!


Thank you again for all of your thoughts and prayer!  They help more than you know.

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Matthew Back At Columbia

After enjoying a quiet Easter and a busy week going up to the Capital Building in Hartford with Michael's 3rd grade class while Matthew spent some quality time with a friend, we assumed everything was on a good trajectory with Matthew's health.  Everything seemed to be looking up.

Unfortunately, Wednesday evening around midnight Matthew threw up and his health quickly deteriorated.  By 5 am Thursday morning, we were back in the Emergency Room at Columbia.  The team worked quickly and were able to make him stable and we are now in ICU.

Thursday was up and down and there are many theories as to what might be causing this.  The long and short is that his fontan is compromised (what they attempted to fix during his surgery back in November).  The fenestration is closing and they thought maybe it was something called Plastic Bronchitis. 

This morning, Matthew went back in for a cardiac catheterization with Dr. Vincent to see if they can figure out what is going on and what to do.  They will get a full picture and we hope to know more later today.

We are surrounded by the most amazing team of doctors in the best place we could possibly be with the love of our family and friends covering us like a warm blanket. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we truly need as many as we can get right now.

Thank you again.

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Trips to Columbia in March

Asking for Thoughts and Prayers

What a difference a day makes.

Tuesday night was an amazing night of fun as Matthew and the boys attended the Harlem Globetrotters game at Western Connecticut State University to celebrate a very dear friends birthday.  It was a late night and Matthew was tired and not feeling great but he still had an amazing time.

Letting him sleep in Wednesday morning, he continued to deteriorate.   After many phone calls and an in office consultation with Dr. Snyder we were on our way to Columbia Emergency room at 5:00 am this morning.  He will be admitted but unsure if we will go to the cardiac floor or ICU.  His oxygen levels went down to 70 overnight which is very low.  His numbers are coming up slowly but he is still not close to where he should be.

He is on a CPAP machine to help with his oxygen levels and is resting but more needs to be done to ensure everything is functioning as it should be.

Just keep Marie and Matthew in your thoughts and prayers as they wait for more news.

Matthew Update for March 30th, 2015

Hi everyone!  Just wanted to give you a quick update.

Matthew is still in ICU and it is going to be a very slow recovery.  They will know mid-week if he will be home for Easter.  He is still on the CPAP which is supporting his breathing and his oxygen levels are in the low 90's which is not great.  He had a fever last night although his appetite improved.  He tires very easily.  He may go home on oxygen but we will know more soon. 

His brothers Michael and Ryan visited yesterday and they just life his spirits like no one else can.  It is so special.  Just keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  Not out of the woods quite yet.  Thank you again!


Matthew Update & Thanks For Your Thoughts & Prayers

First and foremost, thank you all for your thoughts and prayers.  Matthew and Marie feel them and are so grateful.  She truly believes they are helping to move things in the right direction. 

It was up and down yesterday for Matthew.  Finally, his oxygen levels dropped back down into the 70's so they were moved up into ICU. 

Matthew will be in ICU for a few days. They have identified the issue as pneumonia.  They are keeping a close eye on him and he is resting and sleeping today. His numbers are going up but they want to take it slow and steady until they are sure he is strong enough.

Matthew is very fortunate to be surrounded by some truly amazing people - friends, family, doctors.  Thank you everyone for everything you are doing!

Monday, March 23, 2015

Celebrating St. Patrick's Day With Matthew

It was a great St. Patrick's Day this year for us.  Matthew was with his friends in school enjoying the holiday festivities!  Matthew's mom Marie, who is from Ireland, was able to spend an hour with his Kindergarten class reading a book about Leprechauns, taking them on a treasure hunt throughout the school, and eating Irish Soda Bread.  Marie even pulled out her accordion and played some Irish tunes while the kids danced.  Fun was had by all and we are thankful for these small little celebrations that we can share with him.

We are still working on getting his numbers where they need to be but he is happy and thriving and that is all that we can ask for.







Monday, March 16, 2015

How Many Pillows Did We Stuff?


It has been an unbelievable few weeks for Matthew's Hearts of Hope.  We had 5 different pillow projects totaling 984 pillows stuffed with poly-fill, love and a little hope one child to another!  We would like to thank . . .

  • JFK Elementary School in Brewster - 274 pillows
  • Washington Boys and Girls Scouts - 200 pillows
  • Sherman School - 435 pillows
  • Kids Care Club in New Fairfield - 25 pillows
  • St. Francis Xavier 5th Grade Religious Education Class - 50 pillows
We would also like to thank Fairfield Processing for donating the poly-fill, Clothing Labels 4u for the tags, JoAnn Fabric for the discounted fabric and lastly all the cutters, pre sewers and sewers who helped behind the scenes before, during and after all the pillow projects.  We could not have done it without you!

Our friend Allison Heffer is a Child Life Specialist on the cardiac floor at Children's Hospital of New York and sees the pediatric heart patients when they come down from ICU.  Here is what she had to say about how important the pillows are for these patients:  “They are a God-Sent to the kids in the hospital. They bring a smile to their faces and they help their recovery process go faster.”

So, they are more than just pillows!  Thank you to everyone.
 





Monday, March 9, 2015

Exciting News  - Babies Heart Fund Gala


Marie and Mike Hatcher were cordially invited to the Babies Heart Fund Gala on March 5th in New York at the Pierre Hotel.  To be in a room with leading experts and advocates for CHD research is an honor in and of itself.  However, it was exciting to find out that the Babies Heart Fund chose to further fund the project started by Dr. Fraint and Dr. Chelliah because of it’s proven impact in the planning of surgery for complex CHD babies and children- the same project that Matthew's Hearts of Hope funded and helped to get off the ground a year prior.  We were so happy for Columbia and felt proud that it all started with a small grant from our organization.

Impact is the goal for most nonprofit organizations.  In this case, we are overwhelmed at the impact that our little organization was able to make and to see the ripple effect it has made in the world of CHD.  And, without your support it would not have happened.  So, thank you so much for all of your support!

Left to right,  Mike Hatcher, Dr. Emile Bacha, Dr. Michael Snyder, Dr. Hannah Fraint, Todd Pietila from Materialize and Marie Hatcher.

 

 

Monday, February 23, 2015

 

State of Vermont Working on Pulse Oximetry Screening


The State of Vermont is working on adding mandated pulse oximetry screening to their newborn screening panel this year which would negate the need to run a bill through legislation. 

State Representatives Smith and Lippert are supporting Dr. Harry Chen, Commissioner of The State of Vermont Department of  Health, in this effort   Great job Vermont!!! 


We Had a Great Time!


A wonderful time was had by all at the Danbury Whaler's Game on February 22nd!!!  Thank you to the over 100 people who came out to support the Whaler's and MHOH!

Sunday, March 15th, 50 people from Sherman and New Milford attended the Bridgeport Sound Tigers game!  Thank you St. Francis Xavier Church, The Knights of Columbus and the Ryan Family for organizing this event.

On Sunday, March 1st, Porter and Chester Institute took on the Puck Challenge and, if someone from PCI had won, Matthew's Hearts of Hope would have been the recipient of a matching gift of $10,000!  Thank you for honoring us even though there was no winner.

 

3-D Heart Featured in Columbia University Medical Center Periodical


Check out our Facebook page to read the Winter 2014 - 2015 edition of the Connections Magazine published by Columbia University Medical Center!  Exciting to read all about the amazing things Dr. Bacha, Dr. Chelliah and Dr. Fraint are doing!

Click here to read!

 

Here are some great pictures from our pillow projects this past month.  Thank you so much!!!


Monday, January 5, 2015

Happy New Year and An Update on Matthew

Happy New Year to you all.  We hope that you enjoyed the holidays and that 2015 has started with health, happiness and joy.


Since our last update, Matthew is back to his old self - actually better than his old self if you can believe that.  He quickly returned to half days and then full days back in school and his food restrictions were lifted so now he can have pizza with us on Friday night! Despite the illnesses running rampant, Matthew stayed healthy!  So healthy in fact that he called from the nurse's office just this week to say his legs hurt.  Not wanting to take any chances I went to pick him up.  Upon returning home, Matthew admitted that his legs really did not hurt that much but that he missed me and wanted to be with me.  After spending two months together, he just missed me.  You can't have a better outcome than that.


Upcoming Events
Things are moving in to high gear already with several groups running pillow projects and many plans in the works for this year.


We have several groups working on preparing pillows for the pillow project.  We are so grateful for their help and support.  Our goal is to send 500 pillows to Columbia throughout 2015.  The Sherman School pillow project will take place on February 24th so mark your calendars.   

Also, our friends at the Knights of Columbus and St. Francis Xavier Church in New Milford have generously offered to sponsor a hockey day with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on March 15th at the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport.  More information is listed below and all proceeds will go directly to Matthew's Heart of Hope.  A great day for the family.  We hope you can join us.

All the best to you all!

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Wrap Up 2014 - Looking At 2015

Hi everyone!

It has been a few months since I blogged so I hope you will forgive me.

Update on Matthew
As you all know, based on testing back in July, Matthew was identified as having to go through another surgery to correct a narrowing of his Fontan site.  For several months we went back and forth trying to decide if we would go through a full open heart surgery or if we would just put a stent in to widen the narrowed section.  After many consultations, we determined that the full open-heart surgery was our best option.  And thank goodness we made that decision.  Not only were they able to repair the narrowed Fontan site but they were able to fix several other things that needed attention.  If we had not made that decision it was certain that we would have been back in surgery at a later date.  God is good.  Thank you to Dr. Bacha, Dr. Snyder and everyone on Matthew’s team who supported us through this difficult time.  We will give you a bit more detail later on to share with you some of the highlights.

MHOH & 3-D Heart Goes Around the World

During this process we experienced something very special.  October 1st started like any other day - getting the boys on the bus and settling in to my daily to do list.  I knew that the Danbury News-Times was printing a front page article that morning about Matthew's Hearts of Hope grant recipient Dr. Hannah Fraint and the 3D heart she was able to create using MHOH grant funding.  Little did I know that this Danbury based article would reach further than we could have ever dreamed. 

Dr. Fraint created a 3D heart model using an MRI image and  a new cutting edge 3D printing process.  This process enabled her to replicate the heart of a baby with a very severe Congenital Heart Defect (you know him as "Baby S").   Normally, the surgeon cannot plan in advance how to approach the repair until he has opened the chest and can actually see the severity of the defect.   Having access to the model prior to surgery, the surgeon was able to plan out his approach and completely change the entire surgery.  Not only did it save "Baby S" from another surgery, it gave him a normal life expectancy! 

The story appeared as expected and I was so happy to know that area residents could read about the impact we were able to make with one of our grants.  What I did not know at the time was that the Danbury News-Times article (click here to read New-Times) caught the eye of a reporter from the Independent in the UNITED KINGDOM (click here to read Independent).  After that, the story took on a life of its own.  Within a few days Matthew's Hearts of Hope received calls from news outlets in Japan, Croatia and even my family back in Ireland were calling to say the story reached the Irish Examiner (click here to read Irish Examiner).  It was such an incredible feeling knowing that people around the world were hearing about the impact CHD research is making for children in the US and that Matthew's Hearts of Hope played a part.

But there is more!  Ultimately, the story ended up on CBS This Morning and CNBC.  Dr. Bacha who performed the surgery had the opportunity to share how this simple 3D model has completely changed the way they were able to do the surgery on children with severe Congenital Heart Defects.  Truly a moment to remember.

We Live In A Great Community
While we were anxiously awaiting Matthew’s surgery date, when we received a call that the New Milford Wave teachers and the New Milford police were hosting a charity basketball game and they wanted to donate the proceeds to Matthew’s Hearts of Hope.  Unfortunately, Matthew would be three days post op but graciously accepted their kind offer.  Mike, Michael and Ryan attended the game and graciously accepted their generous donation.  Everyone signed a big card for Matthew that was waiting for him when he got home!

Matthew's Surgery
Our Brave Little Man
Monday, November 10th Matthew was taken into surgery at Columbia.  As always, the many hours of waiting and praying were overwhelming.  But, we felt the love and prayers of everyone around us and it really carried us through.

Matthew’s surgery went well and his post-op recovery was amazing.  Even his doctors were thrilled at how well and how quickly he recovered.  He was out of ICU in 2 days, home in 1 week and was back to school three weeks after that.  It was truly amazing to see how much better he was feeling even as compared to before the surgery.  And, despite the illnesses running rampant, Matthew stayed healthy into the New Year!  So healthy in fact that he called from the nurse's office just this week to say his legs hurt.  Not wanting to take any chances I went to pick him up.  Upon returning home, Matthew admitted that his legs really did not hurt that much but that he missed me and wanted to be with his mom.  After spending two months together, he just missed me.  You can't have a better outcome than that.

Feeling the Love from Westfield State University


Matthew's Hearts of Hope would like to thank the Westfield State University Dance Company for their generous donation to our organization. Co-president LauraBeth Davidson (daughter of our beloved Sherman School teacher Cathy Davidson) suggested Matthew's Hearts of Hope as a recipient of funds raised during a recent dance event. Thank you so much LauraBeth!

Here is a note from LauraBeth explaining their organization and how they came to make their donation to MHOH:




"As the Westfield State University Dance Company, we are the largest student run club on campus. We are composed of a student executive board along with 110 dancers. For each show we perform, we collect donations for a charity. This fall we were thrilled to donate $1,000 to Matthews Hearts of Hope! The show consisted of a variety of student choreographed dances and the most heartwarming part of the event was when Matthew's story was shared. This resulted in an outpouring of generous donations! We love to perform and make a difference in the lives of others!

As the co-president of the company I was very excited to be able to donate to this wonderful cause! I attached a picture of our company and I can't wait to see you and Matthew soon!"



Coming Up in 2015
We have a lot to look forward to in the coming months. We have pillow projects, the Danbury Whaler’s hockey game on February 22nd and our friends at the Knights of Columbus in conjunction with St. Xavier Church in New Milford who are hosting a hockey event with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on March 15th.

Hope to see you all soon!