Sports have always played an important role in Matt’s life. A high school athletic standout who was co-captain of the football team during his senior year, he looked forward to enrolling at the University of St. Thomas for the 2006-2007 academic year, having earned a spot on its football team. However, Matt’s life has been put on hold as he battles osteosarcoma, or bone cancer. His competitive spirit drives him as he faces the most intense physical and mental challenges of his life.
During the spring of Matt’s senior year in 2006, he broke his humerus (upper arm bone) and dislocated his shoulder in a lacrosse game. Several weeks had passed with no improvement in Matt’s recovery — his arm was actually getting worse. Matt’s parents brought him back to the hospital where they found the arm had not healed due to a cancerous tumor in the bone. He was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on June 19, 2006.
“I was stunned,” recalls Matt. Life seemed dramatically different just a few months earlier. But, like any successful athlete, he realized that adjustments often need to be made to effectively execute a game plan — even in the game of life.
Matt was soon referred to the University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital, Fairview for treatment. He began his chemotherapy regimen under the watchful eyes of Drs. Denis Clohisy and Brenda Weigel. He was in the hospital for five weeks before he was able to go home. Unfortunately, he only had the weekend free before returning the next Monday, which is what he had to expect during his next nine months of treatment.
“I was lying in a hospital bed for five weeks with no walking and barely any movement, so my hospital stay was mentally painful,” he says. “Most nurses were very nice and tried making things easier, but when you are in a place where you just don’t want to be, everything sucks.”
Since he was confined to his room for most of his entire hospital stay, Matt never had the opportunity to meet any other patients. However, his family and girlfriend were always there for him. And his computer kept him in touch with the world outside his hospital room.
Unfortunately, chemotherapy alone did not offer a cure. In order to save Matt’s life, doctors would need to amputate his arm. “I was completely devastated,” recalls Matt about hearing the news. “Millions of thoughts raced through my mind: Will I ever play sports again? How will I cut my food? Or even cut my fingernails? During the following weeks before my surgery, I was constantly thinking about what my life was going to be like with only one arm.”
Matt’s surgery occurred on Sept. 7, 2006. The procedure removed his entire forearm, shoulder (clavicle) and scapula, which is the bone in his back. That morning, according to Matt, was the scariest day of his life, because he knew things would never be the same when he awoke from surgery.
“After the amputation, I was terrified to even look where my arm used to be,” says Matt. “It was more than three weeks before I looked at my surgical scar.”
It has been six months since Matt’s surgery, and he is still learning to cope with living with one arm — not only the aspect of performing everyday tasks but also getting used to people’s reactions. In the near future, he will be fitted with a prosthesis to help him more easily perform those everyday tasks.
Matt’s life has changed in other ways since starting his treatment. He cannot work, so he was forced to quit his job at Lifetime Fitness Athletic Club. He cannot enroll in school, so he is taking a year off and plans to apply to the University of St. Thomas next fall. “I plan to resume my life to how it was as soon as all of this is over, he says. “I will be attending the University of St. Thomas for my general studies, and then I plan to study business.”
Because of Matt’s physical limitations resulting from his surgery and treatment, he has not only missed out on sports and school, but also on some of his favorite leisure activities such as boating, golf and attending concerts. “Outside of the hospital and my house, I couldn’t go and hang out with my friends like a normal kid during my senior summer,” he says.
According to Matt, the worst part of his battle with cancer thus far has been dealing with the amputation of his arm, because of the adaptation that he has had to make. However, the experience has brought him closer to his family, especially his mom because he could always talk to her.
His experience has also introduced him to Children’s Cancer Research Fund and their work in advancing the prevention, treatment and cure of childhood cancers. “Children’s Cancer Research Fund is a great organization, and they are really trying to learn more about cancer so they can help other kids beat the disease,” he says.
Unfortunately, Matt's cancer relapsed in 2007. He has had several surgeries in 2007 and 2008 to remove nodules in his lungs. He continues to fight.
Matt’s battle with cancer thus far has not been easy. However, his athletic background enables him to recognize that having heart and a strong desire to win can help him overcome any physical challenges. His high school football coach, Jon Hanks, instilled in him that never-give-up attitude. “As a coach, he taught me to play every game as if it was my last and to leave everything on the field,” says Matt. “As a person, he encourages me to stay strong and keep working towards meeting this challenge.
“Athletics have taught me to battle things to the end and that the harder the challenge, the harder I must work to overcome it,” he continues. “Whenever I get really sick from chemotherapy, I tell myself that I can beat this, and I never give up the battle.”
<< Back to Meet the Kids
