Matthew's Story



*This is a follow-up to a post I recently did about the Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep organization. This entry is being made at the request of the family. While some may find it difficult to read, the utmost care has been given regarding the sensitive nature of this post.


        "Matthew Frank Doerscheln was born on Friday, October 9, 2009 at 2:09am.  Approximately 17.5 hours later, the Lord saw it fit to relieve him of all his pain and take him under his wing.  Unfortunately for Matthew, this news came as no surprise to his parents or family as it was discovered in the 5th month of pregnancy that he would be born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, also known as CDH.  Throughout his 9 months in the womb, this baby has endured obstacles that most people will never experience in all of their lives.  He was known as our “Superman.”  He fought a good fight at life but lost the battle in the end.
    This disease strikes 1 in every 2500 babies..... 1600 babies a year in the USA alone... 50% of these babies do not survive and the cause is not known. Most people have never heard of this disease unless it has affected them personally. For a disease that affects so many families there is no coverage of it and very little information about it. Please help us spread the word and raise awareness of this disease in hopes of finding a cure."
                                                                                                     Sarah & Ryan, Matthew's parents

      Matthew's family has since found support. Cherubs is an awareness and support organization for CDH and Facebook has a Breath of Hope page. They have also formed a team for the March of Dimes walk Saturday, April 17th at Wesley Bolin Plaza and are still accepting tax deductible donations for their team. 

       Here's to hope for giving all babies a chance at a healthy start.


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Story and photograph. Keep up God's work! Pam Arnaud

Anonymous said...

My Prayers are with this family and all the other families that have had to lose a child. Pam

Andrea said...

Thanks for your thoughts Pam. I know the family will appreciate it. It wasn't an easy post to do. But I've found writing isn't always what you say... but sometimes what you don't say. How is your daughters wedding planning going? I hope it's all coming together for you!

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