Saturday, February 13, 2016

In the blink of an eye….

Let me start by inviting everyone to join TEAM O in the fight to cure MS!
We have a team formed and are walking in the MS Walk on Saturday May 7th, in Sandusky, Ohio.
Join, walk with us, or donate to find a cure! (No amount is too small!) 
Click HERE to learn more 

You don’t have to, but if you’d like to order a shirt you can do so HERE

Even a portion of the t-shirt sales go to MS research.

Last link….If you want to follow A Chat with Matt on Facebook, we have a group formed HERE
Just click “Join Group” and we will add you!

Now on to the blog…..

Matt wanted to talk about how fast things change….in the blink of an eye….
I asked him what he meant by that and he said he thinks about the last MS Walk we did, he was walking then.  It has been almost 5 years since we did that walk.  
Matt appreciates your support, whether it is in person or in thought. 

Pictured below is Team O. in 2011 when we walked!

“I was walking then, but now I'm practically bed-ridden, I want people to know how quickly things can change.” 
He said “I do my exercises now, but I wish I would have done more back then.”
He said “I can’t do much of anything any more.” He went on to say he knows he’s not the man he used to be, but he sure wants to be.
Matt said the more he thinks about it, it gets depressing so he tries not to dwell on it.
Time passes and things change, and he doesn’t know what the future holds but he doesn’t want anyone (medical professionals) to sugar coat it, he wants to know what will happen to him. He said he wants to be prepared and he wants his family to be prepared.

I found this quote and it is pretty accurate to what Matt O. is feeling right now.

Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends."― Joan Didion

It’s not easy living with MS, it is different for everyone. Matt doesn’t want your sympathy, he wants your support, your friendship, your empathy. He wants you to know that he didn’t ask for this and more than anything he’d like to get up tomorrow morning and go to work, driving his own truck and not relying on anyone to get him anything.  He is grateful for his family for being there for him. He knows it’s not easy on them either. 

Matt said "Thank you" to everyone that reads and comments.  He truly truly loves hearing from you all! 

“When you stand and share your story in an empowering way, your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else.” – Iyanla Vanzant

Writing this blog has been something that I look forward to doing and it makes my heart feel good when Matt calls and asks when we’re going to talk about the next one!  He tells me what he wants to talk about, although he said “You can say whatever you want”….this is his time to share his thoughts! 

Until next time…..



12 comments:

  1. I'm so thankful for your blog, Matt, and I look forward to each one. My mom is living with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Alz and MS are both neurodegenerative diseases. I know that their symptoms and progressions are different, but they are still the same. They are still slowly taking away the people that we love and there's nothing we can do. I feel, in some strange way, you being able to share with others about your thoughts and feelings, helps give a voice to people like my mom too. I know it sounds crazy. Anyway, I appreciate what you have to say. Thank you so much for sharing!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and comment and It’s not crazy. Thank you again! I think Matt really needed to reach out to people and this is amazing when people are touched by his blog!

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  2. MattO, I love that you are willing to let everyone know exactly how you feel. I am proud to call you my friend. Love to you and your family!

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  3. You are so brave Matt, to put it all out there! Love you a million bushels!

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  4. Love reading your blog. Stay Strong Matt!! We all love you:) Happy Valentines Day!!

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  5. Matthew, you are still the man you have always been. I have always looked up to you and you inspire me even more now. Love you my Friend!

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  6. Uncle Matt, even though you can't do what you did before, out love for you will never ever go away. I love you Uncle Matt and glad I got to know you even more in my adult years. I love visting you! Denise ( not De-nephew.)

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