Matthew's Journey
November 28, 2009
Happy Holidays! The doctors at Pitt Memorial have been amazing, but we have decided to get a local orthopedic doctor for Matthew. Last week we met with his new orthopedic doctor, Mr. Keith at Raleigh Orthopedic Clinic. Doctor Keith was highly impressed with Matthew’s residual limb and his progression since the accident. He doesn’t see the need for any adjustments at this time for Matthew’s prosthetic limb. In school Matthew seems to be adjusted fully and is working really hard on reading and writing. Since school started Matthew has read over seventy-five books! Matthew is also really excelling at Taekwondo. This past week he learned the “bicycle kick” move. He has now earned a total of five stars for his uniform.
October 25, 2009
Time sure flies by when your child starts Kindergarten. Matthew is now into his second month at school and he seems to be adjusting pretty well. It's a bit of a change in structure for him so some days are harder than others, especially towards the end of the school week. He continues to impress me with how much he is learning each day. He is getting very good at writing and spellling. His sheer desire to learn has grown exponentially since starting school.
Matthew and his family visited the state fair this past week. We rode lots of rides, ate lots of fair food and had lots of fun! Check out some of the pictures above.
September 30, 2009
This week at school, Matthew was the student of the week and got to lead the class all week long. This is a very distinguished honor and one of the privileges is that Matthew has share time everyday of the week. After talking it over with Matthew, we decided that for Thursday we would talk about how he lost his leg and how cool his “robot leg” is with his classmates. Never the shy one, Matthew did a fantastic job with being open about the accident and had no problem taking his leg off so his friends could see what his residual limb looked like. They really liked his “robot leg” and were allowed to hold it in their own. I was so impressed with how loving and very understanding his friends were. Matthew made sure all of his friends knew the ends and outs regarding lawn mower safety. At the end of class Matthew gave everyone a “Team Matt” t-shirt. As a sign of support a lot of his classmates came to school the next day with the shirt on! Matthew also received his 25 books read award from school. He is working really hard at learning words and reading. Matthew’s weekend included a trip to his schools carnival, which was a lot of fun until the rain showed up. Matthew continues to do well in Taekwondo as he earned another star for his uniform.
September 16, 2009
Matthew is really enjoying kindergarten. He has learned so much in only two weeks. He still is adjusting to not getting a nap anymore. His teachers say that around 2 pm he is completely bushed and ready to go to sleep. Matthew continues to adjust to his new leg and ankle. He seems to be able to navigate the terrain in the yard and on the sidewalk a lot better. On Labor Day, Matthew's Taekwondo academy hosted a fun filled day at the park, which included playing softball, kickball and lots of good food.
September 1, 2009
Matthew got his new robot leg on Thursday. It has an upgraded foot with a slit between the big toe so now he can wear flip flops and an upgraded ankle that rotates. The casing of the leg has a Transformer pattern made into the housing. This weekend, Matthew made a special trip to the beach, the first time since his accident. Since he has a new leg he was able to use his old leg to gallop across the sand and play in the water. He was really excited to be able to run into the waves. Matthew had a big day on Monday. Matthew started school and received his orange belt in Taw Kwon Do. His first day in kindergarten went really well. He got a little bit tired half way through the day and was ready for a nap, but overall he had fun and made new friends.
August 19, 2009
Matthew is doing great - there have been no issues with his leg the last two weeks. He is enjoying his summer and playing just as hard as any other kid. With kindergarten around the corner, Matthew has really been working hard at with his numbers and letter recognition. He seems to be well on his way academically. Matthew’s second robot leg is also well on its way to being completed. It looks like August 27th will be the day to pick it up. Right before the first day of school! Matthew continues to do well in Taekwondo. Matthew and his sister were both promoted this week to second degree white belts! It looks as if they will be testing next month for their orange belts!
August 4, 2009
I usually don’t blog about my feelings but I am going to today. The last few weeks have proved as a reminder of several things. One thing is how precious life truly is. It has now been just a year and a few days since my son almost lost his life. I spent this last week with him just thinking how fortunate I truly am for him to still be here. Matthew and I have truly been blessed by God, our friends and loved ones. Without you guys we would have never gotten to this point. I also was reminded on how delicate the situation is. You see, Matthew fell at school about two weeks ago, and severely bruised the inside of his groin to the extent that he couldn’t wear his leg for about five days. A bruise kept him from being able to walk, run and play like most other children. Just a bruise. Life as an amputee can be extremely hard and sometimes can be very disheartening, but Matthews’s attitude continues to propel him past these low moments. Yesterday’s meeting with Matthews prosthesis technician went well. We are going to have to use the same concept for the housing though. We were trying to use a newer concept for the housing but he just doesn’t have a long enough residual limb at this point in time. He is however still going to get the upgraded foot, ankle, knee and he gets to pick a new design for the housing. Other than being off of his leg for a week, Matthew had a great time. He is almost ready to graduate to his next belt in Taekwondo, with his sister right behind him. They are so adorable when they scream “highya” during the session. It’s all I can do not to laugh and to look serious. Matthew is also gearing up for kindergarten. He is really excited about going to his “big boy” school. We completed two work books this last weekend and he is really getting good at adding numbers. I’m so proud of the little man.
July 8, 2009
Matthew started the week out a little under the weather but by Wednesday he was ready to roll. He continues to do well at his summer camp. There are a lot of activities for him and the other kids. His walking has never been better and he really can move when he wants to. His consultation with Mr. Shane, his prosthesis tech, went very well as we are going to try some new technology with his next leg. I have requested for the new leg to be built with a multi-axel ankle which would assist him on uneven terrain. I have also asked for a split toe design so he can wear flip flops! There are just so many cool little adjustments that can be made to a prosthetic leg. Matthew continues to do well at Taekwondo as he earned another two tokens. Two more and he will he have his first patch. The July 4th celebration brought on several cook outs, pool trips and a trip to the NC Fairgrounds to watch the firework show. Matthew and his sister just loved the “sky flowers” and had a wonderful time.
June 22, 2009
Matthew had a fantastic week. He started his new summer camp class, had Taekwondo, took his first airplane ride and attended the Annual Conference of the Amputee Coalition of America in Atlanta. Matthew’s summer camp is pretty cool. He gets to go to museums, the movies and other cool places. The adjustment for him is that there are no more naps so he is really bushed by the time I pick him up. Taekwondo is going great. He is really learning how to balance himself on his robot leg and kick with his human leg. The plane trip was a lot of fun. Matthew loves to go to the airport and watch planes take off and land so I knew he would enjoy it. He was so fascinated on how something that big could fly. He loved the window seat and was never scared during both flights. Once in Atlanta, Matthew and I attended the amputee conference. It was such an empowering trip for him. He met dozens of people including many children that had cool robot arms and legs just like him. I have not seen Matthew this comfortable with a group of people since the accident. Matthew won a gold medallion at the children’s field day exercise. He was really excited! The trip was also great for me. Not only was it uplifting to talk to other people who have gone through similiar experiences. It was an extremely educational experience. Later this week we are going to see his prosthetic technician Shane in regards to building a new leg for Matthew- he's grown so much. I have tons of ideas and after seeing firsthand how several new devices work, I have a picture of what I would like to see happen to his new robot leg. Check out the video of Matthew at the ACA Conference.
June 10, 2009
Matthew had a wonderful week! First off, his ability to walk long distances has greatly improved. He is even getting faster with galloping and skipping. Matthew worked on his stretching here at home but really worked on strength and balance at his Taekwondo class. Matthew met his instructors and participated in two classes this past week. I was so proud of him when he was able to complete the task assigned to him by the instructor to obtain his White Belt!!! Matthew’s spirits are really high and his confidence seems to flow at class. Matthew spent the rest of the weekend hitting baseballs and playing Frisbee. Matthew also did great in school all week and finished up today by graduating from his pre-school. They had a nice celebration at the park and Matthew did very well performing with his classmates. They sung several songs and had a picnic afterwards. He is such a big boy!
May 28, 2009
Matthew had a very exciting and busy week. Matthew visited the Morehead Planetarium and the Durham Museum of Life and Science. The museum was a lot of fun. They have bears, wolves, lemurs, and butterflies. They also have a giant pool where you can race sailboats around and around. Matthew was able to walk the entire outdoor track which is over a mile long when completed. I was extremely proud of his ability to answer questions about his robot leg. There were multiple school groups there and about every three minutes someone was running up at him pointing and talking. Never being the shy one, Matthew answered the same questions over and over and never stopped smiling. He has so much fortitude for only being five years old. This past weekend Matthew and his sister Samantha made their first trip to the mountains of West Virginia. It was the first time they had seen mountains or rode through a mountain tunnel. They both loved the mountain scenery but I believe the tunnels were more impressive to them! However the thing Matthew raved about the most was the underground coal mine train ride! Overall, Matthew had a fantastic time and did great running around and playing with the other kids.
May 22, 2009
Well good news everyone! Matthews’s doctor’s appointment went way better than expected. After an x-ray and an ultra sound, both of his doctor’s think that the lump is Bursitis. What is bursitis you may ask? Well it is an irritation of the bursa. A bursa is a sac filled with lubricating fluid, located between tissues such as bone, muscle, tendons, and skin, that decreases rubbing, friction, and irritation. When Matthew’s leg was amputated the surgeons had to tie off the tendons and muscle that normally run down the leg and connects to the knee area. Since Matt’s knee is gone they had to lump a lot of tendons around the tip of his bone. When Matthew wears his prosthesis, all of his weight transfer is located at the tip of the bone which is causing the bursitis. Matthew could take an inflammatory medication to combat the pain when it swells but were thinking that it might be time for a different type of prosthetic. He needs a new prosthetic with extra cushion built in to the socket area that would absorb this impact better. Looks like a trip to Mr. Shane’s for a new leg is in order! Thank you everyone for all of your well wishes and prayers this past week!
May 13, 2009
Matthew had a good week overall but a trip to the doctor’s office didn’t reveal the best of news. Matthew worked on stretching his little, and strengthening his big leg. Matthew did really good walking around the neighborhood and chasing his sister and I while playing hide and go seek. Matthew continues to improve in school. During one of the rain days this past week, Matthew completed the last twenty pages in his Brain Quest workbook. He was so excited and had to show everyone that visited his accomplishment. However on Sunday I noticed Matthews little cyst had flared back up on the back of his little leg. The decision was made to take him to Greenville on Tuesday back to see his trauma doctor. Dr. Crowl believes that the cyst needs to be removed and referred us to a new doctor in Chapel Hill. The appt is next Thursday. Best case scenario is it can be controlled by meds, worse case they will need to cut it out which would put the little man out of service for awhile. On the bright side, Dr. Crowl felt pretty confident that it wasn’t a bone spur which requires much more intrusive surgery. Please pray for Matthew’s situation and keep your fingers crossed!
April 27, 2009
Matthew had a fantastic week! Everything physically is looking good and he continues to have no issues with his little leg. His stretching and agility have both increased and he is really getting good at skipping. It’s hard to believe that my boy turns the big 5 on the 30th. To celebrate this we took him to a Carolina Mudcat’s game on Friday. Matthew really enjoyed the game and the fireworks show. Sunday we threw Matthew a B-Day party and took him to Frankie’s Fun Park. This was extremely exciting for me since the last time he went to Frankie’s, he took his first steps on his prosthetic leg. It was amazing to see how far he’s come in six months. Matthew loves the batting cage and really loves riding on the go-carts. He had a wonderful time and was so tired that he could hardly stay awake for the ride home. Matthew wanted to thank you for the awesome emails this week. I wish I was able to put into words how it makes him feel inside when I read them to him. He just smiles and smiles.
April 15, 2009
Matthew had his first run in with the cold bug this year. A runny nose, cough and fever still couldn’t keep him from smiling and laughing. Matthew continues to work at home on his stretching and his leg strengthening exercises. Matthew also received his two arm crutches from his therapist last week. He picked up the movement pretty fast and seemed to have no problem navigating them around the room. These will be useful for him when he goes to the beach or is getting in and out of the shower. Even though he was sick Matthew stayed extremely busy. Friday, Matthew and his sister dressed like pirates and went to the pirate exhibit at the History museum. They learned about pirates and got to play pirates on a big ship inside the museum. For Easter, Matthew dyed Easter eggs with friends and family and had an Easter egg hunt. On Easter morning, Matthew was surprised to see that the Easter bunny had eaten all of the carrots left for him and a basket full of candy.
April 1, 2009
Matthew had a fabulous week. He continues to do well with his home re-hab. Matthew completed the one mile walk around the neighborhood twice this week. He did it all by himself with no help either time. He is getting faster and more proficient with his walking. Matthew also worked on balancing, stretching and core muscle exercises. His arms and shoulders are so broad that he reminds me of a little pop-eye. Matthew also continues to do well in school. I am so proud of his achievements and his upbeat attitude.
Wednesday 03-17-2009
Matthew had a great time showing those rain clouds that they couldn’t spoil his week. Since outside activity was mostly limited this week, Matthew decided to make the most of his days by water painting, coloring, playing games and working on his stretching for his little leg. He is still mastering the art of staying between the lines when painting. Matthew also spent some time shopping and bought a really cool Ben 10 Alien force watch that lights up. He really enjoys this at night when he can “project” the shapes of the watch on the bedroom walls. Saturday, Matthew spent the night with Papa Dean and Grandma. There he learned about the lunar cycle with this really cool “wall moon” that goes through all the lunar cycles. Matthew continues to do really good at school and is getting pretty good at writing his name. Matthew made sure to wear green today, as we didn’t want any unexpected pinched coming his way at school. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
Wednesday 03-11-2009
Matthew had a great week. Saturday was his big day for showing off his dance moves at the recital. He had a fantastic time and did a wonderful job. He looked too cool with his “Elton John” glasses on during one of the songs. Monday was Matthew’s last re-hab for six weeks. He spent most the session in the pool doing leg strengthening activities. Ms. Anna let him turn the current up to 75 as he did body pull ups holding unto the beams while pushing against the current. His upper body has gotten extremely strong since he lost his leg. We still got a ways to go with the swimming aspect of it though. I imagine it is difficult to swim with one leg. As far as school work goes, Matthew is writing his name every night and is working on word recognition. We also worked on when to call 911 and what to do when a smoke alarm goes off. On a side note thank you everyone for the wonderful ideas for upcoming events for the foundation and for the wonderful support emails.
Wednesday 03-04-2009
Matthew had a fabulous week! Thursday night Matthew attempted to walk the mile loop around our neighborhood. He did so well finally giving out 100 yards from the house. I was so impressed and proud of him. At re-hab he went .35 miles on the treadmill running the majority of the time. Matthew also started a new challenge, the 50 foot dash. His best time so far is 11 seconds. The therapists are also concentrating on Matthew’s ability to balance on one leg at a time. Matthew continues to work hard on his number recognition, 6 and 9 still trip him up but I know he will get the hang of it shortly. Matthew has mastered every jigsaw puzzle I own at this point so it looks like I know what the Easter Bunny is going to bring him. Monday brought a bit of a surprise, SNOW!!!!! Matthew and his sister had so much fun. They built a small snow man, had a snow ball war and chased Lola around the back yard! Matthew had no problem at all navigating his robot leg through the snow.
Wednesday 02-25-2009
Other than being sick with a cold, Matthew had a great week. He continued to work on jumping, side stepping and galloping at re-hab. He has gotten really good at writing his name and knowing how to spell it. I have also been working with him on learning his address, phone numbers, and 911. On Monday Matthew went to Greenville to visit Mr. Shane so he could inspect his robot leg. Mr. Shane gave us a clean bill of health and said that Matthew was doing phenomenal. I forgot last week to tell you all thanks for the awesome Valentine’s Day emails. Matthew really enjoyed them.
Wednesday 02-18-2009
Matthew had an incredible week! In rehab Matthew continued to push full steam ahead. He worked on running, climbing stairs and walking on unleveled terrains. We hid easter eggs outside of the rehab location and encouraged him to race us to the eggs when he found them. He had so much fun and laughed so hard. On Thursday, Matthew and daddy had a boys night out. We dropped off Valentines Day’s gifts to some of daddy’s friends, ate pizza and watched a movie. On Friday, Matthew’s class had a Valentines Day party, which was really cool. He exchanged gifts and ate a lot of cupcakes and other sweets. It pleases me so much to see how caring and giving he is. If he’s got one piece of candy he will try his best to break it into as many pieces as possible to share with his friends. At dance class, Matthew had a great time. There was a young lady who came in and played the bongo drums for the class to dance too. He really enjoyed the rhythm and sound of that drum. Matthew spent the rest of his weekend hanging out with family and friends.
Wednesday 02-11-2009
Matthew had a great week. He is really getting good at walking up inclines and long distances. This week he played kick ball with his therapist and worked on long distance galloping and bike peddling. He is up to 3.6 miles per hour on the treadmill! Matthew continues to make giant strides in rehabilitation. Matthew also enrolled in Kindergarten this week. August will be here before you know it!
Wednesday 02-04-2009
Wow! This has been a great week for Matthew. He started his new dance class Saturday and after being a little shy he really got into it. They worked on bending over and making huge circles with your arms. Matthew really enjoyed doing the limbo and playing with the multi-colored parachute. At therapy Matthew continues to improve. Yesterday he walked up and down three flights of stairs without holding the railings. This is a huge step forward since it’s pretty hard to balance yourself without being able to sense both feet impacting the ground. Matthew also took his running into overdrive clocking in at 3.4 mphs! I am so proud of his improvement and his hard nose attitude. At Mrs. Dee’s Super Bowl party Matthew worked on going up and down the rear stairs. After all he had to make room for all of that great food! Uncle Mark has asked Matthew to come by the station for some cool fireman stuff. Matthew really loves fire trucks and who knows maybe one day that will be him saving someone’s life! Matthew continues to improve on recognizing numbers, letters and writing his name. He really loves board games (Candyland and Chutes and Ladders). He has gotten so good at the puzzles that I am buying age 6+ for him to do. Matthew also wanted to say thanks to everyone for the awesome emails of encouragement and to continue to pray for him!
Tuesday 01-27-2009
The last week was very exciting for Matthew. He made giant strides in running. He is up to three miles an hour on the treadmill and is interval training for around one third of a mile. Now I know he’s no Carl Lewis, but three miles an hour is moving for someone who just learned to walk again a few months ago. Matthew is also learning how to gallop at re-hab. He seems to be close to mastering it. Matthew got a pleasant surprise this week when he got to play in the first snow of the year with his little sister.
Wednesday 01-21-2009
Matthew had a great week. He had two very productive rehabilitation sessions, he worked on running, climbing and side to side movements. Matthew's overall coordination is getting so much better, he is able to correct his balance without falling down. Matthew also had a great time at both Hooter's locations. Much thanks to Blair, Matt, and Paul for hosting the Matthew Baldwin Foundation Fundraiser this past weekend. Matthew continues to do really well in daycare, he is back to full time status. At home we continue to work on letter and number recognition in preparation for kindergarten next year.
Wednesday 01-14-2009
Sorry for the delay on updating A Hero's Journey, as you can see we have been converting to the official Matthew Baldwin Foundation webpage! Welcome! Matthew has been doing fantastic since his adjustment. He continues to attend physical therapy at least twice a week. His therapist's Nazaly and Anna are very encouraged by his ongoing progress and positive attitude and drive to succeed. Matthew will be attending a progressive dance class offered by Raleigh Neurology at the end of this month. Matthew and his sister Samantha love to dance, so I am very excited to see Matthew showing off his moves with the other children. Matthew will also be participating on the t-ball team with the Miracle League of the Triangle this spring!
Monday 01-05-2009
Well it would seem that a change will do you good! Today Matthews’s leg replacement part was installed and man could you tell a huge difference in his gate pattern. No more gangster lean! Overall he had a fabulous day and is doing great. Thank you everyone for the continuous emails and messages to Matt. He just lights up when I read them to him.
Sunday 01-04-2009
Matthew has been doing well. His leg is rash free and tomorrow we are off to get his replacement part for his leg. Matthew continues to impress everyone with his attitude and his smile. He has spent the last few days working on writing his numbers, putting together puzzles and enjoying his Christmas presents. He just loves the positive accolades that he receives when he puts a puzzle together or completes a learning workbook.