Donate to Matthew's Family for a Fresh Start

My name is Henry Skinner and I've set this up for the oldest son Matthew and his family. We've received several messages about scamming, everyone suffers, and negative comments. The same could be said for any of these fundraisers but everyone needs help at times and I feel this family needs some help. I find it hard to ask for help as many do and wanted to do this for them as I didn't have the means to fund them myself. I've added some depth to their story below and hope that sways your view on their strength and compassion for family.

Matthew lost his home when his grandmother passed (two years ago now) as he was her main care provider, living with her for the last ten years of her life. Matt put his life goals on hold to make his grandmother the primary focus of his time. Samantha would be the primary income for the family during this process. For those of you who have helped someone to the end you know what that entails. Anna, the grandmother, had altimers and delusional schizophrenia as well as multiple system atrophy and sundown syndrome. These conditions made for a long and slow end to her life as they gradually wore her down – roughly ten years. She was up at all hours of the day and Matt even found her outside in the yard in winter. Matt devoted himself to his grandmoter and his family equally.

Through all of this Matt also dealt with psoriatic arthritis, since he was twelve, and managed his gout and fibromyalgia.Matt never gave up on her or his family during this time, often taking care of the children as well through this as a father should. This did leave him over stressed and he dealt with depression and therapy the last few years as it was overwhelming for him. To have to care for someone and watch them slowly fade is rough, for a young man in his twenties I couldn't imagine the weight on his shoulders.

Their youngest son Cayde, has been to John Hopkins several times for testing (MRI's, bloodwork) and doctor's apppointments to determine what is wrong with him. He has turned blue / purple while they are watching him and the hospital has not been able to come up with a diagnosis, possibly lupus. He is set to have genetic testing done to see if that can help hone in on his issue and what if any treatment to get him better. Cayde is currently going through physical therapy to help him move around as he had reduced function of his left side and still struggles with use of the arm and leg on that side, even turning his head.

Archer, the third son, is now 4 and endured multiple surgeries on his gentila to allow him to urinate correctly. Additionally, he is still not able to speak, having a delayed ability with minimal words that are understandable, he has also been helped at daycare with sign language to indicate basic needs (hungry, thank you, etc.)

Raylan their second son is 10, and Abel, their first, is 13 and both of these boys has had to help take care of their siblings more than normal for kids of their age, and they have develped their own issues. They are older so manage things better but have still suffered and endured.

Matt and Sam were not able to pay off the reverse mortgage Anna had done, so they couldn't stay there, and Matt, Sam, and the grandkids have lived in my home since. The intent was for Matt to take his inheritance and granted plot of land (just on the far side of Anna house) and work to get their first home built on that lot. This would give them the house they needed as a family of six, and keep them close to other family(about 3 houses down). After dealing with the county to get the needed approvals, Matt's inheritance funds are gone, but they are able to build there and have a house design approved and submitted. This house is a four bedroom home of 1600 square feet. To make matters worse, I destroyed their only family vehicle in a treeing accident, and we have been letting them use our SUV as needed for family outings. Having added to their troubles I felt compelled to create this for them as they would not take this step themselves.

Tammie (my wife) has worked hard with them to find a builder and all the needed services to get this house started. The builder is an Amish man from St. Mary's. Their septic company is from Calvert, and the water well, HVAC, and other teams are all locals as we wanted to keep business within the area. I'm hoping this will generate the money needed to get them in a position to move forward and also put them in a position where they can fund the remainder. They are on hold currently as they need funds for the initial things; lot clearing, spetic, water well, and the foundation. This should hopefully allow them to show enough progress to get the loan needed for the rest.

With the passing of Anna, Matt has put his focus back on his family's needs and has been working for the county government now as a groundskeeper at one of the local parks and keeps an eye out for better jobs. He's well-liked there, and they've even tried to help get him a full-time position there or at another park. Samantha, his wife, has been working at a local daycare for some time and enjoys the staff and kids there. While they both work, in today's economy, they're not able to afford to buy a house that meets the needs of a family of six, so the option to build their own home seemed like the best route in terms of funding. In looking at loans for their design, they found out that they can't qualify for what they need to build a new home.

Matt and Sam have endured a lot over the years, from this and marriage itself, and stayed the course together. They struggled mentally, physically, financially and spiritually and still move forward. I can't imagine being a father of four and taking care of an elderly person at the same time, for that alone he has my praise and I'm proud of him – most couldn't do it. Sam has pushed to support them through this all, while taking care of the kids and the housekeeping that comes with a family. To work full time and manage a household is hard, again very proud of her for these sacrifices and her commitment to the family and for supporting Matt's need to help his grandmother. I don't know of another young couple that has endured so much and for so long.