Making A Difference For Matt
Donation protected
On Sunday, May 28th, Matt was involved in a terrible accident. I wanted to post about his story so his friends can stay up to date with what happened and what is going on with his recovery.
While celebrating the long holiday weekend, Matt and friends were lighting off fireworks. Matt went to check on what he thought was a "dud" firecracker. It turned out to not be a dud after all, and the concussive blast firework ended up going off in his hands. 911 was called and he was later airlifted to North Memorial Health Hospital in Minnesota. He was admitted into the plastic surgery and burn unit and underwent 6 hours of trauma and reconstructive surgery.
As of today, Matt is recovering. He is missing three full fingers on his right hand, two of which had the metatarsal bones removed all the way down to the wrist bone, and the remaining two fingers are only partial digits. He is also missing a portion of his thumb on his left hand. Both of his eardrums were ruptured and he is also having some problems with his sight. He is in very intense pain and his team is working on managing the pain as well as the nerve and tissue damage and keeping infection at bay. Tomorrow - Thursday, June 1st - Matt will meet with his team of doctors and surgeons to remove the initial bandages and decide if he will need skin grafting or more reconstructive surgery.
This accident will change Matt's life forever, and he will have a very long road of recovery ahead of him; not only physical recovery, but learning how to live his life differently with his non-dominant hand. However, we are all so extremely thankful that this accident was not any worse than it was - if he had been holding the firework closer to his face or torso, if he had stepped on it, or a number of other possibilities - we are very lucky that he is still here on this earth with us.
We want to thank you all for your continued support, prayers, and good thoughts. We will continue to post these updates as requested by Matt - he wants to be very open with his story in the hopes of others learning from his mistakes and taking firework safety very seriously during the summer season of festivals, parties, and outdoor events. Again, we thank you all for your continued kind words and friendship during the hard time that Matt is facing.
While celebrating the long holiday weekend, Matt and friends were lighting off fireworks. Matt went to check on what he thought was a "dud" firecracker. It turned out to not be a dud after all, and the concussive blast firework ended up going off in his hands. 911 was called and he was later airlifted to North Memorial Health Hospital in Minnesota. He was admitted into the plastic surgery and burn unit and underwent 6 hours of trauma and reconstructive surgery.
As of today, Matt is recovering. He is missing three full fingers on his right hand, two of which had the metatarsal bones removed all the way down to the wrist bone, and the remaining two fingers are only partial digits. He is also missing a portion of his thumb on his left hand. Both of his eardrums were ruptured and he is also having some problems with his sight. He is in very intense pain and his team is working on managing the pain as well as the nerve and tissue damage and keeping infection at bay. Tomorrow - Thursday, June 1st - Matt will meet with his team of doctors and surgeons to remove the initial bandages and decide if he will need skin grafting or more reconstructive surgery.
This accident will change Matt's life forever, and he will have a very long road of recovery ahead of him; not only physical recovery, but learning how to live his life differently with his non-dominant hand. However, we are all so extremely thankful that this accident was not any worse than it was - if he had been holding the firework closer to his face or torso, if he had stepped on it, or a number of other possibilities - we are very lucky that he is still here on this earth with us.
We want to thank you all for your continued support, prayers, and good thoughts. We will continue to post these updates as requested by Matt - he wants to be very open with his story in the hopes of others learning from his mistakes and taking firework safety very seriously during the summer season of festivals, parties, and outdoor events. Again, we thank you all for your continued kind words and friendship during the hard time that Matt is facing.
Organizer
Gabrielle Eck
Organizer
Plover, WI
