Matt's Medical Journey
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We’d like to you to know about Matt Davis and his journey. And we’d like to ask for your help.
Matt has been fighting to overcome the effects of epilepsy since he was five years old. But today, at age 21, he’s fighting to overcome the toughest challenge of his life.
All of us get up each morning and try our hardest, but Matt Davis sometimes has to work harder than most. That’s been Matt’s reality for most of his twenty-one years, but since the night of July 23 it has been even more true.
The doctor who performed brain surgery on Matt earlier in the year gave him clearance to leave the protective cocoon that was his house to visit a friend that night. Around 9:30, they went to get snacks from a local deli. As they walked, a car came from the rear and swerved into Matt, throwing him across the hood, into the windshield, up in the air and down on his head before speeding off and leaving him for dead.
Matt was rushed to NUMC with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, and bone chips floating in his head. Before being transported by helicopter to Lennox Hill Hospital, where his brain surgery had been performed a few months before, doctors at NUMC put him into a coma.
Matt was in for the fight of his life.
Matt has been fighting since he was just five years old.
Mattie (as his family called him then), was starting kindergarten when he began having bad dreams. His little body didn’t seem right. His arms always felt heavy. For a while, his mother didn’t know what to make of it, until his brother saw Matt violently convulsing in a seizure as he slept.
The doctors were skeptical at first. They could find nothing wrong with Mattie after two years of testing. But his family knew better. They continued advocating for him and pushing the doctors to continue looking. It wasn’t until Mattie had a seizure while he was in the hospital that the doctors finally came on board. It was a “Grand Mal” – a severe episode that causes its victim to fall unconscious – a seizure that can even be fatal.
And so began a lifelong journey for Mattie and his family – his mother Leslie, his father “Big Mike”, and brothers Marquis and Michael. It was during these early days that he would sometimes catch Leslie in a private corner of their home, in tears.
He would tell her, “Mommy, don’t cry. Its going to get better.”
But it didn’t.
A mix of medicines and dosages were tried, but the seizures grew worse and more frequent, sometimes 4 -5 a day.
As Matt’s body grew into a 6’2’, 260 lb. frame, the seizures would knock him to the ground, leaving him scarred and bruised. It was time to look for a non-pharmaceutical solution.
The search led to Dr. Kuzniecky and his team at Lennox Hill Hospital. Matt bravely agreed to a series of three complex and risky surgeries to remove the part of his brain that was believed to be causing the convulsions. A year went into the planning, including designing and manufacturing specialized surgical equipment.
Although the last of the 10-hour surgeries in February of this year went as planned, paralysis unexpectedly set in on the left side of Matt’s body. The doctors had done all they could. The rest was going to be up to Matt.
Through hard work and determination, Matt overcame the paralysis. He managed to walk out of the rehab facility at Glen Cove Hospital, albeit very slowly, and return to his home in Westbury where he completed his recovery.
What about the seizures that had handicapped his life?
They were gone…erased…a thing of the past. Matt was finally free from the convulsions that had become a daily part of his life.
Everything was moving in his favor.
Then came the night of July 23 and that accident.
Today Matt is back in rehab, this time at the Northwell Stern Family Center for Rehabilitation. Although he is again experiencing paralysis, doctors are cautiously optimistic about his chances for a full recovery.
While Matt works to get better, his family and friends are working to raise funds to remodel his home to enable him to complete simple tasks like taking a shower safely or getting out of the house in an emergency in addition to covering the cost of medical bills not paid for by insurance.
What can you do?
You can join our team, Friends of Matt, by making a contribution, of any amount, and sharing Matt’s story with others you feel may be willing to support Matt’s full recovery.
Thank you for your consideration,
Friends of Matt
Matt has been fighting to overcome the effects of epilepsy since he was five years old. But today, at age 21, he’s fighting to overcome the toughest challenge of his life.
All of us get up each morning and try our hardest, but Matt Davis sometimes has to work harder than most. That’s been Matt’s reality for most of his twenty-one years, but since the night of July 23 it has been even more true.
The doctor who performed brain surgery on Matt earlier in the year gave him clearance to leave the protective cocoon that was his house to visit a friend that night. Around 9:30, they went to get snacks from a local deli. As they walked, a car came from the rear and swerved into Matt, throwing him across the hood, into the windshield, up in the air and down on his head before speeding off and leaving him for dead.
Matt was rushed to NUMC with a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, and bone chips floating in his head. Before being transported by helicopter to Lennox Hill Hospital, where his brain surgery had been performed a few months before, doctors at NUMC put him into a coma.
Matt was in for the fight of his life.
Matt has been fighting since he was just five years old.
Mattie (as his family called him then), was starting kindergarten when he began having bad dreams. His little body didn’t seem right. His arms always felt heavy. For a while, his mother didn’t know what to make of it, until his brother saw Matt violently convulsing in a seizure as he slept.
The doctors were skeptical at first. They could find nothing wrong with Mattie after two years of testing. But his family knew better. They continued advocating for him and pushing the doctors to continue looking. It wasn’t until Mattie had a seizure while he was in the hospital that the doctors finally came on board. It was a “Grand Mal” – a severe episode that causes its victim to fall unconscious – a seizure that can even be fatal.
And so began a lifelong journey for Mattie and his family – his mother Leslie, his father “Big Mike”, and brothers Marquis and Michael. It was during these early days that he would sometimes catch Leslie in a private corner of their home, in tears.
He would tell her, “Mommy, don’t cry. Its going to get better.”
But it didn’t.
A mix of medicines and dosages were tried, but the seizures grew worse and more frequent, sometimes 4 -5 a day.
As Matt’s body grew into a 6’2’, 260 lb. frame, the seizures would knock him to the ground, leaving him scarred and bruised. It was time to look for a non-pharmaceutical solution.
The search led to Dr. Kuzniecky and his team at Lennox Hill Hospital. Matt bravely agreed to a series of three complex and risky surgeries to remove the part of his brain that was believed to be causing the convulsions. A year went into the planning, including designing and manufacturing specialized surgical equipment.
Although the last of the 10-hour surgeries in February of this year went as planned, paralysis unexpectedly set in on the left side of Matt’s body. The doctors had done all they could. The rest was going to be up to Matt.
Through hard work and determination, Matt overcame the paralysis. He managed to walk out of the rehab facility at Glen Cove Hospital, albeit very slowly, and return to his home in Westbury where he completed his recovery.
What about the seizures that had handicapped his life?
They were gone…erased…a thing of the past. Matt was finally free from the convulsions that had become a daily part of his life.
Everything was moving in his favor.
Then came the night of July 23 and that accident.
Today Matt is back in rehab, this time at the Northwell Stern Family Center for Rehabilitation. Although he is again experiencing paralysis, doctors are cautiously optimistic about his chances for a full recovery.
While Matt works to get better, his family and friends are working to raise funds to remodel his home to enable him to complete simple tasks like taking a shower safely or getting out of the house in an emergency in addition to covering the cost of medical bills not paid for by insurance.
What can you do?
You can join our team, Friends of Matt, by making a contribution, of any amount, and sharing Matt’s story with others you feel may be willing to support Matt’s full recovery.
Thank you for your consideration,
Friends of Matt
Organizer and beneficiary
Robert Troiano
Organizer
Westbury, NY
Leslie Davis
Beneficiary
