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My name is Paula Vu and I am one of Matthew Gaerlan's aunts. This fund is started to help with the final expenses for Matthew.
It's hard to describe the kind of person Matthew is because not like us, he was born with a whole lot of medical conditions. All I can tell you is that he was well loved by everyone he met. He was a very happy kid.
We knew from the beginning that life would be a struggle for Matthew and that he will not live a long life.
Matthew was born on September 4, 1997 at Children's Hospital, with an absence of corpus collosum, which is the part, that separates the left and right side of the brain, along with universal pain loss, cleft lip and palate, webbed hands and club feet. When he was young he chewed of part of his tongue which led to having all of his teeth pulled out to prevent more damage, he is unable to chew and only eats through a tube that goes directly to his stomach. He also scratched off the top layer of his eye which led to his partial blindness. He is also wheelchair bound. He was in and out of the hospital through out his whole life. About a year ago, he developed a really bad infection, which led to the amputation of his right arm.
Matthew, even though he was unable to communicate, you can tell was a happy kid. He loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone he meets. He is the oldest of three siblings and was loved by everyone. He was the glue to this family. Whenever there's a tension in our family dynamics, Matthew would get sick and everyone will come together and forget about our differences and focus on Matthew's wellbeing.
Matthew passed away on February 19th at 11:30am at Children's Hospital surrounded by his family who loved him dearly.
This is a very difficult time for our family but we are truly thankful for all your continued support and prayers.
We love Matthew and will forever cherish the memories he had imprinted to everyone.
It's hard to describe the kind of person Matthew is because not like us, he was born with a whole lot of medical conditions. All I can tell you is that he was well loved by everyone he met. He was a very happy kid.
We knew from the beginning that life would be a struggle for Matthew and that he will not live a long life.
Matthew was born on September 4, 1997 at Children's Hospital, with an absence of corpus collosum, which is the part, that separates the left and right side of the brain, along with universal pain loss, cleft lip and palate, webbed hands and club feet. When he was young he chewed of part of his tongue which led to having all of his teeth pulled out to prevent more damage, he is unable to chew and only eats through a tube that goes directly to his stomach. He also scratched off the top layer of his eye which led to his partial blindness. He is also wheelchair bound. He was in and out of the hospital through out his whole life. About a year ago, he developed a really bad infection, which led to the amputation of his right arm.
Matthew, even though he was unable to communicate, you can tell was a happy kid. He loves to give hugs and kisses to everyone he meets. He is the oldest of three siblings and was loved by everyone. He was the glue to this family. Whenever there's a tension in our family dynamics, Matthew would get sick and everyone will come together and forget about our differences and focus on Matthew's wellbeing.
Matthew passed away on February 19th at 11:30am at Children's Hospital surrounded by his family who loved him dearly.
This is a very difficult time for our family but we are truly thankful for all your continued support and prayers.
We love Matthew and will forever cherish the memories he had imprinted to everyone.