Hunter's Recovery

Hunter Matthews, age 31, needs your help. Due to medical conditions – brain tumor, antibiotic-resistant infection after surgery, planned radiation and chemotherapy, liver damage from Wilson’s disease, and ongoing therapies and treatments – Hunter currently needs round-the-clock care and is unable to work to support himself.

He is in a catch-22 situation regarding receiving any benefits. Because he is not available to work, he cannot collect unemployment benefits. Since his inability to work is expected to last less than one year, he does not qualify for government disability payments. And since he was a “contract employee” for the Salt Lake School District, working with disabled kids, he is also not eligible for any employer-sponsored benefits.

It's not easy for Hunter to ask for help -he is usually the one helping - but the options are very limited. Without support from friends and family, he will be unable to provide himself with food and shelter, much less to pay for the mounting medical bills. Please help him in his time of need by donating to this Go Fund Me campaign.

More Details

On September 21, his father stopped by to visit and found Hunter on the floor unconscious and unable to move. It was obvious that he had been in that condition for a full day or more. He was rushed to the hospital with what turned out to be a rare and malignant brain tumor in his right frontal lobe—an oligodendroglioma that caused a seizure, or series of seizures. Fortunately, it was classified as a “low grade” cancer. After two complicated surgeries, he was released to recover at home, but his is a complicated recovery. Not only does he have a congenital disease called Wilson’s that has compromised his liver and therefore limited his treatment options, but during or after the craniotomy, he contracted an infection.

Now Hunter is at home, but requires round-the-clock care. For the next six to eight weeks, his family is administering a newly developed specialized antibiotic intravenously. Once the infection is under control, it will be time to begin addressing the remnants of the tumor. His treatment at the Huntsman Cancer Institute at Salt Lake City is expected to include six weeks of radiation therapy, and perhaps chemotherapy. Both will be tough on Hunter.

As you may expect, recovery after brain surgery is long and intense. Hunter will have almost daily appointments with occupational and physical therapists, oncologists, and liver specialists, a situation expected to for months.

We are reaching out because Hunter is unable to work or receive benefits during this time. Before his hospitalization, Hunter was employed by the Salt Lake School District as a Para-Professional (teaching assistant) working with individuals with special needs. As a Contract Employee, he had no benefits, and now is in a Catch- 22 situation: he cannot collect unemployment because is unable to work, and because he will not be able to work for six to eight months, he doesn’t qualify for government disability payments. It was not easy to talk him into allowing us to ask for help—he’s usually the one helping--but his options are very limited. He is unable to pay for food and shelter, much less to pay the mounting medical bills.

Provided that he receives appropriate treatment the long-term outlook for Hunter is good, but the next six months are critical. His mother, Melanie, and his brother, Cole, have come to Salt Lake City to help him through this, but they both had to leave their jobs. Over time, as Hunter’s health improves, he can regain independence and the family will be able to return to their lives. But for now, Hunter’s recovery is everyone’s priority.

If you can contribute to Hunter’s success story we all would be grateful. Many thanks.