Well, this is the hardest part. It was early evening I was at work. The phone at work were broke, the ringers would not work. So we could not get any incoming phone calls, I worked from 6AM to 7PM most days. This time I clocked out right at 7. I walked out to my car and drove straight home. When I pulled up to the end of the drive leading to my house, two girls came running up to me crying and screaming..."You have to get to the hospital! Matt's been shot!" I asked them "WHAT?" I could not believe what I was hearing....Then they said it again....I asked "Which Hospital?" They said, "The one in Clinton" I hit the gas and spun the tires and took off down the road. I don't know how fast I was going...I know I passed a cop, and he didn't stop me...I thought that was kind of funny, because I was in a NO PASSING zone, and in a curve, I think it was then that it hit me "THIS MUST BE SERIOUS..." The cops aren't even stopping me....I made it to the hospital in record time. When I walked in, the nurse was waiting for me. I knew in my gut it was bad...they never take you into the family room and make you wait for the Doctor unlesss it is really bad. I said "I don't care about the Doc...Just take me to my son!" She said "I can't" I still wouldn't except it...The Doctor came in, I looked at him....He had this look on his face and asked me...."Do you have any one with you?"  I told him NO. Then I asked him to just tell me...He said "Your son has been shot" I said "where" He said..."IN THE HEAD!" I saw the whole world swim by in an instant....I thought, No this can't be happening...Not to me...Not to my perfect son...Not to Matthew who is always so careful...Then I asked him "What are his chances of survival?" and he said "MAYBE 10%"....I think I died right then....I didn't cry...I didn't do anything...I just leaned back against the wall, kind of sank back to the floor...and then told him to take me to my son...He told me to be prepared for what I was going to see....I won't go into that on here...NO ONE needs to know what that looks like,,,but I got to my son...I took his hand...told him how much I loved him...and how much I needed him to fight...but that if he couldn't...that was ok too...I still didn't cry...it wasn't real to me yet...then life flight arrived. They stabalized him, put him on life flight, I called my brother, he met me at the hoispital, and then he drove me to UNC to be with my son...I cried then...When I called my brother I cried...It wasn't real until I had to tell some one else...then it was real...my son was leaving...I wasn't going to see him after tonight...I found out later that the police arrived at my place of work just minutes after I left...They were looking for me...The Doctors would not let me drive from Clinton Hospital to UNC hospital after seeing my son....they knew I would not be able to make that drive without hurting myself, or some one else.....Thank you for that .....You probably saved lives that night.....My brother made it to UNC in record time though!!! My son lived for 18 hours...was then declared brain dead...and then he became an organ donor. In our time of grief...others were made VERY happy....He saved many lives that night! Heart, Kidneys, Liver, Pancres, 
Adreanl Glands....Other families were glad my son passed...not in the sense that I had to lose my son, but in the sense that they got to keep their loved ones a while longer....I love my son...With a love that is an ETERNAL bond...one that not even DEATH can break...and I miss him so much...but each day that passes is one day closer to us being together again...I love you and miss you Matthew. ALWAYS. Love MOM

 As a teenager, Matthew learned how to fit in with others quick. He was always well liked by anyone he met. He started out as a scrwny boy, then he started to lift weights. He asked me to buy him one of those home gym sets, so I bought him the one from Wal-Mart. He loved it...Soon he was filling out. He was getting so big that he couldn't fit his clothes anymore. I had to start buying him new clothes. He loved to pick out clothes. He even picked out my clothes for me. He said he wanted me to look "good" not like some "OLD" lady...LOL...so he would pick out my dresses, and my jeans and t-shirts...He was very self concious about the way he looked. If was wearing black, he had to wear black shoes, and if he was wearing white, he had to wear white shoes...and every hair had to be in place...He spent more time in the bathroom than I did! But he was so handsome he had ALL the girls calling for him...I couldn't answer the phone because I couldn't keep the names straight...and I didn't want to get the name wrong and get him in trouble with any of his "girls"...LOL...;-)  He had the most perfect smile...His teeth were perfect...He was 1 month and 20 days away from being 18 and he never had not even 1 single cavity...he took extra good care of his teeth, just like his face, and his clothes.Oh, what I wouldn't give to have that all back again...to be standing at the bathroom door saying "Hurry up Matt, We need to use the bathroom too!"  What I wouldn't give to have any of it back....

 On May 24, 1985, Matthew was born. He was such a handsome baby...Everyone said "Most babies are just babies...but Matt is so cute!" He remained that way all his life. He wighed 8 lbs. 11 oz. and was 21" long. I was such a lucky mother. I had two beautiful baby boys now. Both healthy and happy. They both remained that way all their lives. NEVER getting sick. I had the most healthy kids ever! I never knew how lucky I was till I met other parents in their schools who told me about their kids getting sick...one had the flu, one had pnuemonia, ect. ect. ect. But I never had that problem....You see both my boys were very healthy...they just NEVER got sick! EVER! In the winters in Pennsylvania, they would get a sniffle or two, and that was all. Matthew was a very happy baby...his older brother is Christopher. they were 2 years apart. Chris was born on June 19, 1983. They were very close growing up. Even as a young boy Matthew was always very caring and very sensitive to others around him. He always wanted to help anyone who needed it. He made it very easy to love him, and to care for him. I love you Matthew...You were and still are a very special person...to me and to all who met you...