Re: [OT] Mattie Stepanek ]An Inspiration

[Guest guest]

Dear ,I dont know if my aunt knows him personally or she just seen

him on the Oprah show,Oprah told him he could have anything he wanted for

Chrismas,he wanted prayers,it seemed to be the only thing that saved his

life previously,the doctors said whatever you did before do again.My aunt

sent a heartwrenching story of Mattie asking everybody to pray.You can

do it anytime you want but the idea is at noon.My son is very sick but

every time we go to rheumy I see kids with cancer and there to have cemo

and no hair,I am thankful everyday that god didnot send a death sentance,also

knowing there is the rare chance that it could,the two children that we

have lost is always in the back of my mind.

Becki and 3 systemic

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Mattie suffers from a rare and incurable form of muscular dystrophy. He

must always use a ventilator because his body doesn't get enough oxygen.

Sometimes his blood pressure suddenly drops or his heart will beat erratically.

He has been in and out of comas.

But his words exhibit an incredible inner strength. When he was only

3, he began writing poems because it helped him get through days where

he could barely get out of bed.

Since then he has written two poetry books, Heartsongs and its

sequel,Journey Through Heartsongs, both of which hit bestseller

lists.

Read

His Poetry

His Mission: Peacemaking

Mattie's mother, Jeni Stepanek, is achingly aware of how lucky Mattie

is to be alive. She and her ex-husband had four children, all of whom died

before the age of 4 — except Mattie.

When Mattie was born in 1989, she said, "He was the sickest of the four."

Doctors did not know what all the children suffered from until Jeni was

diagnosed with adult-onset muscular dystrophy. She had unknowingly passed

on the disease to her children.

"I have come to learn since then that this was a spirit that was meant

to be. Mattie is clearly meant to be here," said Jeni. "I think Mattie

has the will to live … He has a very strong spirit and he wants to live.

I think that he feels like he has a purpose here and a mission here."

Mattie believes his mission is peacemaking. Though he would love to

be a firefighter or a policeman if his body would allow it, he gets satisfaction

out of helping others with his pen and paper.

"I've always wanted to be a peacemaker, and I wanted to spread peace

in my writing," he said. "Violence is not the answer. Nowadays, we're fighting

over little things that in the great scheme of life don't matter … Our

war on terrorism should be won with words, not bombs."

Mattie admires others for their peacemaking efforts too. One of his

heroes is former President Jimmy , who has devoted much of his time

since leaving the White House to promoting peace in some of the world's

many war-torn countries.

In June, Mattie discussed peace efforts in Bosnia and Africa during

a 15-minute phone call with the former president. "He is a humble peacemaker,"

he said. "He'll finish a great peacemaking effort, but he won't go and

show off about it."

Looking for the Good Side

On Sept. 11, Mattie watched, along with everyone else, as the world

changed forever.

"I was sad. I was crying. It was scary," he said. "Especially when the

building fell down on the firefighters." Mattie had met several New York

City firefighters at a charity softball tournament for muscular dystrophy.

Three of Mattie's friends perished on Sept. 11.

Mattie cried when he saw what happened on TV, and kept looking for firefighters

he knew on the screen. But as is typical of Mattie, he also began looking

for the good.

"Even though it was sad, people should celebrate life no matter how

bad it seems … there's always something beautiful that you can find," he

said.

Mattie said poetry is a helpful and beautiful way to express feelings,

whether they are angry, sad, happy or scared feelings. "You can share it

with others, so that they can feel better when they're in those positions,"

he said. "We all have life storms, and when we get through them or recover

from them we should celebrate that we got through it instead of just mourning

and waiting for the next one to come along and wipe us out again.