The LaRoccas
Donations made to Caring Bridge DO NOT benefit Matt's family or our continued fight helping families.
You can also go to www.braintumorhumor.com (
http://www.braintumorhumor.com)
This page is all about Matt and an occasional blurb about the rest of our crew. Matt being the middle boy of 4 kids and having an older sister sometimes you get lost in the mix. Matt is the light that shines bright in a crowd, the giggle that comes just from being around a happy person, the peace that can diffuse most all upset and an all around smart guy that is old beyond his years. He has shown courage and an optimistic attitude that amazes everyone. Matt's journey began back in November 09' when we thought we were going to confirm a sinus infection but instead they found a tumor in the middle of his brainstem. It is a pretty large tumor, over 5cm and appears to have been there from birth thus explaining many minor issues he has dealt with for years that we have never had the answers to. He had brain surgery on Nov 16th, 2009 but the dr was only able to remove a small piece for biopsy. After healing quite nicely, Matt returned to school within a week and resumed a pretty normal life. We have consulted with many dr's & gotten a lot of opinions. We ended up deciding on surgery at Johns Hopkins in Jan 11. That surgery done by Dr George Jallo was a success and finally gave relief to 16 months of violent hiccups. Matthew healed well and returned to Nashville 8 days after surgery. While his spirit remained strong his body grew week and tired. Without warning, his battle here on earth ended on April 6, 2011. He won! Matt beat that cowardly brain tumor. While we are broken and void in heart we are so thrilled that Matt is free to run again! Life will never be the same but we are so thankful for the battle he waged! Thank you for your support and prayers through our journey! We are determined to continue to share Matt's courage and bravery. God bless!
