“We find victories every day, and the victory here is that they will be even closer than before,” says Christina Matz.
Normal life for the Matz family came crashing down in May 2021, when their son, Colt, was diagnosed with leukemia.
“Looking at Colt, you would think he is a typical 11-year old boy. He is active, happy, and social, but you wouldn’t know that his body is waging a war inside,” Christina exclaims.
Since diagnosis, he has spent most of his time in the hospital at Oishei Children’s Hospital fighting for his life through rounds of intensive chemotherapy. Colt, who was in desperate need of healthy stem cells, recently received them from one of his absolute best friends – his younger brother, Jack.
“Doctors drew cells from Jack’s bone marrow in his pelvis, and gifted it to Colt. The goal is for Jack’s healthy cells to replace Colt’s unhealthy cells and take over white blood cell production in Colt’s body.”
Christina reflects on her experience as a mother, watching her young sons share this unbreakable and very unique bond, brought together by love and also by heartache. She says support within the hospital and from outside of the hospital is what gets them through each new challenge.
“We find victories every day, and the victory here is that they will be even closer than before. Seeing my children become more than brothers brings me joy.”
And Colt looks forward to getting back to doing what he loves most – and also doing those activities cancer free.
“Colt enjoys swimming, Legos, Nerf guns, learning about the world around him, science and traveling, so all of these support systems have allowed and encouraged Colt to focus on one thing: getting better.”
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