Out and About: Get Mattie McKoy Rolling!

By KATIE ANDERSON, Special to The Paper

Meet local 15 year-old Mattie McKoy. He loves video games and his dog Odin. He has an older brother and sister. And he is living with mitochondrial disease and neurofibromatosis type one. 

Mattie has multiple spinal cord tumors, which are slowly taking away his ability to walk, breathe, and function. He is wheelchair dependent. While he continues on oral chemotherapy, the family was recently informed that there are no further treatment options available. The focus is now on giving Mattie the best quality of life possible. 

After his mother Katie was given the difficult news that there were no other options to help her son, she drove to Starbucks to console herself. On the drive, she had the idea that they needed a wheelchair van to make the most of their time. 

So she dried her tears and got on Facebook for ideas on how to find one. Facebook came through, by way of a friend whose son had similar limitations as Mattie. Their son had recently had “a miracle” and surgery had worked for him. They had a wheelchair van they no longer needed and would sell to the McKoys at a low cost. A deal was reached and the McKoys only had to pay a down payment right away. 

The van has been a blessing. Recently, the family was able to go Christmas shopping together for the first time in four years. Mattie loves to take Odin to Starbucks for a pup cup; the workers love to see them when they visit. 

The rest of the van payment is due in several months. In order to help pay for the van, the family has started a fundraiser on SupportNow.org. During this season of giving, please consider helping out the McKoy family with a donation to their wheelchair van. Visit SupportNow.org or visit this link to get Mattie McKoy rolling:  https://www.supportnow.org/get-mattie-mckoy-rolling

Katie McKoy said this experience with Mattie has taught her so many things  and pushed her to grow in ways she’d never imagined. She has been inspired to work to become a respiratory therapist, so that she can give back to others in the same way that so many have given to her family. She hopes to help other families in their situation, and to show them that they aren’t alone, and they are going to be okay. 

“I just want to put the message out there to be the light. There is so much darkness in the world. We need more light. We need to help others; if it’s not Mattie, please be a help to someone.”

More on Mitochondrial Disease from CDC.gov

• Mitochondria are tiny parts of almost every cell in your body. They turn sugar and oxygen into energy that the cells need to work.

• In mitochondrial diseases, the mitochondria cannot efficiently turn sugar and oxygen into energy, so the cells do not work correctly.

• There are many types of mitochondrial disease, and they can affect different parts of the body: the brain, kidneys, muscles, heart, eyes, ears, and others.  

More on Neurofibromatosis Type One from cancer.gov

• The hallmark of NF1 is the development of neurofibromas, which are tumors that develop from the cells and tissues that cover nerves. 

• People with NF1 are also known to have a higher risk of cancerous tumors.

• Because NF1 itself is relatively rare, researchers have struggled to assemble a comprehensive picture of these cancer risks.