Our sunshine boy Matthew, born 10th March 2014, is from Bessbrook, Northern Ireland.

Diagnosed at 3 weeks old with a rare genetic disorder, Partial Trisomy 13, Matthew had an extremely difficult start to life. He has undergone 9 surgeries and spent a large portion of his first 2 years in hospital.

Matthew is now nearly 4 years old. He has since acquired numerous other diagnoses Global Development Delay, Sensory Processing Disorder, Anxiety, GERD, Congenital Glaucoma, Optic Disc Coloboma, Partial Sight, Central Apnea ......but thankfully his health his stable and his development is progressing, as is his cheeky personality.

We are so thankful to everyone who has supported Matthew and ourselves, both financially and emotionally, and allowed us to give Matthew the additional support, such as private therapies and specialised equipment he needed in his early life .

We are now looking to the future and planning for Matthews changing needs and trying to support Matthew towards new goals. We have so many goals for Matthew and believe he can achieve anything he wants to if he is given the right support and opportunities.

Our big focus is trying to adapt our home to support Matthew's development and independence, and improve our quaility of life as a family. It is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with Matthew's low mobility, and it is extremely difficult to carry Matthew up and down the stairs.

So again we would like to reach out to Friends of Matthew's Journey and help us if you can.

Many thanks

Stuart, Kerrie, Matthew and Emily Cartmill xx