Matt wrote this article in his first year at York. He was never able to complete his degree. On the 29 October last year he sadly passed away, less than 3 months before his 21st birthday. A lung transplantation allowed Matt almost 5 more years of life, this may seem like a short time but the unfortunate truth is that the average life expectancy of lung transplant recipients is only 5 years. Matt made sure he lived these to the full, doing such things as a sponsored bike ride to Paris and taking on many entrepreneurial schemes among many other things. He showed an incredible perseverance and even though his initial illness was caused by a chance infection he still just got on with life. Matt stayed strong until the very end – he did not allow his physical disabilities to affect him mentally and, even though his body was starved of oxygen, the only day he did not get out of bed was the day he died. He was an inspiration and continues to be so for all those that knew him . By having read this, it is hoped that Matt will inspire you too. As Matt stated, with more people signed up to be organ donors he could have lived for twice as long. Signing up is quick and easy- the links are at the bottom of the article:
Matt’s article:
“This space is reserved for DISABLED people ONLY, being a funny shape doesn’t count. P.S. Check your tyres.” This was the note I found left on my car last week outside Derwent College. Well the fact is, I am disabled, quite severely so. I had a double-lung transplant for reasons I won’t go into here. Some days I feel and look perfectly normal, it’s true, but the effect on my life (and indeed, life-expectancy) is seismic and I often have to drop everything at university so I can go down to London for specialist medical care. Don’t get me wrong, I rarely use disabled spaces but on this particular occasion I felt ill and did (perfectly within my rights and needs). I began to think about how invisible disabilities such as mine are perceived; how we are judged, and why. Clearly mine is significant but in a very different way to someone in a wheel-chair.
Although people understand the concept of an affliction not being outwardly obvious, they don’t seem to take on board the idea that it can be as significantly life-changing. This is because, as with most things, people have an image of disability. My disability is an obvious example along with many others of how such discriminatory images don’t work. When asking a peer what he thought a disabled person was he immediately replied “someone in a wheelchair”.
I wish we lived in a society that was not so judgemental, that I should not have to strain myself over the occasional fear that at times when I need to use one, I will use a disabled parking space. It is wrong to look at disabled people so one-dimensionally because disabilities are far more complex than people’s assumptions immediately comprehend.
People sometimes accuse people with Asperger’s Syndrome of being weird and that shows another way that disability is acknowledged but not understood. It really disgusts me how prejudice about disability still exists nowadays even with such an immense ammount of public knowledge at hand. Someone once told me to “get a real disability you fag!” It seems discrimination breeds discrimination. With such public knowledge of disabilities and their effects on people’s lives, why is it that people are still so close minded about what a disability really is, can be, and can mean?
But the sad truth is that nothing will change because people are so set in their ways. This is due to popular culture’s depiction of a disabled person. However, I don’t see that the problem lies with popular culture in itself, It is merely the way people allow themselves to be influenced by it and, unfortunately, I cannot imagine this changing anytime soon. In an ideal world, people would stop and think before shouting hurtful comments and would realise the limits of invisible disabilities too. It really does not take too much brain power or time to stop and think: does that person suffer every day? If you take anything away from what I’ve said, take this: don’t think you know what being disabled is without considering that some disabilities are not so obvious to the eye. Further to this and on a slightly different note, if more people sign up to the donor register, I would have the possibility of living twice as long as currently expected (three to eight years) with an invisible disability I can accept.
https://www.organdonation.nhs.uk/how_to_become_a_donor/registration/consent.asp
Additionally, Matt’s father has a fund raising page for Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity, where Matt received much of his treatment and he always spoke very highly of them. Any donations would be much appreciated: