Matt's Hats

07/26/2017

A time of transition is often silent and difficult. New is on the way!

04/13/2017

Just a little late night read. Great work St. Louis Children's hospital.
http://issuu.com/st.louischildrenshospitalfoundation/docs/guardiansmagazine-spring2017-final_

Stories of Care, Discovery and Outreach at St. Louis Children's Hospital

04/04/2017

Thinking of all the teachers out there who work everyday to give opportunity. Thank you for being a part of our Hat Day fundraisers.

03/22/2017

We had a great time today with Wendy and Peter visiting kiddos in the hospital and promoting the partnership between MBU Theatre and Matt's Hats. Free show for kids and hospital staff and a full fundraiser. You are giving Opportunity!
Link https://www.mobap.edu/event/peter-pan/

02/18/2017

It's a hat. It's a dollar. It's kids helping kids and we love it!

02/15/2017

BIG DAY! Multiple schools in the Southern Illinois area will be partnering with us by hosting a hat day at their school. We can't wait to be there.

02/04/2017

The FCCLA at St. Genevieve high school took our message to heart. We are thankful for their support.

01/25/2017

Hope is on the way.

For decades, scientists have tried to halt cancer by blocking nutrients from reaching tumor cells, in essence starving tumor cells of the fuel needed to gr - Siteman Cancer Center

01/20/2017

Matt recently had the chance to sit down with the student news network at Missouri Baptist University to discuss how his faith impacts his outlook on having cancer .

01/20/2017

Matt recently had the chance to sit down with the student news network at Missouri Baptist University to discuss how his faith influences his outlook on cancer . Watch the full interview here https://youtu.be/MHmrPRryfp8

01/12/2017

A Quick Note From Matt:

My apartment has large windows. The current view is filled with a barren winter landscape added with the occasional hope of sunshine. Looking back at the last 10 years of my life, I am forced to compare the two.
Today I walked into St. Louis Children's Hospital as a patient. I layed in the MRI machine, I received the dye, said hello to the nurse, met with my doctor and received the good news of another clean scan and at last I shook the hand of a smiling neurosurgeon who offered me yet another congratulations. I left the hospital today though without scheduling another appointment. Without any predetermined follow up. Without any rules or tasks given by healthcare professionals to complete. I left as a person. A college student who hopes to graduate next year. An activist who values inspiring those who will face similar situations to the one I did. A caretaker for those who still need hope and support.
Tomorrow a group of doctors will meet and look at pictures of my brain. And, for the last time, they will determine that I am cancer free. The view outside my window is life. An empty canvas that will be filled with extraordinary memories, big ideas, bad days, deaths, births, hurt, hope and all of our stories that we experience as we live our lives.
So, what's next? What's 'next' is already here. It is words of encouragement. It is smiling at the passerby clearly having a bad day. It is asking the colleague about her aging parents. It is being with family and others who love us. In my opinion, It is the role of the doctor, to embrace a child as he or she is facing life and death. It is my role to be there for the next 20 years of that child's life. We all have a story, use it to love on people. A crisis can be defined as the moment in time tragedy and opportunity are both present, focus on the opportunity.
- Matt