This is the eulogy read at Matty's funeral, taken from Matty's site this morning. I can't explain why this child, who I've never met, has touched me so very, very deeply. Matty's fight was long, hard, and so unfair, and yet he faced every day with dignity, and grace, and most importantly, *love*. He never gave up, he always believed, and was never alone his fight - his awesome mum, dad, and brothers were by his side every step of the way.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 04, 2007 09:56 AM, CDT
Per numerous requests, here is Johnny's eulogy broken into 2 entries:
Today is a sad day, not only for us, but for the employees and stockholders of Toys R Us as well. If you are still holding Toys R Us stock, you should probably contact your stockbroker soon.
7 1/2 years ago, we were all blessed with Matthew. From the start, we knew that Matty was special and that he would touch so many lives in so many ways. The journey that Matty took was not an easy one, but he showed us that the strongest don't always take the simplest path and because of their strength, they live and love life as we all should. Matty traveled his path with a smile and an attitude that far surpassed his 7 1/2 years; he had wisdom and courage that we may never achieve. Matty, you taught us that strength is not only physical, but it is also a trait that allowed you to be a happy loving kid despite all that you had gone through.
First, you taught all of your classmates and friends to be brave, helping them to understand what you were going through. You showed them what your feeding tube was used for and how you used it to take your medicine. When they removed your wrist tumor, you showed your class that it was OK and that you now had a "new" short arm. You also let them know that it was OK to correct your teachers when they were singing the wrong words to a song because Nana taught you how to sing them the "right" way! You made sure that everyone at Children's Hospital remembered your name. Just prior to your transplant, an OR nurse called a time out to make sure everyone in the room was on the same page. She knew the procedure but not the patient, "This is Matty Duboc," she said. Matty, despite the sedation's effects, tapped the nurse on the arm and went on to correct her, "It's Dubuc!"
Secondly, the most important people that you have influenced are your brothers, Christopher and Zachary. Having you as a brother has made them love life and love each other more. This gift of love is the greatest gift that you could have ever given to them and we love you for this.
When Sr. Judy visited last week, she told me that the journey that you have walked has brought you so close to God. I believe this with all of my heart and I hope that some day we can all find what you already know.
I want to share a few memorable Matty stories with you:
Matty met some famous people and was able to accomplish amazing things. Sandra was asked to speak at a Children's Hospital fundraiser and Matty met his Papa's favorite baseball player, Jim Rice. Jim Rice was awestruck with Matty and told him that he was not the celebrity, but that Matty was. Matty also had a private meeting with his favorite Red Sox player, Jason Varitek. I am not sure who was more excited, Matty or Sandra. Matty threw out the first pitch at the Red Sox/Blue Jays game on 9/29/05. We were in awe of the response that Matty received from the fans; we could not believe how much they were cheering. Matty threw a perfect pitch and skipped off the field so excited....excited that he just got a big hug from Wally the Green Monster!
Continued: We realized that we may have taken too many Disney trips when the boys were putting on a show one day and Matty started off by making sure that the audience knew that smoking and flash photography were not allowed...in English and in Spanish.
We also knew that Matty was watching a little too much Spongebob when he would start giving a detailed narrative of the next episode that was going to be on the DVD. He would not allow you to miss any of the episode by pausing the DVD when anyone left the room. If you were gone for too long, the first thing you would hear when you returned was, "Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?" and Matty would say, "I had to start it all over." We soon learned not to leave for too long.
I know how much every kid loves building Legos, but Matty had a passion for them; well, at least for looking at the boxes. We would make our Toys R Us run and Matty would pick out 4 or 5 sets of Legos. Most of them were just to look at but the occassional 924 piece set would have to be built. I learned early on that if you build a Lego and a child touches it, you will have a nice pile of Legos. I was able to convince Matty to allow me to take a little extra time when building the Lego set and use super glue on every piece that was not supposed to move. Matty knew that a Lego without super glue is a model and one with super glue is a toy. Matty and I made many toys that he enjoyed.
Matty, you have made Mommy and I so proud of the way that you lived your life and we appreciate all of the love, hugs, and kisses that you have given us and that we have put into our hearts.
Life is a journey that can take you many places; some of them may not seem like places that you want to be but if you open your eyes and hearts, visiting these places can be a wonderful experience. Matty helped us make our journey with him a wonderful one.
Sandra read: Matty, you told Dada that he was your hero when he was overseas and you told Sr. Judy that I was your hero because I took such great care of you. But in actuality, Matty, it is you that has always been our true hero. We love you to everywhere and back.
(blow kisses to Matty) - Catch it and put it in your heart!
By the way, Matty's website: www.caringbridge.org/visit/matty. Also, the Lowell Sun has video of Matty's mum and dad reading the eulogy at the funeral, and it is just ... beautiful, and unbelievably touching ... The strength showed by Sandra and Johnny is just ... amazing. If you'd like to view the video, go to www.lowellsun.com, and search for Matty Dubuc funeral. Have some tissues handy though, because if you're anything like me ... You'll cry the whole way through. Words cannot even describe how touching this video is. Nor can they describe how awesome Matty and his family are.
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