Toddler Writers His Own Obituary - But He Has One Final Request For His Parents
Mar 27, 2019 by apost team
Everyone knows that nothing hurts like losing a child. What's even worse is losing a child through a terrible disease, and having to watch your own child suffer. It's a life experience that not a single parent ever wants to go through, but sadly for some parents, it's a reality they have to face.
For Ryan and Emilie Matthias, parents of Garrett, 5, it's something they've had to face together as a couple. Their whole family has been touched by the experience for an entire lifetime.
Although 5-year-old Garrett received a devastating diagnosis of cancer, he was always able to laugh and look at the bright side of things.
Garrett, in spite of his tender young age, had to find the endurance to get through 9 months of painful cancer treatments. It's not just Garrett's family that knew he had a sense of humor. All his doctors and nurses agree that Garrett was constantly making them laugh and crack up.
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No parent wants to have a challenging conversation about cancer. It's even harder when your son is only 5 years old, but Garrett tried to make it easier on his parents, Ryan and Emilie.
Garrett even wrote his own obituary and let the family know all about his favorite people and his favorite things. Garrett was a one-of-a-kind child, and everybody realized how lucky they were to know the charming boy.
"We never necessarily talked about his funeral, so we never had the conversation with him that he was going to die," his mother Emilie Matthias told CNN affiliate WHO. "But we had a lot of conversations around, 'When I die I want to do this.'"
Garrett wrote his own obituary to give people a chance to know the kind of person he was.
- Garrett was 5, and he was proud to say he was a Bulldog!
- His favorite colors? Blue — Green, Red, and Black
- Favorite superheroes were Batman, Iron Man and Thor, Cyborg and the Hulk
- Garrett's dream? He wanted to be a professional boxer
Garrett never forgot about anybody, so he made sure to let his family know how much they meant to him! He listed his faves as his Mom, his Dad, and his sister Delphina.
Then, Garrett listed his "new house" grandparents Fredric and Cheryl, and his "camper" grandparents, Daniel and Nita. Garrett thoughtfully listed all his friends, family, and relatives as all his favorite people in the world.
What Garrett loved the most? Playing with his sister Delphina and his blue bunny. He loved thrash metal and all his friends at daycare. Most of all? He loved Batman.
Garret's loving parents honored his final wishes in July 2018. The family held a ceremony to honor the little boy's zest for life in his small hometown of Van Meter, Iowa. Garrett asked for a burial ceremony that was Asgardian themed, from Marvel Comics.
They set off fireworks after sunset and held a private ceremony afterward. Emilie and Ryan, Garrett's are still working out the details of how to incorporate his ashes into a tree. They plan to plant Garrett's memorial tree in a nature preserve, in order to protect the tree, just as Garrett had wished.
The family asks that anyone who wishes to help out, to please donate to the non-profit organizations that helped Garrett and his family in their difficult time. They've focused on The Pink Tractor Foundation, the University of Iowa Dance Marathon and the Little Al Foundation that helps families struggling with a sick child.
If you know of someone whose heart will be touched by this story, kindly pass it on to them. It's important at times like these for people to stick together.