Matt’s Second Chance at Life

Hope can’t be lost. Hope is what keeps us moving forward, keeps our heads up through the darkest of times.

So what do you do when your doctors, the people we look to for hope, look at you and tell you that there is no Hope? That there’s no more treatment options and all you can do is wait 2 to 8 months till you die and there is nothing else to try. How do you pull yourself out of those hard times, the pain, the fear, the breakdown, the suffering? Well for our friend Matt we have found a possible way to put this cancer behind him forever!

We all have that friend. Someone you know you can rely on, who is available at the drop of a hat and who is sarcastic, kind, compassionate, generous to a fault, caring…or at least the luckiest people have that friend. Because there isn’t anyone quite like Matt to even begin comparing him to. For the lucky ones that have Matt in your life it’s our time to repay the minutes, months or years that he’s dedicated to us. For those of you who have happened across this page without knowing Matt we’re hoping that you’ll take our word for it - he’s worth every thought, prayer or penny that you are willing and able to grace him with or donate.

Many of you are probably wondering why, after Matt had a bone marrow transplant and other treatments, why he would be crashing again. Even the best people, with seemingly ideal lives and a constantly positive disposition, are given the worst news. Unfortunately Matt has to continue battling the cancer that he has beat twice before but you and I know that he will not stop fighting and will do it with the outlook we know and love.

SO! Matt’s rare Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia with  is back with a vengeance and is a unique cancer to fight. He’s had a bone marrow transplant, chemo, rejected the transplant and so many more obstacles that he’s overcome to get to where we are today. Luckily, Matt is very aware of his own body and advocated for the testing that helped him get this most recent diagnosis as quickly as he was able. Since the diagnosis he’s tried five different chemo medications, has spent some time in the hospital due to bad reactions, has been battling through this more alone than he, you or I would want him to simply because of COVID-19 and, most recently, has been spending a majority of his time stuck in bed finally watching all of the movies that the rest of us grew up exposed to (thank goodness for his FireStick!). Seeing Matt transform from the tough strong body builder to this skeleton of his past self has been heartbreaking and we cannot wait to do what we can to take away his pain.

But he’s up for another fight and he has been given the opportunity to face it head on which we are so unbelievably grateful for. Matt has been accepted into a wonderful research clinic in Mexico with plans to depart shortly. While there is no emotional support or expense that Matt’s family would spare to help him find a treatment plan that works this treatment is necessary but financially challenging with a daily rate that rivals the cost of the new iPhone. Being outside of the U.S. the trial is unfortunately not covered by insurance whatsoever. So, like I mentioned above - we’re hoping that, if you’ve made it this far, you’re willing to help in whatever way you’re able. Be it thoughts and prayers or financial support - we won’t turn anything, small or large, away.

The breakdown: in addition to the travel and treatment costs there are the additional, day to day expenses that you would expect including his travel and lodging expenses but also, because they’re the amazing and generous people that raised him, Matt’s parents will be joining him for the duration of his lengthy treatment in Mexico. We’re hoping that this campaign brings in enough donations to assist in covering the cost of treatment but any remaining funds, over and above the goal, will be utilized to help the Lopez family recuperate their loss of income during this trying time and cover their expenses while they’re Matt’s support system on the ground.

Thank you all for any and all contributions that you’re willing to make and to all of you who continue to spread this campaign through your networks to spread the reach and pay it forward, an even bigger thank you!!

For all of the funds that go unused during the duration of Matt’s treatment the plan is for them to be donated to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and/or the Be the Match Foundation.

Please feel free to reach out to Matt if you have any questions about Matt’s condition or how you can help outside of this campaign.