A few weeks ago, a woman posted a link to this blog on the forum I work for. She suggested that if one wanted to get the gist of the blog, that one should start by reading the March archives, and move forward from there.
I followed her instructions, and I can tell you I won’t be the same. Matt, Liz, and Madeline are now a part of my daily life.
I love Matt’s blog because of his honesty and his (to me) almost otherworldly ability to give of himself while going through unimaginable suffering. If you’re at all like me, at times people become too much to bear–their cruelty and capacity for unkindness. Reading Matt’s blog, seeing the hundreds of strangers instinctively reaching out to try to comfort him…it gives something back. It refills the well.
I loved it (And Matt, Liz, and Madeline), but I had to stop reading it. It was just too painful. I will go back and catch up when it’s not too much to bear sometime. I agree totally with your assessment of his writing. (His style actually reminded me SO much of Rick’s.)
By: Susie Q Roo on June 5, 2008
at 8:13 am
I am confused. How did she die? Did she know she was dying? Was she just waiting for the baby to come? What happened?
By: charmarie221 on June 5, 2008
at 12:15 pm
Char, you have to start at the March archives. Liz had been on bed rest because of her high-risk pregnancy (baby coming prematurely, I think). Baby was born on Mar. 24 and the next day, Liz was told she could get up for the first time in a long while. As she was being helped into the wheelchair, she said, “I feel lightheaded” and collapsed. She had a pulmonary embolism and there was nothing they could do for her. This is one of the saddest things I’ve ever heard.
By: heatherinparadise on June 5, 2008
at 12:19 pm
I’ve just spent a couple of hours shedding quite a few tears while reading Matt’s blog from the beginning. I can’t imagine what he’s going through and am amazed at the way he can share his life with all of us on his blog. What a beautiful baby Madeline is. I read the Mpls. Star Tribune paper almost every day and don’t know how I missed their story. Heather, thanks for sharing the link to Matt’s site.
By: Beachykeen on June 5, 2008
at 1:14 pm
I did start in March… first entry (or last, I guess) is March 28th which shows her 7.5 months pg and the paragraph that was kind of like a euology under that… then the entry before that is March 24th, when Madeline was born…
NEVER MIND… I just found the “If you’re here for the first time” section… ugh… unbelievable…
You cannot know how often I have played that scenario in my head in my own day to day life….
By: charmarie221 on June 5, 2008
at 2:00 pm