Meet Matthew

Nine-year-old Matthew loves riding on his dad’s Harley Davidson. He and his dad often set off on the Harley whenever they can. The father-son bond is practically palpable between the two of them. Their mutual admiration is rooted in love and nurtured with respect. Matthew is a brave boy; that’s for sure. He has been in and out of hospitals since he was three.

Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IV (MPS 4), also known as Morquio Syndrome, is a rare metabolic condition where the body cannot break down long-chain sugars. Children with MPS 4 may develop symptoms like abnormalities of the skeleton, eyes, heart, and respiratory system.

“Matthew’s body doesn’t produce an enzyme like yours and mine. So, it allows the sugars to build up and become waste products instead of leaving the body,” explains Matthew’s dad. “It has left him with dwarfism. He’s got deformities of his spine, chest, and hips.”

Matthew is a very sociable child and makes friends easily. He chatters in the background in the corridors of the Orthopaedic Clinic as his dad talks about the effects of MPS 4 on his son’s development.

“It has created various amounts of damage,” he says, perhaps sheltering us from the deep emotion in that sentence. “We can’t undo it, but we can prevent it from getting worse.”

Matthew and his dad regularly come to Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital for special enzyme therapy and to monitor developmental changes. Regular check-ups, like the one today, ensure that any possible deterioration is curbed or prevented. If, or when, any intervention is required, Matthew has a team standing by, that incorporates both Red Cross Children’s Hospital specialists as well as those from the private healthcare sector.

“One of the reasons we got into the Red Cross system is that we needed a geneticist to give us a definitive diagnosis, and the only one that can, is Dr Kyle in the genetics department here.”

Matthew met all his growth and development milestones until age three. Then, his parents started noticing something wasn’t quite right. His dad recalls the panic, worry and frustration they experienced, not knowing what was happening to their baby boy. Specialised blood tests processed overseas led Dr Kyle to the diagnosis of MPS4.

At three years, Matthew had his first spinal operation. There have been many more operations and procedures to help correct the damage and deformities caused by the Morquio Syndrome.

When your child is born a fighter, the best you can do is equip him for his battle. Matthew’s granny believes that her phenomenal grandson was born “equipped for his life forward”. And he was going to get all the help he could get.

Matthew is a confident guy. His dad describes him as a “happy little soul”.

The world needs happy little souls like Matthew, and the Hospital knows that. Every day the staff continue the help save the lives of little patients.

“We’re blessed for the team, not just here, but in general. We have our dream team,” says Matthew’s dad.

Help us give the Red Cross Orthopaedic clinicians their dream space where they can help improve the lives of little patients like Matthew. Donate to our Orthopaedic project today.

100% of your giving will go directly towards the project.