‘You don’t know what’s coming tomorrow’
Lodi family hopes to make life enjoyable for boy after ‘devastating’ turn in cancer battle
Matthew Gress is a 9-year-old boy full of life and always quick to smile. On Friday afternoon, he jostles with his mom on the couch in his game room, where he has plopped down to play a game on his new PlayStation.
She tickles him, and he giggles. On his head, the now grown-out hair has new waves in it, something he didn’t have before his cancer diagnosis last year.
“Seeing that kid, you would never believe he has cancer,” his mom Rebecca Lovato said. But on the inside, the cancer is waging war on the little boy’s body. At least 15 tumors are growing in clusters in his chest and abdomen. During the last scan at UC Davis, eight more tumors were discovered, she said, and several of the previously existing ones have grown in size.
“How does he look so good? It’s impossible,” she said. “So I was heartbroken seeing those results.”
After his initial round of treatments for his aggressive cancer, Matthew opted out of further treatments, and has been spending his time at home with his mom, step-dad Timmy Jenkins and sister Maryellen. He gets oral chemotherapy and medical marijuana in the form of Jayden’s Juice.
“He got 10 months of treatmentfree life,” Rebecca said. “He has almost no pain. We took him off most of the prescription meds he was on.”
He is pain-free, she said, but has slowed down a lot. “He still eats, and tries to wrestle the kids in the neighborhood.”
Matthew is back at school with the help of an aide. “They have been incredibly accommodating,” she said.
As she talks about her son, the doorbell rings. It’s a package from Amazon. “I think this is for you, Matthew!” she says. He comes out of his room and opens the padded envelope. It’s a fidget spinner, a small toy you can spin in your hand.
His step-dad Timmy has been great with getting him small toys sent to his house, Lovato said. The family tries to take the kids out on activities — they
went to Lake Camanche recently, and Rebecca pulls up a video on her phone of Matthew paddling a canoe on Lodi Lake a few weeks ago.
And the community, which has rallied around Matthew and his family since his diagnosis with fundraisers and special events for him and his family, is still working to make the life of the family happier. On Wednesday, May 3, a fundraiser will be held at Rick’s Pizza in Lodi. A quarter of all money made that day will go directly to the family. Family and friends and co-workers of the family have been busy handing out flyers for the fundraiser, and people are encouraged to bring them to Rick’s Pizza that day.
Matthew’s uncle, Ryan Shelley, is spearheading the event. “We really want to get some funds for him for his birthday coming up in June, and so he can have some finances for enjoyments and other things that need to be done,” Shelley said.
Shelley is happy with the response thus far. Hundreds, if not thousands, of flyers have been handed out. He hopes for a big turnout on Wednesday.
“I feel it’s important to try to help kids in need. You don’t know what’s coming tomorrow. This way they can have some enjoyment for the family.”
Anita Markiewicz, president of Hope for Horses, where Rebecca had been working for a couple of months up until Matthew’s latest test results, also has plans for the family. The organization has arranged for the family to spend two nights in Monterey for Mother’s Day. The family will visit the aquarium, and watch sea lions and seals and walk on the beach.
“We just want to let him know how special and wonderful he is, and want to provide as much support and show him how everyone is rooting for him and want him to be happy and do as many things as he can,” Markiewicz said. Matthew will also be a special guest at an upcoming Hope for Horses fundraiser.
The events will undoubtedly bring more smiles to Matthew’s face. The happy 9-year-old boy does not seem too affected by his disease, Lovato says. At the recent doctor’s appointment, he just got up from the exam table, saying: “I still have cancer? Shocker!” Lovato recalls.
The recent news was devastating for the family. “We would have rather not known. What’s the point of knowing?” she asks. “I thought he was doing better. But to hear it’s this bad, it’s devastating.
“Instead of looking at his face and seeing him smiling, I look at his face and wonder how long he’ll smile.”