Yesterday the world bid farewell to a poet, kindred spirit, and visionary for World Peace - Mattie J.T. Stepanek.
In his short life, of 13 years Mattie touched many lives, and was very productive about his visionary works.
His heart and inner spirit, which he proudly wore on his shirtsleeve, was neither squelched nor diminished by the rare neuromuscular disease - dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy - he was born with.
What made Mattie so unique and intriguing? That's simple, his youthful optimism, strong spirit, his mindset, positive mental attitude, his outlook on life, his take on his illness, and perhaps most importantly the role and responsibility as he saw it, of each one of us to make this world a better place. No matter what life served up, Mattie remained positive, cheerful and hopeful. His personality was infectious.
I initially learned about Mattie the day he was profiled as a special guest on Oprah.
Dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy is one of the 43 types of diseases being researched by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.
Mattie had a sister, Katie, and two brothers, Stevie and Jamie, who each died during early childhood from this same infant onset disease that affects Mattie. Mattie's mother, Jeni, has the adult onset form of this disease. She did not know that she would ever have the disease, or that she would pass such a disease on to her children until after she gave birth to them.
Mattie lived with his mom and his service dog, Micah, in Maryland.
Interested in learning about Mattie's work? ... Then please take a moment to check out The My Hero Project.
Mattie I Pray You Rest in Peace