Mateusz’s Story, by his sister, Hania
Meet Mateusz! Matty is my younger brother, and TODAY is his 17th Birthday! He was born with Down syndrome. He got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at the age of 3 and, as he was growing up, he had some health problems as well. It meant that he got more visits to the doctors and hospitals than sometimes necessary, but he went through it like a champ.
Everyone seems to react differently to his Down syndrome. Most people, when we are out and about, don’t even notice it, or that it looks a little bit different, but there have been a handful of people, who have walked past, whilst pointing at Matty and smirking. It’s sad and disappointing, but over the years you learn to ignore it, as deep down, we know he is a valuable person, just like us.
He has emotions just the same, he walks the same, he has the same interests as every other person, and although his speech is very hard to understand, he likes to talk the same as the rest of us.
Mateusz loves to dance, sing and play instruments. He loves to help when he can, he is happy when he feels part of the society he is surrounded by. He recently he joined a football team called Education FC Warriors. He loved it from the first day, and as soon as the session ended, he wanted a kit!
He is playing his first match with them, very soon. He is a happy, helpful, energetic young man who is full of love. And when he smiles, it just seems like your whole day gets better, with that cheeky smile of his.
We wouldn’t have it any other way! Sometimes the things we can’t change end up changing us instead and, I would say, it’s always for the better!
