Thanks for all the support throughout 2016. The money raised has helped Matthew and our family with a number of initiatives to care for and support Matt.

Sinead, Al, and Pauline are three people who work in the area of care suited to Matt and started coming to the house to help with Matts routine for bedtime.  This  is a very tiring routine and can take a number of hours given Matts anxieties around the whole transitioning from one room to another. Most importantly Matt himself benefits from having new faces around and he looks forward to seeing them. The carers are also qualified to help take Matt out of the house and have brought him on afternoon trips to the beach and to the Phoenix Park. This is great for Matt and provides him with fresh experiences and a break from the normal house surroundings.

Ongoing we have Carmel giving Matt great foot and body massages which he has taken to like the proverbial duck to water. Carmel was a great help in finding a very good value fold-up massage table & it’s been great to come home and see Matt so very relaxed and indeed sometimes prompting Carmel as to where exactly he needs pressure. Many thanks to Carmel for her great patience and know how in dealing with Matt.

After much research, Lesa found options for private respite and through Nua Health Care Matt has had a few weekends away in their Portlaoise  respite house. These couple of weekends with Nua Health Care provide Matt with specialised care and allow Matt to get some new experiences in a safe environment.

All of these measures are thanks to the Trust which is only there thanks to brilliant fundraising of those involved in the Mighty Matthew Cycle and the kind donations and other fundraising initiatives taken by friends and friends of friends.

Thanks for all your support and l hope this is a little insight into the good from all your hard work.