Matthew Young - Winter 2010

Matthew Young is nine years old and is from Mullica Hill, NJ. He’s in the fourth grade and likes going to school, where he’s met some new friends. Math is his favorite subject, and he participates in his school choir. He also attends a social club one day a month, where he learns social skills and talks about how to make friends.

Recently, Matthew finished an animal studies class at school. At the end of the class, he had the chance to adopt a month-old African bullfrog. He calls him Daddy Junior, feeds him every day before school and loves to watch him swim.

Matthew really likes journaling and writing stories. He wrote a story about his younger cousin, Mary, as well as a story about a teacher he had last year. This past Thanksgiving, he spent time listening to people and interpreted what they said in even more stories.

When he’s not writing, Matthew likes to play Mario on Wii and other games with his dad and younger sister, Lauren. (He and sis get along great, by the way.) He has a handheld DSi that he likes to play racecar games on, too. Incidentally, Matthew likes to go-cart — the real deal, not the game — and he’s a pretty good driver.

Matthew spent the holidays at home with his mom’s family and his dad’s parents, who came in town from Florida for Christmas. He was mainly happy to have his dad home. He’s a helicopter pilot in the Marines and has been in Afghanistan for seven months. He’s home for good as far as they know. Matthew wrote a story about his dad called “American Hero.”

Matthew was born with Frontonasal Dysplasia and has had seven corrective surgeries so far. Right now he’s doing great.

He’s been to two CCA retreats, one in Dallas and the other in Myrtle Beach. He’s had a fantastic time at both and had the chance to make new friends. He’s looking forward to the next retreat in Boston. He says he “can’t wait!”

If you would like to share your story with CCA, please send an email to Annie Reeves at areeves@ccakids.com. If your story is chosen, with your permission, we will edit and publish it in the CCA newsletter, on the Web site or use it for public awareness programs. Not all stories will be selected.

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