Jul 4, 2007 7:00 pm US/Eastern
North Shore Man Gives Friend Gift Of Independence
Part Of WBZ's 'American Spirit' Series
by Scott Wahle
LYNN (WBZ) ―
Each morning Matt Eddy and his personal caregiver Ron Steenbruggen start the day the same way. Ron lifts Matt off his bed and into his wheelchair.
Matt suffers from Duschene Muscular Dystrophy. It has left him bound to a wheelchair and a respirator, but he says please don't feel sorry for him. "Why let my disability keep me from enjoying my life and having a good time?" Matt told WBZ's Scott Wahle.
In fact, this is not Matt's story really. It's Ron's story.
Ron Steenbruggen is a respiratory therapist at a rehabilitation center in Salem. It's where Ron and Matt first met. Matt could not longer breathe on his own and had to go on a respirator. As a therapist, Ron helped Matt adjust to this new way of living.
"Over the five months I was there, we just developed a good friendship," Matt said. It's a friendship that has taken a remarkable turn.
"He was only supposed to go with me home for a week to get me settled in," Matt recalled. "Then he decided he couldn't leave. So he's been here now for seven years."
Yes, for seven years Ron has been taking care of Matt overnight. That's on top of his full time job at the rehab facility. Ron even bought and renovated a house for Matt, so that Matt wouldn't have to be institutionalized.
"He just had too much life in him to put him somewhere like that," Ron said.
In state care Matt would not be able to leave the institution. That would mean no walking his two Boston terriers, no looking out at the ocean on a beautiful summer's day, and certainly no adventures on the Mohawk Trail, where Matt and Ron took a stroll the day we spoke with them.
Matt says Ron has given him freedom, and not without personal sacrifice. Ron is married but says his wife understands what he has to do.
He spends every night at Matt's house, but he rarely sleeps. He is always listening to see if Matt is breathing okay.
Their relationship has an easy ebb and flow, but also ups and downs. When asked, Matt admits Ron gets cranky when he's tired. But the best thing about their relationship? "He's always there for me, whenever I need him."
Ron would like to help others like Matt. He's raising money to build an apartment complex with eight to ten units especially designed for people who need round-the-clock care. It's estimated to cost more than $3 million.
The facility would be called Matt's Place and you can find more information about it on their web site
officalmattsplace.org.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
