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04/19/19:   As you all probably know, it is incredibly draining mentally, physically, and financially to battle cancer. Matt has been fighting this since January 2018. We have exhausted all of our personal savings, have sold everything of value except our home, and have been so grateful for every single donation to our family. Thank you will never be enough for what you have all done for us.

We are launching a t-shirt fundraiser to offset the costs of the thoracic surgery and hospital stay Matt is about to endure and whatever comes next after that. The t-shirt designs will change month to month, but the first one is poignant in his journey.

The healing at the pool is a special story to us. It’s a constant reminder that Jesus heals and Jesus saves. Jesus comes upon a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. He asks the man if he wants to get well. The man replies that he has no one to help him into the pool. Immediately, Jesus heals the man and instructs him to pick up his mat and walk. He obeys.

We know that in order for Matt to be healed, we must pray and obey. It is also Matt’s wish that everyone he knows learns about Jesus and what a savior he has been for our family. We feel the need to share our love for the Lord with everyone we meet. It’s easy to praise Jesus when life is good. It’s a little harder when life isn’t going so well.

Please consider grabbing a t shirt. A large portion of the proceeds will benefit our family and help us greatly. We have included several different cuts of shirts and the color options are endless so there is something for everyone. Please share with friends and family!

Thank you all 💙💪🏻

US Go Fund Me

04/05/19 Update: "Gratitude. I woke up so grateful. He’s here. He made it. 35. We are celebrating big! 33 kicked him in the teeth. He fought through 34. He’s laughing in the face of cancer at 35 today.

So fitting, from an Apple ad for my Apple geek-

“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Matt is our crazy one. He’s a misfit. Trouble maker. He sees things differently. He never follows the rules. He doesn’t make plans. It used to drive me crazy but now I appreciate the spontaneity of his life. The best adventures are the ones unplanned. Life with Matt is the ultimate adventure. Our lives are so much better because of him. Everyone that knows him knows what a bright light he is in a dim world.

He’s changing the way people around us look at cancer. He’s changing hearts and minds about what it’s like to live with a deadly illness and how you can truly find life and joy when you’re staring down death.

Thirty five. 35. 3-5. And still kicking. Kicking down doors. Kicking down life expectancies. Kicking cancer in the stupid face.

Matt, I love you. Happy birthday to you. You lived this last year. Every single day, you lived.

Not for what would happen the next day, week, month, or year. But for that very second. We can all learn from that. Blow the candles, boy.

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” -‭‭ James‬ ‭4:14‬ ‭

​05/01/19 Update: As I’m laying here across the street from UAB I have fear and anxiety running through me.  In the last 15 months I have gone through so much pain and suffering.   My body has been attacked by aggressive chemo, 2 major abdominal surgeries.  I truly feel like sometimes I’ve have gone toe to toe with Mike Tyson for 12 rounds.  I’ve gone through so much I wouldn’t wish it on anybody.  People say that I’m strong, a warrior, Superman, but I’m not. I’m terrified everyday, in pain everyday, and I don’t know when it will end.  I fight for my wife and daughter like any man would, I just put on a brave face, and my love and trust in my Lord.

Please pray for my next surgery tomorrow morning, it should start at around 7 am (05/02/19). Please pray for my surgeon Dr Benjamin Wei and lift him up and give him strength to take care of me.

If you have 6 minutes, please take the time to watch this powerful song that is helping lift me up right now.

Love you all.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

05/15/19 Update:

Friends and family, please help us. Matt Smith has an opportunity to be treated by a dr in Colorado that can help drastically improve his quality of life and beat this cancer. We will be traveling to Durango, Colorado for mistletoe infusions to begin June 10th. Mistletoe (along with other supplements he will be given) including a drastic diet change and other therapies will help his body not only better handle the next chemo he will be given, but it will build his killer cells and make them better able to fight the cancer. This doctor will work alongside Matt’s oncologist.

Through our al dot com article we met a man who has been cancer free for 1.5 years. He is 62 and doesn’t look a day over 40, and he had stage 4 Colorectal cancer as well. He was actually in worse shape than Matt when he started this therapy. We poured through his medical records that he willingly provided. This therapy not only worked to boost his immune system, but it cured his cancer. He was so moved to talk to us he came to talk to matt in the hospital at his last surgery and has been an invaluable resource of information since then.

I have prayed and prayed and prayed over this and I feel that God not only put this man in our path, but also a donor who offered to pay our flights and lodging to and from Colorado. These 2 angels do not know each other.

The cost of treatment is high. $9500 for 3 weeks of daily infusions. Any amount, big or small will help. My sweet little baby wants to have a lemonade stand to help raise money so we will be doing that soon. I have another t shirt design planned that I was waiting for June to launch but I’ll work on that in the coming days to do ASAP.

I have read story after story after story about mistletoe therapy and how many people have been helped by it. At the very least, it boosts his immune system and makes the cancer treatment he has next work better. At the most, he’s cured. Please help us give him a fighting chance. 
We have applied for a grant with Believe Big and hope to hear from them soon to also help offset the costs. Check out their website at BelieveBig.org to see testimonials and read about the amazing work they are doing.

For now we are walking in faith and trusting that God didn’t bring these people into our lives for no reason.

I know what you’re all thinking. Mistletoe?? I thought the same thing. Then my mind went to this verse-

“Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”🌱
Gen 1:29

Food to me means medicine, nutrition, sustenance.

Thank you all for not thinking we are completely crazy. I’m trying to save Matt’s arse.💙

Please remember us in your prayers, especially Quinn and Matt’s parents. I am just numb.

We are just walking him home now, at his own pace.

This picture was taken on my 31st birthday in NYC. He gave me the world.

Joshua 1:9 💙 His verse, and he has lived it. I’ve never seen anyone more strong or courageous.

05/16/19 Update:

Friends and family- as you all know, Matt has been accepted for treatment by a doctor in Colorado. This treatment involves 3 weeks of infusions and counseling at their facility. This will not be in lieu of treatment here, but rather to accompany it and make whatever chemo UAB has next for him more successful by boosting his killer cells so they can kill the cancer. We need to fly out and be at the office to start treatment June 10th (I always joke that something major always happens on my birthday every year. This year is no exception).

The treatment is $9500. We are desperately trying to raise money to cover his treatment. There will be a yard sale at our house May 24th and 25th in Moody to help raise money. Our sweet little girl and her friends are going to have a lemonade stand around the Trussville mall area, date to be determined.

If you would like to give to the gofundme, they are linked at the top of this page.  We are forever grateful for all of the support.

More than anything, please pray for us. Matt meets with oncology at UAB today. He is still very sore from the last surgery. Please tell others about his story. Tell them how dangerous this is. We are dealing with life or death here over a completely preventable disease. It is our wish that as many people as possible are educated about how dangerous Colorectal cancer is and how young people are dropping like flies all around us from it. It is not an old man’s disease. Please visit the CCA for more information-
https://www.ccalliance.org/know-your-options…

My brave friend constantly reminds me of this verse. She is always reminding me to move that mountain. We are tired. We are worn down. But we’re moving that mountain any way we can.

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."🌄
Matthew 17:20

We have mustard seed faith today and every day.

Love you all.

This picture was taken 4 years ago today. He had worked all night

and she was deep into an episode of Peppa Pig. Please help me save

him. They are inseparable and aside from my selfish want to grow

old with him, she needs him. I am overwhelmed by grief just thinking

about how she will deal with him dying. If I let my mind stay there

too long I weep. 

She needs him. 

We all do.

We will do anything to save him.

UK Go Fund Me

05/15/19 Update:

Hey Guys,

My options for traditional treatment is running out. My options now are pretty much just clinical trials which come with their own risks. When we was in Hospital for my last surgery we was approached by a Man that had Colon Cancer. He was a patient of my Surgical Oncologist and was in a bad way given 3 months to live. He looked at other options and found this treatment called Mistletoe Therapy that originates from Germany. He started this treatment with Namaste Heath Center in Durango, Colorado. He is now 1.5 years cancer free. We had a phone interview with them today and they would like me to come out there for 3 weeks on June 10th to start treatment. This is not FDA approved nor covered by Insurance but has been used in Germany for 80 years and has great success rate with stage 4 cancer. It basically builds your immune system so high that the cancer in your body can no longer thrive. The cost for the 3 weeks is $9500 for infusions 5 days a week along with other things that help the body.

I know we have asked a lot from all of you and I appreciate and love you all. I just want a chance to be able to watch Quinn grow up. Please if you can help us get there.

07/08/19 Update:  Matt Smith has made the incredibly brave decision to go on hospice care. He is home and resting comfortably, surrounded by love. We do not know a time frame, but it will be on his own terms and with dignity. We all promised him that.

Matt has fought cancer kicking and screaming. He has done everything he could possibly do to beat it. His body is tired and seeing him in pain is the most horrible thing I’ve ever witnessed.

05/01/19 Update: CT scan happened earlier. Pre-op happening now. Tomorrow morning Matt will undergo surgery to drain fluid from the lining of his lung and to biopsy a spot they have seen from the beginning but hasn’t grown. Please pray that this surgery is uneventful and he can get home and be comfortable as soon as possible. We are praying specifically that this spot is NOT cancer and that the removal of the fluid will offer him pain relief and comfort.

This is requiring a hospital stay, we have no idea how many days yet- 1,2, or 3. I will start a separate post tomorrow to update for surgery. My cell service in the hospital is spotty at best so all updates will be communicated through Facebook. 

Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. If you would like to help our family, prayers and positivity are always appreciated. If you’re led to help financially, the link to both GoFundMe's are posted at the top of this page. The financial need is great at this time.  If you would like to purchase a t shirt in support of Matt, you can do so by clicking the t-shirt photo above (only a little over a week to go before orders close!).

If you would like to know more about colon cancer or need help getting a colonoscopy, please reach out to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. No one should die from this disease because of lack of health insurance.

And finally, our friend Clay sings this beautiful song. We are standing here with our arms wide open ready to receive Matt’s good health.

Wide Open, NorthPoint InsideOut featuring Clay Finnesand -

“No height, no depth, no laugh, or final breath
Could ever separate us from Your love
No failure, no mistake, no loneliness, or pain
Could ever separate us from Your love
Could ever separate us from Your love
On the other side of everything I'm afraid of
You are standing with Your arms wide open, wide open
Even in my deepest doubts and wonder
You are standing with your arms wide open, wide open
I'm healed, made strong, oh, I've found where I belong
Forever I'm alive now in Your love
I've been changed, unchained, by Your amazing grace
Forever I'm alive now in Your love
On the other side of everything I'm afraid of
You are standing with Your arms wide open, wide open
Even in my deepest doubts and wonder
You are standing with your arms wide open, wide open
Yes, wide open
If I make my bed in darkness, if I try my best to hide
You know the farthest ocean, You give the morning its light
I can't run from Your presence, there's no place that far
So I run to you my Savior, there's safety in Your arms
If I make my bed in darkness, if I try my best to hide
You know the farthest ocean, You give the morning its light
I can't run from Your presence, 'cause there's no place that far
So I run to you my Savior, there's safety in Your arms, yes
There's safety in Your arms, yes
On the other side of everything I'm afraid of
You are standing with Your arms wide open, wide open
Even in my deepest doubts and wonder
You are standing with your arms wide open, wide open
On the other side of everything I'm afraid of
You are standing with Your arms wide open, wide open
Even in my deepest doubts and wonder
You are standing with your arms wide open, wide open”

“I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.”  -Psalms 34:4

Matt Smith: 04/05/85 - 08/10/19