5-year-old boy helps write his own obituary before tragic cancer death
A 5-year-old boy, who died of cancer, helped his parents write his obituary before his heartbreaking death earlier this month.
Garrett Matthias, from the US, was diagnosed with alveolar fusion negative rhabdomyosarcoma – a rare form or cancer – in September.
The cancer attacked Garrett’s cranial nerve, inner ear and temporal bone, reported the Des Moines Register.
Before Garrett died on July 6, the spirited young boy with a sharp sense of humour helped his parents plan his funeral, which included assisting them write his obituary.
The super-hero enthusiast’s mother, Emilie Matthias, told the Des Moines Register that Garrett couldn’t understand why the funerals of other cancer patients were sad.
“He would say, ‘Why are funerals so sad? I’m going to have bouncy houses at mine,'” she said.
Emilie said she would talk to her son about death after watching a melancholy movie.
“I’d say things like, ‘When I die, I want to turn into a star,’” she said. “He’d say, ‘I want to be burned like in ‘Thor,’ and then I want to become a gorilla.’”
Emilie and her husband then decided to ask their son what he wanted at his funeral.
“We really tried to use his words, and the way that he talked,” she said. “Garrett was a very unique individual. What I really didn’t want was for his obituary to be ordinary and to have a really sad funeral. We’ve cried oceans of tears for the last nine months.”
In the end, Garrett helped his parents write his obituary in which he included all his favourite things in the world.
He said his favourite colours were “blue and red and black and green” and his favourite superheroes were “Batman and Thor, Iron Man, the Hulk and Cyborg".
Garrett said he wanted to be a professional boxer when he grew up and that his favourite people were his family.
He also included the two things he hated most: pants and “dirty stupid cancer”.
Garrett said when he died he was “going to be a gorilla and throw poo at Daddy”.
The obituary continued by talking about Garrett’s sense of humour.
“Garrett endured nine months of hell before he lost his battle with cancer. During that time he never lost his sense of humour and loved to tease the doctors and nurses. From whoopee cushions and sneaking clothes pins on their clothes to ‘hazing’ the interns and new staff doctors, he was forever a prankster. Nothing caught people off guard as his response to ‘see ya later alligator’,” the obituary read.
Garrett concluded the piece with: “See ya later, suckas! — The Great Garrett Underpants.”
The young boy’s childcare was able fund five bouncy castles for his funeral on Saturday, just as he had wanted.
A GoFundMe page was set up for the Matthias family, which has raised over US$68,000.