Our Story

Three days before Christmas, in December 2011, Lisa received a phone call from Matthew and Daniel's father delivering news that would change their family's life forever. A call that every parent dreads.

"Lisa, I'm in the ER with Matthew. He's had a cardiac arrest and I don't think he's going to make it"......click...the phone went dead…

Confused and alarmed, Lisa pushed "redial" and the journey began.

The day before, the boys and their father had traveled from Manhattan to Florida for a brief respite from the New York winter to visit their paternal grandparents.

It was to be a quick five-day trip before returning to compete in John McEnroe's annual holiday tennis tournament at Randall Island in New York City, with dozens of other tennis-obsessed teens. The night before, while excited to visit his grandparents, play tennis, and soak up some rays, Matthew's younger brother Daniel, ten years old at the time, voiced his concerns, "Mum, I have a really bad feeling about this trip…", and while Lisa and Daniel explored his feelings, they both agreed he should go and enjoy the time with his father's family.

13-year old Matthew, who until then had not been ill a day in his life, with the exception of a small hernia surgery and tonsillectomy at age 2, had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest, and was now in a South Florida Level 1 Trauma Unit fighting for his life. After receiving their father's call, everything became a chaotic blur for Lisa: booking a flight, grabbing her emergency bag, and jumping in a cab bound for La Guardia.

The doctor's words echoed in her head as she settled into the cramped middle seat on the plane to West Palm Beach, "Lisa, after two CPR resuscitation attempts, we successfully restored his heart rhythm with two defibrillator shocks, but he vomited, his lungs aspirated .. .and now he has aspiration pneumonitis. We are doing what we can, but please prepare yourself, because it's possible that even if the pneumonia doesn't kill him, he might be brain dead.…".

"...if the pneumonia doesn't kill him? Brain dead?" What? Lisa cried silently for the rest of the flight.

Due to medical necessity, while Lisa was mid-flight, Matthew was airlifted by a Medevac helicopter from the Delray Medical Center to Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital, a top-tier trauma center. His prognosis was not good. Upon landing in West Palm Beach, Lisa drove two hours to Jackson's pediatric intensive care unit (ICU), having learned of Matthew's transfer to Miami. She was speechless upon entering his ICU room. Doctors had placed Matthew on full life support, utilizing ICU sedation, and he was ventilator-dependent.

Matthew was barely hanging on. For 48 straight hours, Lisa kept a constant vigil by his bedside. In a haze of disbelief, she nursed him—wiping his brow, clasping his hand, reading him his beloved Wall Street Journal with forced enthusiasm, praying and talking to him nonstop—determined he should not feel alone.

Once Matthew was stable, Lisa called her parents in Australia to inform them of the situation. Stunned and helpless, they called family members to their home in Sydney, where they talked, prayed, and speculated on possible causes and potential outcomes. Being born into a medical family full of warm, talented doctors was a blessing. Over the next two days, their love and concern was palpable as they mobilized, sharing their expertise, research, and insight.

It was a team effort that saved Matthew: his father and the first responders on-scene acted with heroic speed, which was perfectly matched by the expertise of the Delray Medical Center's ER staff. By applying therapeutic hypothermia immediately, they managed his body temperature, prevented brain damage, and ensured he had a fighting chance before airlifting him to Miami.

Matthew's survival was a testament to both Jackson Memorial's exceptional ICU team and his own powerful will to live.

Jackson's lead ICU Intensivist shared that the first 48-hours would determine both Matthew's survival, AND the quality of his life thereafter. In the face of devastating statistics—99% mortality and 97% of survivors with impaired faculties—Matthew emerged WHOLE after his cardiac arrest.

Miraculously, he fell into the 3% of the 1%.

Diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, Matthew's life was forever changed.

Matthew awoke from his coma days later, and once it was determined his lungs had healed from the pneumonia, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) was surgically placed into his chest. (This device would activate, dispense an electrical shock, and revive him if he suffered another cardiac arrest — something doctors said would most likely occur within the year. Fueling further anxiety, his medical team affirmed that Matthew would require a heart transplant within the next five years.)

In a recovery that felt nothing short of miraculous—barely a month post-cardiac arrest and days before his 14th birthday—the family left the South Florida hospital consumed with mind-numbing gratitude.

Boarding the plane that day, everyone's senses were raw, pulverized from the roller coaster of emotions, uncertainty, and adrenaline that had inundated their systems for the past 30 days. Daunted by the inevitability of an inescapable heart transplant, coupled with the unavoidable life changes and limitations that lay ahead for both Matthew and his family, they clung to one another, just grateful Matthew was alive. Upon returning to Manhattan, and supported by his dedicated teachers, Lisa homeschooled Matthew for the remainder of 8th grade.

As predicted by his Jackson Memorial ICU team, Matthew had a second cardiac arrest a year later, from which he survived, because his ICD activated. Fortunately, this second episode was far less alarming, involving just a quick overnight check-up at New York's Weill Cornell Medical Center.

In the fifteen years since, Matthew has endured another cardiac arrest; an esophageal dilation and balloon dilation of subglottic fibrous stenosis for stridor for the removal of scar tissue in his throat caused by the 2011 intubation; a brush with post-traumatic lymph disorder (PTLD); a heart transplant; the rejection of that transplant requiring high-dose intravenous steroids, which weakened his immune system, leading to several bouts of Epstein Barr (EBV) because of a donor-acquired mismatch; the discovery of an "inoperable" juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma (brain tumor); a brain bleed (from that tumor) — leading to a very mild traumatic brain injury (TBI); a false alarm involving suspected meningeal spread necessitating multiple, serial lumbar punctures for cytology (cancer screening), ultimately ruling out malignancy; the development of five pulmonary embolisms (blood clots) in his lungs and diabetes (a week after receiving his 4th Covid shot); two more brain hemorrhages, leading to a right frontotemporal craniotomy — transsylvian pretemporal approach that resulted in the resection and the 90% removal of that same "inoperable" pilocytic astrocytoma.

Following surgical cytoreduction, Matthew's secondary hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency—resulting from compression of the pituitary and adrenal glands by the tumor—were managed with hormone replacement therapy.

After years of steroids from his many surgeries, Matthew developed avascular necrosis (AVN), requiring a total left hip arthroplasty. After navigating a long and confusing differential diagnosis between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn's disease, a definitive diagnosis of Crohn's was reached in late 2025; he is currently on a Crohn's treatment plan that is yielding excellent results.

Matthew found himself in a state of chronic hyperglycemic crisis (uncontrolled diabetes), characterized by significantly elevated HbA1c levels. This severe metabolic state resulted in chronic inflammation, specifically manifesting as recurrent soft tissue injuries, tendinitis, and frequently recurring ingrown toenails. On one occasion, Matthew was rushed to the ER by Lisa due to extreme weakness, where he was found to be in a hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) (a life-threatening, emergency complication of type 2 diabetes defined by severe hyperglycemia and severe dehydration), bordering on diabetic ketoacidosis.

After beginning the Tremfya regimen prescribed by his endocrinologist, Matthew's blood glucose stabilized, resulting in a dramatic reduction in A1c from 8.5 to 6.0 and a 35-pound weight loss. Currently insulin-free, he is no longer plagued by high triglycerides, tendinitis, or chronic ingrown toenails.

Managing a combination of knee osteoarthritis (post-AVN), mild obstructive sleep apnea, and misophonia, Matthew has finally reached a stable, plateaued health phase. His secondary hypothyroidism and adrenal insufficiency are currently well-controlled.

Matthew remains resilient, possessing an indomitable spirit, while tackling ongoing challenges with the same warmth and laughter he has always shown.

While there have been many celebrations, there have also been much sadness and loss along the way — with Lisa's beloved father passing during Covid and her gorgeous mother passing two years later. It was a significant loss given how close Lisa, Matthew, and Daniel were to them both, and compounded further by the loss of Matthew and Daniel's paternal grandfather in 2023. As a single mother who has mostly weathered this alone, Lisa lives in the deepest gratitude, awakening each day with a profound sense of purpose and dedication to Matthew's recovery.

It is from this gratitude and sense of purpose that the reBRAINed initiative was born.

Matthew has spent more than half of his life in hospitals, and Lisa has stayed inpatient with him 24/7 through each hospitalization. Given the complexity of his conditions, he required a dedicated advocate to coordinate his care, navigate challenges, and ensure seamless communication.

While community and family support provided vital immediate relief, it was ultimately unsustainable as a long-term solution. This made life both challenging and complicated, pushing Lisa to dig deep to keep their small family of three together. Years of profound adversity—both exhausting and terrifying—tempered them, forging an unbreakable bond and a deep understanding of resilience.

Managing Matthew's chronic ill health has been further compounded by the obstacles encountered during his transition from pediatric to adult care, where medical teams are not as welcoming of the presence of a parent. Being a young adult with multiple complex health issues, Matthew has had many setbacks where his day-to-day life was severely disrupted by illness. It was therefore vital that his medical team view Lisa, his mother and primary caregiver, as a full partner in his care — and for the most part, they have.

While Matthew is not "out of the woods" and continues to experience occasional episodes of ill health and (less frequent) hospitalizations, he CAN live a relatively normal life. An active entrepreneur, he runs his own tutoring business, thetestprepguy.com, and is also a freelance business strategist. In addition to contributing 50+ articles to the SeekingAlpha.com financial website, Matthew is a key partner in developing the reBRAINed initiative with Lisa.

Matthew has spent the better part of the last 15 years confined to hospital rooms or in post-discharge home recovery. The grueling inpatient stays were only the beginning; the real hurdle was the road to recovery at home, which unexpectedly thrust Lisa into the demanding roles of caregiver and rehabilitation coordinator.

Having mastered a seemingly insurmountable challenge, Lisa and Matthew hope to provide a roadmap for young adult patients, their caregivers, and families, highlighting the intense, everyday reality of rehabilitating and adapting to chronic illness.

Drawing from their wealth of personal experience, together with input from their highly respected advisors, Lisa and Matthew have attempted to build a comprehensive resource hub to facilitate a smoother, more empowered health journey for patients.