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Christmas 1995

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 Our first family vacation was to San Diego California over Christmas vacation in 1995-1996. Matty had just turned two years old. This was taken on the beach at the Hotel del Coronado on the Pacific Ocean. Jackie and Megan were so excited to see the ocean they ran out into the water with their blue jeans on. It turns out this was the only time we all went on a trip together. This was at the petting zoo in Disneyland. We figured they must have drugged the animal because they completely ignored the kids no matter how aggressive they were. We went out to the caves in La Jolla and Laurie took this picture. This is also at La Jolla.

Religion

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I can see the advantage of a religion that promises to reunite you with your loved ones after death. Who wouldn’t want that? The attraction for this is very strong, especially for parents who have lost a child.

NICU

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  30 years ago, I learned what a NICU was. Before Matty was born, I may have known what the letters stood for but I didn't really know what it was. How scary it was for a new parent. Matty was born two months premature. A week earlier we had taken my Isuzu Trooper into my cabin and gotten it stuck in the mud.

Media

 Matty and I loved watching movies and TV shows together. Here are some of her favorite shows: Star Wars Episodes 4, 5, 6. I watched these with Matty starting around age 2 or 3. Toy Story: Matty collected all the toys from this series from restaurants or as collectibles and liked to arrange them like different scenes from the movies. Home Alone (1990): This was one of the movies we had that Matty would skip to about half way through and start watching. In this case, Matty liked to start after the house was trapped and the burglars showed up. Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990): Matty loved all three of this series. Mulan: I think Matty liked watching this as an adult.  A Goofy Movie (1995): Came out when Matty was 3. We saw Goofy at Disney world that year but Matty did not like it. Muppet Treasure Island and Muppet Christmas Carol were two movies that we watched again and again. Galaxy Quest Princess Mononoke The Fifth Element I tried to get Matty to watch ET but he hated it. Labyrint

Halloween

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  Halloween was Matty's favorite holiday. Here are some pictures of previous years.

Cause of Death?

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8/17/2023 On Monday  (8/14/23) I called the Ramsey County medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Matty. He said that Matty had inflammation of the thyroid gland. I am trying to think of a scenario where this could result in death. Matty had some symptoms which were consistent with a thyroid condition; fatigue, hair loss, and sensitivity to cold temperatures. Matty had caught a cold at the beginning of November. Illness can exacerbate a thyroid condition. The room Matty slept in was cold, that night, dropping into the 50s. The thyroid regulates body temperature, so I see Matty's body not maintaining temperature until Matty passed away in her sleep.  It turns out Ramsey Co. was waiting for Dunn Co. to get back to him about the genetic study, so I called Dunn Co. and she thought she had already approved it. Not that I think the genetic study will show anything. He said that he could tell Matty had some respiratory infection but that would not have been fatal. When I look online

Stages of Grief

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It feels like getting hit in the head with a baseball bat over and over again. It feels like getting punched in the gut repeatedly. It feels like you are at the bottom of a hole and you can't climb out. That's as far as I've gotten.