Baruch Dayan HaEmet
We are deeply saddened to report that Matt passed away on Thursday, August 18, 2011, after 16 months of strongly fighting AML. He died quite comfortably and peacefully at home. The following few paragraphs were written by Matt a few weeks before his death, and he asked that they be included on Caring Bridge as his final post:
Hi, all. Just to mix things up a bit, for what will probably be my last post, here are some thoughts from a man walking with his God. Psalm 23, a psalm of David. God is my shepherd, I shall not lack. [I never have lacked.] In lush meadows He lays me down, beside tranquil waters He leads me. [This year I have been able to feel a peace that I had not previously known -- in Hebrew, "nachat ruach." ] He restores my soul [which I believe is eternal]. He leads me on paths of justice for His name's sake. [I can only hope that I have followed these paths more often than I have shunned them.] Though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me. [Throughout this ordeal, I have never been afraid. Perhaps it is because I am a person of faith? Or maybe I am too simpleminded to recognize the magnitude of the loss that I am facing?] Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. [I interpret God's "rod" and "staff" to be my family and friends, respectively.] You prepare a table before me in view of my tormentors. [I think about the tables in my life. . . my childhood dinner table . . . breakfast before school with my kids at a cafe table . . . the seder table . . . the table from which I read the Torah in synagogue.] You anointed my head with oil [I was brought up to believe I was special and could accomplish anything that I wanted], my cup overflows [a phrase I have uttered to myself each Friday night before the words of Kiddush]. May only goodness and kindness pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of God for eternity. [Although I am saddened by what I will miss, the days with which I have been blessed have been full.]
A final thought: Walk with your God. Identify what is most important to you, go after it, and when you have tasted success, be thankful for it.
Shalom. Matt
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 58 year old man battling Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 72 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 71 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 72 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 11 year old boy battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 10 year old boy battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 49 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 49 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 69 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 64 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 19 year old woman battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 68 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 3 year old girl battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 60 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 19 year old woman battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 40 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 8 year old boy battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 64 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 70 year old woman battling Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 46 year old man battling Plasma Cell Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 72 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 56 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 70 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 68 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 66 year old woman battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 67 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 54 year old man battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 53 year old man battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 34 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 22 year old woman battling Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 46 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 59 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 59 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 71 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 65 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 16 year old girl battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 59 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 45 year old man battling Hodgkins Lymphoma.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 64 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 6 month old boy battling Inherited Immune Systems Disorders.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 34 year old woman battling Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 10 year old girl battling Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 59 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 59 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 35 year old woman battling Severe Aplastic Anemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 67 year old woman battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 63 year old man battling Myelodysplastic Disorder.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has transplanted a 26 year old man battling Severe Aplastic Anemia.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 68 year old woman battling Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma.
A donor sponsored by Matt Fenster z'l Donor Circle has matched a 70 year old man battling Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.