Chloe Nguyen
P.O. Box 10124
Westminster, CA 92685

To donate on-line, please use the Paypal donate button below. Paypal is an easy and secure method to send donations without setting up a Paypal account.

All donations are used towards Matthew’s funeral service and furthering the goals of Team Matthew. “Team Matthew” strives to raise awareness of leukemia and other blood-related illnesses, the impact of these illnesses on the community, and most importantly, conduct bone marrow drives to increase the chances of finding a matching donor for blood cancer patients and patients with blood-related illnesses.

Please be advised that all “Team Matthew” donations are considered personal donations to Matthew Nguyen. “Team Matthew” is currently not an exempt organization as defined by Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Accordingly, your generous gift, while appreciated and valuable, is unfortunately, not tax-deductible. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

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For many months, Matt has suffered from complications with his fight against graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and scleroderma. Despite treatments, the scleroderma slowly started affecting his limbs, including his legs.

In late January, Matt was hospitalized for what appeared to be a skin infection (cellulitis) in his left leg. He was given an array of antibiotics and tests, but no infections were found. Instead, his left leg became increasingly more swollen. After a few weeks in the hospital when it was determined there was no infection and the swelling in his leg had decreased, Matt was released to go home. It was perfect timing as he was able to celebrate his 1-year wedding anniversary with Chloe in mid-February.

Unfortunately, a few weeks after his release, he started noticing more redness on the upper thigh of his left leg. He went to his usual doctor’s appointment at City of Hope and, in abundance of caution, he was again admitted. The doctors again tested Matt’s leg for infections, including a biopsy of the skin on his leg, but none were found. It was ultimately confirmed that the swelling was due to his GVHD. The scleroderma around his waist had constricted circulation to his legs and fluid continued to build up. His left leg continued to swell from his foot to his thigh. After several weeks in the hospital, his right leg started to swell as well. The doctors escalated Matt’s chemo treatments to try and stop the progression of the GVHD. They also gave him medications to decrease the swelling in his legs. However, both legs remained swollen and big.

Even though the fluid build-up in his legs was causing pain and discomfort, it did not stop Matt from walking around the hospital, chatting with nurses, laughing with visiting friends and family, and diligently studied to keep up with school work (even taking a few proctored midterm exams)…all in his 15 x 15 foot hospital room. Most of us would have withdrawn and given up out of sheer frustration and exhaustion. Not Matt. As he had always done, he remained to have a positive attitude throughout the whole ordeal.

For a few days in April, the swelling started to go down and things seemed to be improving. We are all optimistic, including Matt. So the doctors continued Matt’s course of treatments.

A turn of events happened in late April/early May and Matt’s condition quickly deteriorated. His right leg swelled to the point where Matt became bedridden. He was no longer mobile and could not walk around; he had to rely on family members and nurses to help with basic everyday necessities. Everyone who knows Matt knows this was devastating to him.

Around the same time Matt became bedridden, he started experiencing shortness of breath. The GVHD had started impacting Matt’s lung, restricting the full expansion of his lungs. Soon, our worst fears were realized, he caught pneumonia. With Matt’s GVHD and how it had affected his lungs, pneumonia was going to be extremely difficult for Matt’s body to overcome, despite his continued will to fight.

In the days to come, we learned of Matt’s poor prognosis. On Wed/Thurs, May 2 and 3, Matt’s parents and Chloe met with his doctor to discuss the remaining limited options. In short, one option was a bronchoscopy to determine the specific type of infection and treat accordingly. However, with the condition of Matt’s body, this option would result in Matt relying on a breathing machine (ventilator) forever, which meant he would be sedated, never wake up and never be able to communicate with us again. His doctor was also certain he would not be able to continue treating Matt if he was on a ventilator. The second option was to aggressively treat the pneumonia with an empirical arsenal of antibiotics and hope that something would combat the infection. The second option allowed Matt the opportunity to continue fighting. We discussed the options with Matt and of course, he chose the second option. He wanted to continue fighting, and we were all on board.

He was immediately loaded with antibiotics and medications that would hopefully combat the pneumonia, swelling in his legs, and GVHD. For the next few days, Matt’s family and friends visited him to keep his spirits up. Despite being bedridden, Matt still continued his positive and fighting spirit. He continued to make sure everyone in the room was smiling and laughing, not saddened or crying. The positive energy definitely helped to uplift everyone’s spirits, but by Saturday/Sunday, May 5 and 6, his condition deteriorated and his pain level escalated. His family and friends could see how much Matt was suffering. His pain medications were escalated and he was continually more sedated and non-responsive. We wanted to ensure he was not feeling pain and comfortable.

With an amazing amount of friends and family, the group which has become known as Team Matthew, were continually by Matt’s bedside, keeping him at ease and showing how loved he is by everyone. Team Matthew stayed by his side and told stories daily about how he has impacted everyone’s lives. Thanks to all the Team Matthew supporters, there has been an astounding outpouring of comments and pictures posted on Facebook and through text messages. Prayers and positive energy were constantly filling his room.

As the days passed, although Matt was not alert and not able to communicate, it became evident through his body language that he was in constant and continued pain. By Wednesday/Thursday, May 10 and 11, x-rays showed that Matt’s left lung had collapsed and was non-functional. With no hope of recovery, Matt’s family made the difficult decision to let him finally rest in peace and end his suffering. Matt’s antibiotics were ceased and he was made comfortable.

True to form, Matt unselfishly continued breathing for another 24-hours and gave his family and close friends time to say our good-byes. At 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2012, with Chloe, his dad and one of his best friends by his side, Matt quietly and peacefully took his last breath. He is no longer suffering and no longer in pain.

Team Matthew in Lakers gear cheering Matthew on

A small sampling of Team Matthew waiting in the hospital lobby

Fight On!

Keeping with Matt’s spirit, this post would not be right without positive news. Between the time of Matt’s last post/2-year anniversary of his transplant and his last hospitalization, Matt continued to live life as he always did and enjoyed the company of his family and friends. A few of Matt’s last experiences:

In mid-December, Matt and Chloe made a trip to Arizona to visit Matt’s donor, Diep and her husband Michael. It was a fun and memorable time. Because of Diep, Matt was given 2.5 more years of life to enjoy with his wife, family and friends. We are eternally grateful.

Matthew visiting Diep in Arizona

A beautiful day in Arizona with his loving wife, Chloe

One of the major milestones that Matthew reached earlier this year was getting to his 30th birthday. With his birthday so close to New Year’s Day, his loved ones couldn’t think of anything better than to bring in the New Year by celebrating Matthew’s life. We all partied the night away in the Bay Area with people overflowing the venue. The party was beautifully decorated with a few of Matthew’s passion in life, including the Lakers, Photography, and Extreme Sports. There was a touching video that was made to commemorate this milestone, which can be seen below (Quicktime plugin required).

Matt and Chloe’s celebrated their first wedding anniversary on February 19th.

Matthew and Chloe on their Wedding Day

One of Matt’s favorite hobbies was photography so with a group of close friends, we headed to Las Vegas for the Wedding Photography Trade Show. Matt, Chloe, and whole gang had a grand ol’ time eating, exploring, and watching the O show (a show Matt and Chloe had wanted to see for some time).

Trip to Las Vegas with friends for a photography trade show

On May 11th, the yearly bone marrow transplant reunion took place at City of Hope Hospital. Although he could not pick up his own GIANT BUTTON this year (referenced in his previous blog post), his friends and family happily accepted his third button to add to his collection. As seen in the picture, on the day of the reunion Matt was given another 2 years, 7 months, and 23 days with us – all due to the miracle that we all know as Diep Dao, his bone marrow donor.

Matt's 3rd Bone Marrow Transplant Reunion Button

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During the last few days of Matt’s life, Chloe monitored Matt’s phone to ensure things were taken care of. She discovered in his Notes app, something he had jotted down 67 days ago while he was in the hospital. He titled it “Life Notes/Thoughts.”

Matthew's Life Notes/Thoughts

For those who know Matt, you can’t help but smile/giggle upon reading the first “be a farmer…be like Kobe” life note. That was so Matt. We miss him dearly.

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Matthew’s friends and family have been getting inquiries on donations, so we thought it’d be best to post the information here. If you would like to make a donation Team Matthew, we welcome donations by check. Please make checks payable to “Chloe Nguyen” and mail to:

All donations are used towards Matthew’s funeral service and furthering the goals of Team Matthew.

The red area indicates where my skin is affected and is either rock hard or hyperpigmented

Health Update: Still experiencing GVHD Schleroderma on my upper rib cage area, armpit region, waist, stomach, and lower back mainly.  It has aslo slowly progressed to my inner thighs as well. To help understand what my skin is like, it feels stiff and hard, almost as if I am wearing a wetsuit.  My mobility is limited and cannot bend, move, and fully extend my arms up to touch the sky. I promise I will post pictures of what the skin looks like in my next post. This post is a happy post since we are celebrating my 2 year bone marrow transplant birthday!!!

Meeting Diep, the person who saved my life, for the first time.

“Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.”

- Jim Valvano

This posting is a little over due…..2 years ago (9/20/2009) I was given a second chance to go back to school, a second chance to call friends in which I lost touch with, a second chance to get married, and a second chance to live life again. Diep Dao was the person that made this all possible and donated her bone marrow to me without even knowing anything about me. She did this out of the kindness of her heart, wanting to help another human being she didn’t even know, me.  We have become better friends since and our families keep in touch often.  She is an amazing young woman who is in medical school and will save many more lives in the future as a physician. In addition, she was recently called upon again to donate her bone marrow to save another young life (See previous post for full details).  Truly amazing.

With this milestone post, 2 year post bone marrow transplant, I would like to revisit a few of the wonderful things I was given a chance to experience….there are MANY, but here are just a few.

12.2009 - First Christmas post Bone Marrow Transplant

12.2009 - First Christmas post BMT

01.2010 - First birthday celebration with the boys

01.2010 Diana & Truyen getting married. I've known Diana since the 3rd grade.

03.2010 Grandpa's Birthday Celebration in OKC

05.2010 I was honored to marry my two good friends Paul and Tea

2010 NBA Playoffs Lakers vs Thunders

2010 COH BMT Reunion

07.2010 Going back to Pharmacy School!!!!

08.2010 Connor's 1st Birthday

01.2011 Lakers vs Celtics game

02.2011 Our wedding!

02.2011 Honeymoon in Kauai

02.2011 Honeymoon in Kauai: Helicoptor Tour

02.2011 Honeymoon in Kauai: Helicoptor Tour

02.2011 Honeymoon in Kauai

04.2011 Chloe and I were in Nancy and Huy's Wedding

05.2011 Connors 2nd Birthday Party

06.2011 James USC Master's graduation

09.2011 LLS Light the Night Walk

My outlook on life has changed dramatically since my close call with death.  I used to always plan for the future, wanting to save things to enjoy later in life.  I always did the “right thing” at the time because that is what we were taught to do growing up.  During my battle with Leukemia when I didn’t know if I would be here the next day, I was scared and upset.  I was scared because I didn’t want my friends and family to be sad if I were gone and upset because I wouldn’t be able to experience everything in life we are “supposed to” such as having a family, home, grandkids, etc.

Now that I have been given the opportunity to a second chance at life, I do things a little differently.  I now tend to do things that make me happy at that moment…instant gratification.  I do things I know I shouldn’t but why shouldn’t I?  There is no point in living life if you cannot enjoy it now because if we wait for the right time to do it, we may be too old or worse, not even be here anymore.  For example, a few weeks ago I had a few exams to study for, a hospital visit, and treatments that day.  There was also an event at the Staples Center in LA where I knew a few Los Angeles Lakers players would be at and I could possibly meet (I am a HUGE Lakers fan) one in particular was past head coach Pat Riley who is rarely in LA.  So, the right thing to do was to go home after my hospital treatment and study.  Well, I decided to do what made me happy and headed over to the Staples Center after my long hospital visit and sit outside of the Staples Center where Magic Johnson was having a press conference to celebrate his 20 year survival of AIDs.  There was no guarantee of meeting anyone but I went anyways.

10.2009 Meeting Andrew Bynum. Less than 100 days from my transplant, I wasn't supposed to leave the hospital village...shhh!

12.2009 Meeting AC "Ironman" Green with my mask. Less than 100 days from my transplant, I wasn't supposed to leave the hospital village...shhh!

12.2009 Meeting James Worthy with my mask. Less than 100 days from my transplant, I wasn't supposed to leave the hospital village...shhh!

06.2010 Hanging out with Ron Artest backstage during his performance

03.2010 Meeting Magic Johnson with my dad and cousin, Andy

04.2010 Meeting Derek Fisher with Chloe

05.2010 Meeting Kurt Rambis during the playoffs

05.2010 Meeting Norm Nixon during the playoffs

06.2010 Meeting John Salley at Mile Square Park

01.2011 Meeting Lamar Odom at the Beverly Center

01.2011 Meeting Luke Walton at Comerica Bank Trophy Tour

01.2011 Shannon Brown at the Verizon store in HB

01.2011 Meeting Mychael Thompson at Hooters

It was my lucky day.  I saw Magic Johnson walking by and getting coffee and his security guards pushed everyone else away.  I asked nicely and was the only one to meet him and get an autograph…SCORE!  In front of the Staples Center I was also able to meet James Worthy, General Manager Mitch Kupchack, Mychael Thompson, Michael Cooper, Kurt Rambis, AC Green, and baseball legend Frank Robinson.  Some of these guys I have met already in the past as you can see from the pictures above.  I was the only one out there and got autographs from those Lakers. I didn’t get to meet Pat Riley but the trip was well worth it.  So you ask, “what do you do with the autographs?” I can’t answer that question myself.  I spend money on basketballs, spend time waiting to “maybe” meet someone, and to just get them to write their name on it.  I could do that myself if I really wanted to.  In the end, they just sit in my room collecting dust.  But it is the experience that makes me happy.  I grew up watching these guys play basketball and now I have the opportunity to meet them in person.  I can look at the autographed basketballs and say that I met these Lakers and the memories of the day can never be taken away from me.

10.2011 Meeting Elgin Baylor

10.2011 Meeting Gail Goodrich

10.2011 Meeting Jerry West

So my point is we should live life doing things that make us happy whether it may not be the right thing to do.  I hate hearing people complain about their lives, how horrible it is and stressful it is.  If that is the case, do something about it, do something that will make YOU happy…find a new job…leave your significant other who doesn’t make you happy and meet someone else…go get that shirt you’ve been thinking about…treat yourself to a nice meal….spend that extra money on the toy you’ve always wanted and reward yourself…speak up and say something to a friend everyone else is afraid to say to them…go watch a movie and relax if you’ve been working hard all day…basically, be a little selfish.  It is nice to want to help others, but don’t forget about YOURSELF.  You work hard so it’s okay to play hard.

If you are unhappy and think your life is in the gutter, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE ELSE WHO HAS IT WORSE.  That is the ONLY way I get through the day because even though I am cancer free, I still battle the effects of Leukemia and bone marrow transplant.  I have graft vs host disease (GVHD) and deal with GVHD induced schleroderma. I have lost lots of mobility in my arms, back and legs. I suffer from myopathy and sometimes my entire body spasms and I cannot do anything about it.  I am in CONSTANT pain all day and go to the hospital 2-3 times a week for photopheresis and chemotherapy treatments.  These treatments are supposed to help but my body is not reacting as fast to these treatments and my oncologist has been trying different combination of treatments.  I take a plethora amounts of medication daily to prevent infections and to help me get better.  I have diabetes from all the medications that I have been on.  I have severe dry eyes and have trouble reading and seeing throughout the day.  They said all of the treatments “should help” and could take some time to get better but I will NEVER be back to normal.  Sounds horrible and who would be happy with any of this, but I know there are others who have it worse and I see these patients every time I go to the hospital.  I feel fortunate to be able to still walk, to still be eating on my own and not through a tube, to not have any organ failure which is common, fortunate to just be alive.  I am fortunate to have Diep as my donor, as well as my mother, father, and Chloe there everyday by my side since this all started to help me get through the day.  Without the four of them, as well as all my family and friends who have supported me (That’s you if you are reading this), I would not be here today.  I don’t complain [only to Chloe =) and right now I guess] about any of this…but I continue to do what it takes to get better.  Sitting around and sulking is not going to do anything for me.  As Russell Peters would say, “Be a Man!” I will continue to make the hour long drive each way to go to the hospital for treatments if there is any slight possibility that it will help.

So, I hope you can and will do the same.  If you are unhappy about something, do something about it….do something that will make you happy.  For those that are happy and content, do something out of the ordinary for yourself to make yourself happy.  This may include doing something that is not the right thing to do….but that is for you to decide.  Pick and choose your battles, but live your life and be happy.

Diep Dao (the person who saved my life) and her husband Michael Alahouzos, recovering after donating her bone marrow again to help save an 11 year old child.

Health Update: 3 weeks away from my 2 year bone marrow transplant anniversary and I am still experiencing GVH issues. I go to City of Hope Hospital pretty often to get photopherisis treatments and IV chemo infusions as well.  The skin issues I am having are EXTREMELY PAINFUL, and it is barely manageable.  I am a few different pain medications to help deal with this but nothing actually makes it feel better. It feels like a someone is CONSTANTLY scratching at an open wound, as well as muscle cramping/spasms on the side of my torso. In addition to this, after sitting in a chair for a few minutes, it feels like I have been lifting boxes using my back only and not with my legs.  Although it is a burden to travel so far to the hospital every week and so often, I will do anything to keep my body healthy and alive…..as long as I am moving forward and trying to make things better.

Diep being interviewed by local news reporters.

Recently I found out that Diep Dao, the person who saved my life by donating her bone marrow to me in 2009, was contacted again because she was a match to another patient. This is amazing news because most people in the National Bone Marrow Registry never get contacted about being a match, let alone actually donating to someone.  Diep and her husband, Michael, did not hesitate to agree to help save this person’s life.   They traveled to Southern California to Saint Joseph’s Hospital in Orange, Ca to go through the procedure.

Normally marrow donors donate their marrow via peripherally (http://www.marrow.org/DONOR/When_You_re_Asked_to_Donate_fo/Steps_of_Donation/index.html#step2) This time doctors asked if Diep would donate via extracting marrow from her hip bone because the young patient was in great need and this was the best method.

Our families spent some time together the night before and had dinner.  I wanted to be there to support Diep so I took her and Michael to the hospital early in the morning.  I was fortunate enough to be there when Diep went in for her procedure to extract the marrow as well as when she was done with everything.  Diep is such a trooper that as soon as she arrived back in her recovery room, she was ready to get up and go home. She said she felt fine but the doctors wanted to keep her a few hours to ensure she was okay.  Diep recovered quickly and flew back home the following morning.  Diep made it seem like it was an everyday thing and it was no big deal…..AMAZING!!!!

What are the chances of someone being able to save a life by giving part of their own body to someone else? Diep was able to do this TWICE, saving my life as well as this young child. She is currently in medical school and will be saving many many more lives in the future with her knowledge and care. She is an amazing person and I cannot thank her enough.

So how can you help a dying person? It is very easy and quick to register to be a marrow donor. You just have to stay committed to help someone if you are ever contacted in the future (some never get contacted at all because they are not a match to anyone). You could get contacted next month, next year, or in 20 years since you are in the national registry until you are 60.  To learn more about how you can help, please click HERE.

Still having fun minutes before being rolled away for the procedure.

Liquid gold...to me and the child she is saving!

30 minutes post procedure and Diep is itching to get up and go home.

Hong Nuyen (my mother), Kim Quy (Diep's mother), and Diep Dao (my Hero)

Diep trying to convince the doctors to let her go home early