Kayla Ihrig
For one resident of Huntley, Illinois, the first day of kindergarten is a cause for great celebration.
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Mathew Erikson, 5, was born with a rare form of brain cancer, and it was uncertain whether this day would come.
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“We are incredibly lucky,” his father, Ben Erickson, told the Chicago Tribune in an interview, “because this just as well could have gone in a different direction.”
The interview is the not the first coverage of Mathew’s story. His journey has touched many lives and been well document by news outlets and through a Facebook page where his family shares updates.
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The page has thousands of followers, and may have some of the nicest comments on the internet. Many commenters share their encouragement and stories of how they’ve been inspired by Mathew.
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“We celebrate the journey we’ve been on,” Sue Erikson, Mathew’s mother, shared on the Facebook page earlier this month. “We celebrate the prayers. We celebrate each and day that God has blessed us with. We celebrate the fact that Matthew’s testimony has continued through his life and not his death. That is something that we never take for granted and we are so thankful for.”
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