Video: LeBonheur Makes Life Saving Difference for Tupelo Man

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TUPELO, Miss. (WCBI) – Only a few months after he was born in January of 1989, Matthew Nunnelee was a patient at LeBonheur Children’s Hospital.

“They took care of my sick, sick baby,” his mother, Sandra Nunnelee said.

Matthew was diagnosed with Truncus Arteriosus, a rare congenital defect that caused a deformation of his heart.He was six months old when he had his first surgery at LeBonheur. He had a second heart surgery in 1995, but his body rejected that heart valve.

Through the years, Matthew has had 5 open heart surgeries and two pacemakers. He also had a heart attack and stroke in the ninth grade.

“I forgot all my class schedule, a friend showed me around, helped me go to all my classes,” Matthew said.

This year, Matthew turned 25 and because of his medical history, he’s still a LeBonheur patient.

“LeBonheur is my second family. Without LeBonheur I would not be here without them. I give them 110 percent of thanksgiving, People there I”ve known, two or three nurses since day one to now when I go there,” he said.

Matthew’s family, mom, dad, and wife Olivia, visit the Tupelo LeBonheur Clinic, and they are passionate about LeBonheur and its mission.

“I cannot tell you what it’s like to have a child so sick go there. They treat the whole family, they are encouragers,” Sandra Nunnelee said.

The Nunnelee’s believe in giving back to the hospital that have given them so much. Matthew volunteers as a counselor at the hospital’s annual “Cardiac Kids Camp”

He also donated more than 300 Beanie Babies to the Tupelo clinic, in hopes of calming the fears of young patients.

Matthew says, although living with a rare medical condition isn’t easy, his faith, family and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital have helped him become an activist and the man he is today.

“Over time, I’ve learned to live with it. I’ve done everything else under the sun, from doing sports, to driving cars, doing normal everyday activities. At first I was afraid but I look at it as live your life everyday as if it were your last. Enjoy life to the fullest,” he said.

Matthew hopes his story will show how LeBonheur makes a difference in the lives of kids, and adults who so desperately need the specialized medical care.

Matthew works at a local insurance firm. He visits LeBonheur every six months for regular checkups.

For more information, visit http://www.lebonheur.org.