Heartsongs

1. Mattie Stepanek only lived for a short time, but he accomplished more in 13 years than many people do in 83 years. Mattie was born with a rare form of muscular dystrophy, called dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy. This genetic disease caused muscle weakness and affected his heart rate, breathing, blood pressure, and digestion. All three of Mattie's older siblings had the disease also. It was passed to the four children from there mother, who did not not realize she had the disease until after her children were born. Mattie's sister and two brothers all died at an early age.
2. Mattie began writing poetry and short stories at the age of three to help himself cope with these tragedies. He called his poems "heart songs," expressions of his desire to be a better person and to bring peace to the world. In his poems, he also expressed his feelings about living with a rare illness and about the joy of life.
3. Knowing he was not going to live very long, Mattie wanted to accomplish three things before he died. His first goal was to have his poems published. His second wish was to appear on the Oprah Winfrey show to share his message of peace and hope. And his third wish was to meet former president, Jimmie Carter. All three of Mattie's wishes came true. Five volumes of Mattie's poetry were published and quickly became best sellers. Mattie appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show first in 2001, and several times after that. Oprah Winfrey became a big fan of Mattie's, and the two often emailed and advised each other. Mattie met Jimmy Carter in 2002 and the two had many discussions about their mutual passion for peacemaking. Mattie died in 2004, at the age of 13. Oprah Winfrey spoke at Mattie's funeral and Jimmy Carter delivered the eulogy.
4. Although Mattie Stepanek's life was cut short, his messages of peace, hope, and courage live on through his poetry.

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