Born with a rare brain tumor, ‘miracle child’ Matthew Erickson turns 10, against all odds. ‘I’m a pretty lucky guy’
Matthew Erickson hugs and high-fives the numerous clinicians examining him at his 10-year checkup — a milestone that seemed unfathomable a decade ago, when he was born with a rare and usually fatal form of brain cancer.
The boy giggles as a nurse touches her stethoscope to his chest, listening to him breathe in and out during the recent examination at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. After removing his hearing aids, Matthew wriggles away when she tries to peer into his ears, tilting his face to reveal a light 2-inch scar on the back of his head, a vestige of multiple brain surgeries.
The northwest suburban Huntley, Illinois, boy cries a little as the phlebotomist collects samples of his blood, one of the thousands of blood draws he’s endured in his short life. Yet after the needle is removed, he grins and proudly shows off the cartoon Tweety bird bandage at the injection site.
“I’m a pretty lucky guy,” he says repeatedly, even when answering
