Matthew Clark

Kind. Genuine. Compassionate. Loyal. Strong. Loving. Brave. Adventurous. Generous. And, a smile that brightens any room. Alone, these are all just adjectives or descriptors. Together, these make up the wonderful human being who is my brother, Matt Clark, a 31-year-old, active young man.

Matt has an appetite to try new things. After having played four years of football in high school, his senior year he decided to take up Track & Field for fun. As the “big guy” on the team he loved to be underestimated by his opponents and show his incredible strength when it came time to race.

Matt also has an awesome ability to bring people together from all different places, backgrounds, and aspects of his life, and he forms bonds with all of them. He always makes everyone feel special and includes everyone. I recall one of Matt’s first semesters in college when he became fast friends with a fellow classmate who was deaf. Matt wanted to connect with his friend on an even deeper level and began taking sign language. Years later, having mastered American Sign Language, you can often find Matt stopping to say hello, introduce himself, and having conversations with any person he meets in life who is deaf or hearing impaired, with the sole purpose of making a personal connection because, people and relationships matter, ALWAYS.

Close friends of Matt refer to him as the “Mayor.” I’ll be honest, Matt’s social butterfly tendencies have really paid off through the years. I mean, who else do you know that has served as an official Chipotle “Burrito Ambassador” and could go into any Chipotle to provide quality assurance for the food being served that day? Matt Clark. He also worked part-time at the local Regal Cinemas for a decade, greeting and chatting it up with moviegoers. Again, no surprise there.

When Matt isn’t hanging with his friends, playing video games online, or spending time with his family, he is working as a 9-1-1 dispatcher with the California Highway Patrol. He’s made incredible connections with so many work colleagues providing positivity, support, and humor, to otherwise intense and incredibly stressful situations.

Matt enjoys being with and helping people. Now, it is time we help him.

Rather unfortunately, Matt’s life changed forever in early August 2020. Instead of fielding a 9-1-1 call, as he does daily, a call was put in on his behalf. Matt was significantly injured in an accident at Folsom Lake. Matt insisted on taking the phone and calmly spoke to the dispatcher relaying the trauma he was experiencing. He sustained an injury to his neck, specifically a burst fracture to his C6 and C7 discs, his C7 disc was removed and his C6 and C8 discs were fused together. Matt suffered a complete spinal cord compression. Matt was life flighted to Sutter Hospital, where he received critical care for the injuries he sustained. Doctors have shared with us that Matt may not be able to walk again and it remains to be seen whether Matt will have use of his arms and hands. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic none of our family has been able to see Matt in-person more than a few times. Matt’s injuries and the inability to see him has been devastating to our family. Prior to his surgery, we were able to FaceTime with him several times and have been keeping close tabs on him through his wonderful medical care providers.

Fortunately, Matt has not experienced any cognitive limitations as a result of his injuries. This is a victory we are tightly holding on to. The nurses caring for him shared that prior to his surgery, he was joking with them every chance he could get. Matt was intubated and battled pneumonia for 19 days after his surgery. He received a tracheotomy. Indeed, it is a long road to recovery. After Matt was released from the ICU he was immediately transferred to Valley Medical Center, an intensive spinal cord rehabilitation facility. This is a journey where we need all our Matt Clark Fan Club members and community of supporters to rally around him. Thank you for your support and being part of his journey.

Family and friends of Matt Clark are raising money for the nonprofit Help Hope Live to fund uninsured medical expenses associated with Catastrophic Injury.

Matt has chosen to fundraise for Help Hope Live in part because Help Hope Live assures fiscal accountability of funds raised and tax deductibility for contributors. Contributors can be sure donations will be used to pay or reimburse medical and related expenses. To make a tax-deductible donation to this fundraising campaign, click on the Give button.

For more information, please contact Help Hope Live at 800.642.8399.

Thank you for your support!