MONTICELLO - His favorite player is Clay Matthews and his favorite part of school is recess; he's just like any typical 6-year-old boy, but Matthew Hagen has a hereditary disease that affects the connective tissues in his body.
Hagen's family, of Monticello, found out Matthew has Marfan syndrome after he had his eyes tested at Monticello Elementary School about two years ago.
"It's hereditary, but none of my 95 nieces and nephews or anybody on his dad's side had it show up," Kelley Lynne, Matthew's grandmother, said.
Marfan syndrome is a genetic mutation that tells the body to make a protein used in connective tissue, but in excess. The mutation can affect different parts of the body, but it typically first shows up in the eyes. Matthew has had several eye surgeries since being diagnosed, but he still has vision problems. According to marfan.org, about one in 5,000 people have Marfan syndrome. There is a 50 percent chance that a person with the genetic mutation that causes Marfan will pass it along to a child. Matthew's mother Kim Sweeney did not know she carried the gene until Matthew showed symptoms.
"As far back as we could find in our family, nobody showed signs of having it," Lynne said.
Some features of Marfan can be life-threatening, like enlargement of the blood vessels in the heart, but Matthew hasn't shown serious symptoms, though he does have protein build-up around his heart and spine, Sweeney said.
Matthew submitted a wish to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to see a Green Bay Packers game. His wish was granted in December when Matthew and another boy were taken up to Green Bay to tour the locker room and see a game at Lambeau Field. The Packers won 43-37 over the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 8, while Matthew, his mother, his grandmother, his dad and his step-mom sat along row 19, right near the end zone.
"They were so excited - they got to take a limo to the Packer game," Lynne said.
Matthew and another Make-A-Wish boy, Dillon Leigh of Milwaukee, attended a practice, went to a game and toured Green Bay from Dec. 5 to Dec. 9. The game was chilly, but the Packers pulled ahead early in the game with four touchdowns and a field goal.
"I was all bundled up," Matthew said.
The two boys attended a practice and spoke with Clay Matthews, Jordy Nelson, Julius Peppers and, of course, Aaron Rodgers.
"They were giving Aaron pointers," Kelley Lynne said of the two boys.
Matthew received a swag-bag full of Packers gear, including a jersey and a signed football. Matthew said he is convinced the Packers will go to the Super Bowl this year, and he had a few choice words for the team the Packers play Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks.
"Boo Seahawks. ... Go Pack, go," he said.
Hagen's family, of Monticello, found out Matthew has Marfan syndrome after he had his eyes tested at Monticello Elementary School about two years ago.
"It's hereditary, but none of my 95 nieces and nephews or anybody on his dad's side had it show up," Kelley Lynne, Matthew's grandmother, said.
Marfan syndrome is a genetic mutation that tells the body to make a protein used in connective tissue, but in excess. The mutation can affect different parts of the body, but it typically first shows up in the eyes. Matthew has had several eye surgeries since being diagnosed, but he still has vision problems. According to marfan.org, about one in 5,000 people have Marfan syndrome. There is a 50 percent chance that a person with the genetic mutation that causes Marfan will pass it along to a child. Matthew's mother Kim Sweeney did not know she carried the gene until Matthew showed symptoms.
"As far back as we could find in our family, nobody showed signs of having it," Lynne said.
Some features of Marfan can be life-threatening, like enlargement of the blood vessels in the heart, but Matthew hasn't shown serious symptoms, though he does have protein build-up around his heart and spine, Sweeney said.
Matthew submitted a wish to the Make-A-Wish Foundation to see a Green Bay Packers game. His wish was granted in December when Matthew and another boy were taken up to Green Bay to tour the locker room and see a game at Lambeau Field. The Packers won 43-37 over the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 8, while Matthew, his mother, his grandmother, his dad and his step-mom sat along row 19, right near the end zone.
"They were so excited - they got to take a limo to the Packer game," Lynne said.
Matthew and another Make-A-Wish boy, Dillon Leigh of Milwaukee, attended a practice, went to a game and toured Green Bay from Dec. 5 to Dec. 9. The game was chilly, but the Packers pulled ahead early in the game with four touchdowns and a field goal.
"I was all bundled up," Matthew said.
The two boys attended a practice and spoke with Clay Matthews, Jordy Nelson, Julius Peppers and, of course, Aaron Rodgers.
"They were giving Aaron pointers," Kelley Lynne said of the two boys.
Matthew received a swag-bag full of Packers gear, including a jersey and a signed football. Matthew said he is convinced the Packers will go to the Super Bowl this year, and he had a few choice words for the team the Packers play Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks.
"Boo Seahawks. ... Go Pack, go," he said.