[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 10]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 14355]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      A TRIBUTE TO MATTIE STEPANEK

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 8, 2008

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Madam Speaker, I am honored to pay tribute today to 
Mattie Stepanek, an extraordinary young man who touched thousands of 
people with his messages of hope and peace.
  Mattie was afflicted with dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy, a form 
of muscular dystrophy, which took his life at age 13 in 2004. Despite 
his illness, Mattie dedicated his life to promoting hope, peace and 
tolerance through his role as a national goodwill ambassador for the 
Muscular Dystrophy Association and through his advocacy for people with 
disabilities through his inspiring words of poetry.
  Mattie is remembered for his kindness, grace and vitality. He saw his 
disease not as a hindrance but as a vehicle to reach out to the hearts 
of many. He shared his message of peace and tolerance with school 
children, business leaders, medical personnel, religious groups and so 
many others throughout the world. Indeed, his message touched people of 
all ages, races, nationalities, faiths, abilities and aspirations. He 
lived by the words of his timeless philosophy, ``Remember to play after 
every storm.''
  Mattie is being remembered in my congressional district this week, 
which has been proclaimed ``Mattie Stepanek Week'' by the city of 
Rockville, Maryland. The week's primary event is the second annual 
Heartsongs Swim, hosted by the Rockville Municipal Swim Center, which 
will raise money to expand the handicapped accessibility of the Mattie 
J.T. Stepanek Park in Rockville and for the completion of statues of 
Mattie and his service dog Micah, which will be installed and dedicated 
this fall in the park.
  Madam Speaker, I am honored to remember with fondness and humility 
Mattie Stepanek, an ambassador of peace for all humanity, and to join 
my constituents in commemorating Mattie Stepanek Week in Rockville, 
Maryland.

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