Woman's illness inspires her to write book to inspire others

Friday, April 25, 2008 7:15 PM EDT

OLEAN TIMES HERALD

By KATE DAY SAGER (Thank you, Kate, for writing such a lovely article! Nancy)

When Nancy Matthews’ illness took a turn for the worse last year and forced her to stop working, she wanted to write a book for her young daughter to let her know the lessons she had learned in life. Mrs. Matthews’ book, entitled “A Journey Toward Spiritual Peace,” is now available locally with the author’s hope that it “will touch the lives of many other people.”

A resident of Weston’s Mills, Mrs. Matthews has been fighting cystic fibrosis since childhood and entered the end stages of the disease in January of 2007. The disease causes cells in the body to produce thick, sticky mucus that clogs the tubes and passageways within the body. The clogging causes the pancreas to not produce the enzymes necessary for digestion and causes scarring, inflammation and infections in the lungs often leading to respiratory failure and death.

Mrs. Matthews said she is currently on a waiting list for a double lung transplant and expects to relocate to Pittsburgh in the near future to receive new lungs. She recently talked about her decision to write the book that takes a look at her life, and how she found her way to her own spiritual peace. “I am so hopeful this book will touch the lives of many other people,” Mrs. Matthews said. “I have learned so much through my illness that I would love to think others could learn without having to go through an illness.” She noted that the book is meant for everyone, not just people facing terminal illness. “If it can touch and change the life of one other person, that is all that truly matters,” she said.

A native of Jackson Hole, Wyo., she moved to the area in 1993 to attend St. Bonaventure University, where her uncle worked as a professor. At St. Bonaventure, she received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in counseling. While in college, she also met her husband, Scott, a native of Portville, and they married in 1996. In 1999, she gave birth to their daughter, Hannah Marie.

Mrs. Matthews said she worked at St. Bonaventure as the coordinator of Disability Support Services from 1999 to January of 2007 when she had to go on disability. “I had taught an introductory freshman course at SBU titled ‘The Meaning of Life’ and the goal of that course was to help students look at the truly meaningful things in their lives,” Mrs. Matthews said. “The book was an extension of the lessons I had been trying to teach these students.”

She started writing the book in the spring of 2007, but didn’t find inspiration for the work until September of 2007 when she was hospitalized for pneumonia. “I can’t really explain it, but one day in the hospital the whole book came to me and I began writing,” she said. “I finished the first draft in about three weeks and found such peace and joy writing.”

She said the local book sales have been doing well with over 250 sold at this point. “It’s not making a ton of money, but it will at least help a little bit” with medical costs incurred by her illness, she said.
The book has even been used at the pulpit by an area preacher. “I gave a copy of the book to Hillside Wesleyan Church and Rev. Rick Long did a whole sermon on it,” she said. “A lot of people also have written to me and said how much it touched them.”

Mrs. Matthews said her husband, who owns Cubic Storage Inc., and her daughter, who is the third grade, have been very supportive of her work.

In the meantime, Mrs. Matthews said she has been waiting for insurance authorization for her transplant, and then word that a donor is available. “It’s hard to wait,” she said. “Every time the phone rings everyone jumps.”
Pat Spaeth, a friend of Mrs. Matthews, said she also enjoyed and appreciated the book. “I thought it was a good book and knowing Nancy, I could see her in it,” Mrs. Spaeth said. “She’s just such a sweet person.” Mrs. Spaeth said she runs a pre-school program and Mrs. Matthews’ daughter once attended. In addition, Mrs. Matthews had spoken with the pre-school children in the past about cystic fibrosis when they conducted a fundraiser for the disease. “She (Mrs. Matthews) has inspired and helped a lot of people,” Mrs. Spaeth said.

Mrs. Matthews’ book can be purchased at the St. Bonaventure book store, at the Linger Longer Cafe in Allegany and at some local churches. The Web site http://www.nancymatthews.blogspot.com/ also provides updates on her medical progress.