Community Support for Matt's Funeral Costs

On April 15, 2024, Matt Planting passed away at the University of Minnesota Hospital due to sepsis and complications of the liver and kidneys. Matt was 35 years old, about to turn 36 years old on April 29th. Matt left behind his 2 young daughters, mother, father and 2 brothers, and too many friends to list. He was beloved by the community and was well known by everyone. His mother Denise has worked at the Pine River DAC since 2018 and in 2021 the DAC hired Matt. Matt worked in the community at the Jenkins VFW, Pine River Legion, and Backus Legion as a job coach. The crew always had fun working with Matt and enjoyed the time they had with him. In January of 2024, Matt started experiencing issues with his neck from a previous injury that required surgery and that resulted in him struggling to walk and complete daily life tasks and was unable to work full time. Matt lived on his own and had kept his health issues to himself. As the weeks went by with Matt in this condition and not able to help himself, his family and friends took over helping him clean his house, transportation to and from doctors' appointments, shopping and self-care tasks. This all happened so quickly the thought of losing Matt was not on anyone's mind; everyone's main concern and top priority was to find Matt help. Matt spent several months going to see different doctors. Finally, the time came for his important doctor's appointment with the neurology doctor on April 8th. Matt and his mother Denise were told he would have surgery and would be contacted that week for further information/instructions. That Wednesday morning on April 10th Denise drove Matt down to the U of M hospital because she feared Matt could not wait another day and needed immediate help. Within a few hours of waiting in the emergency room at the U of M hospital Matt was admitted into the ICU and rapidly declined due to sepsis, liver and kidney failure. During the 5 days in the ICU the doctors did everything they could to help Matt, but nothing was giving him a chance for survival. Matt's father David was with him every day to give him comfort during this time. On Friday April 12th the doctor called Denise and informed her there's not much more that can be done to help her son and told her to bring his family to see him. On Saturday April 13th Matt's family went to the U of M hospital to see him and to say their goodbyes. Matt was alert but was disoriented and struggled to comprehend the situation due the condition his body was in. On Monday April 15th at 8:30am Denise received the call every parent dreads to get. Matt stopped breathing and was put on a ventilator. Denise, Madeline, Justin, Ryan, his father David, and other family members all met at the hospital and had no choice but to make the unbearable decision to take Matt off of the ventilator and watched him pass away.

Life is a mystery, and we make it how we choose to live our lives. Matt was a good person who had his own struggles like we all do. He never meant anyone any harm and when he was able to, he loved with all of his heart but unfortunately, he was unable to recover. Denise is a hard-working woman; she currently has guardianship of her granddaughter and grandson, she is their sole provider. We at the DAC are asking the community for help to pay for the funeral expenses of $7,000.00-$10,000. As a community we should bear each other's burdens and help one another out in any way possible. A little bit of kindness, compassion and love can go a long way especially during the tough times.