Diving with Sharks!

This morning, 14-year-old Matthew Gaythorpe finally fulfilled his dream of swimming with sharks. Here’s how it happened…

The RAPID Request:
Matthew has several rare, chronic and complicated genetic, organ and neurological disorders including Autosomal Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease (ARPKD), Congenital Hepatic Fibrosis, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, hypertension, narcolepsy and epilepsy.

Matthew had surgery that improved his quality of life significantly a couple of years ago, and he has been well enough to engage with school and friends. However, with the prospect of dialysis due to renal dysfunction looming, Matthew’s family were keen for him to fulfil his shark swimming dreams while he is well enough.

When we got the healthcare referrer’s Request to help Matthew, we learned about his lifelong fascination with sharks and his goal to one day study marine biology.  At a prior SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium visit, Matthew had impressed Aquarium staff with his knowledge of sharks, even prompting them to suggest for him to apply for a job there when he’s old enough! This prompted us to reach out to the Aquarium to help fulfil the Request .

Behind the RAPID Request:
Being under the age of 15 and having health issues, Matthew didn’t immediately qualify to dive. However, after passing a specialist medical examination by a dive doctor, the SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium and the Merlin’s Magic Wand charity were able to facilitate the Shark Dive Xtreme and Stingray Encounter.

The day arrives!
When Matthew arrived at the Aquarium, his love of sharks was on full display – t-shirt, backpack and all! He was accompanied by his Mum Alex, his long-time best friend Ryan, and his long-time aide Susan. His Dad Andrew also manoeuvred time off work to watch his son’s dive.

Before the dive, they got to learn all about the marine life at the Aquarium, and were able to examine shark teeth (which Matthew could already identify from his own knowledge!) and pet a baby shark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After signing the appropriate papers and receiving all the diving instructions, Matthew was ready to hit the water. He was so ready that he forgot to take his shark t-shirt off when he put his wetsuit on! 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can imagine, Matthew had the time of his life in the water. He got up close and personal with beautiful fish, magnificent stingrays and an amazing variety of sharks. His friends and family smiled on as he fulfilled one of his dreams!

After the experience, our RAPID Coordinator Bek received a message from Matthew’s Mum:

I cannot thank you enough for this absolutely incredible experience. He is absolutely buzzing. On such a high. In my wildest dreams I could never have thought it possible. Thank you so much. You are an amazing person and what you have achieved today for Matthew is beyond belief. Thank you so much.

[UPDATE] We also received an incredible email from Matthew’s Mum Alex, which brought tears to our eyes:

I’ll let you know that Matthew is still on a high today (Saturday). He has spent the last two days talking nonstop about his “out of this world” experience. I can be very honest in saying I have not seen him this excited for a very long time and I think he may have actually said more in the last two days than he has all year!!  He had is Nanna on the phone for almost half an hour on Thursday afternoon reliving the experience minute by minute.

For Matthew, Thursday was a dream come true and I still don’t think he can believe it has actually happened.  He has spoken of this dream for as long as he has been able to talk and has spent much of his life learning as much as he could about Sharks and rays… 

If the truth be known, most of his books and all of his favourite ones are about Sharks ( and he has quite a library!!!) Lets just say that the shark thing is a bit of an obsession!!!!

Heidi, I can not thank you enough for what you did to set the wheels in motion to make this dream a reality. I just wish you had been there to see him. He was certainly in his element.

I honestly do not know what we would do without you and the support you have given us, particularly me.  Life for Matthew has been a roller coaster of emotions for me as you know only too well!!!  What I saw on Thursday is what I have been fighting for since the day he was born… The chance to give him the life of a normal little boy.  The opportunity to see joy and excitement return to his eyes and for him to experience  a moment in life where nothing else matters… For him to not think about his meds, illness, medical appointments or the ups and downs of living with the unknown… Thursday he lived it… 

Bek, I know Matthew’s request was almost written off as impossible due to his age and medical issues, but what you did to make it happen was extraordinary.  I will forever be indebted to you for your persistence and for the efforts you went to to allow him the opportunity to experience this most life changing adventure.  From the moment we first spoke I was impressed by level of care, compassion and understanding of Matthew and his needs you showed, but more importantly that you did not let those needs prevent you from giving your everything achieve this remarkable outcome.  

The whole day was nothing short of extraordinary…. The shark dive was plenty, but all the other things you did to make his day more than memorable blew us away.

The aquarium staff were exceptional and I must say Bradley has only inspired Matthew even more to work towards his dream of working with sharks!!  He was absolutely gorgeous and very patient as Matthews excitement was for the most part at boiling point.. Where you aware he left his clothes on under his wetsuit instead of changing into his bathers? He spent the rest of the day walking around in his rash vest and board shorts. The dive team consisting of Jessie and Luke were amazing with Matthew and the level of care and enthusiasm they showed toward him made the under water adventure so much more memorable. Thank you also for the magnificent underwater photos.  

I was overwhelmed by the way everyone present on Thursday was there to ensure Matthew walked away having experienced his life long dream and had wonderful memories to take home with him.  Thank you the Catherine (hopefully spelt correctly as I have 3 friends with the same name and are all spelt differently) for everything you also did to help make Matthews dream a reality.

For me, watching Matthew live his dream on Thursday was very emotional.  It was a celebration of how hard we have fought to keep him healthy and give him the quality of life he deserves after so many years of not having it. Matthew was never expected to live this long and as a mother having that knowledge makes you even more determined to give your child the best life possible no matter how long you are given.   Our fighter has defied the odds and for the most part, despite still having enormous bridges to cross in the not too distant future, is living life as close to as possible … “Like a normal boy.”

Thank you all for the time you have personally contributed to make this day possible. I know only too well how challenging these things can be, but I really want you to understand the impact each of you has had on Matthew, how much it all means to him and how eternally grateful we are for giving him a moment in his life he will treasure forever.

From the bottom of my heart I thank you.

With much love and heartfelt appreciation

Alex Gaythorpe

What a wonderful opportunity you have facilitated for Matthew and his family!  It has been heartening to see something so wonderful has been possible through TLC for Kids and Bek’s determination to make it happen.  He clearly had a wonderful time, and I know just how much this meant to Alex in particular to see his dream to swim with Sharks come true.

Thank you once again for your amazing efforts to help these kids experience such special and desired things.

-Heidi Barber, Very Special Kids Family Support Team – Peninsula Region

As well as an amazing letter from Matthew himself!

I know Mum has already written to thank you for everything you have done to make my dive with the Sharks so fantastic, but I wanted to write to you and let you know what it meant to me. I have loved sharks for as long as I can remember.. Mum said it was Bruce the Shark in finding Nemo when I was 2 that started it all, but since then I have wanted to learn as much as I could about them. As I have gotten older, I have become more interested in finding out about how and what I can do to help protect them and now other precious marine life. When I was going through Primary School, I spent a lot of time in hospital and going to specialists appointments which seemed to take forever. I would take a back pack filled with books about sharks and read them. I watched documentaries and did a lot of reading on the internet about sharks so I could learn more. Sharks were an escape from everything I had to go through and learning about them made me happy. I would tell everyone who wanted to listen about the things I had learnt and it made them think about the part they play in our world and why we just can’t cull them every time someone is attacked. I have wanted to dive with sharks since I was 8, so in effect it has taken six years to achieve my dream, but it was worth the wait. I love going in to the aquarium to see the sharks and other marine life you have there, I was even lucky enough to have my 6th birthday party there. We all walked around with Shark head party hats and I had a dorsal fin attached to my back!! The guide that took us around told me that I should apply for a job when I was 15 because she could not believe how much I knew about the all the different types of marine life we visited, in fact she even let me talk to my friends about the different sharks we looked at. There used to be a tank with baby Port Jackson Sharks!

My day at the aquarium in December which included the shark dive, was the best day of my life. I loved everypart of it from the information session with Bradley about meeting all the big fish in the tank, to the briefing about the equipment I would have to use and finally the actual dive. I had no fear about going in the tank, because it is where I really want to be.. Up close with those beautiful creatures. I want you to know how much I appreciated all you did to make the dive possible and for giving up your time to be there for me. It was the most amazing experience ever and I know it is one I hope to do again. I loved how close many of them came to where we were in the tank and watching the way they all behaved in the water. It was so interesting watching them do the things Brad said they would when we were in the tank. This experience has just left me wanting more. I know working with marine life is what I want to do and I hope that my health issues will allow me to pursue that dream.

My Mum has always said I was a fighter, but I am going to fight a little harder so that one day I can be the person standing where you are Bradley, full of knowledge, enthusiasm and a real passion for the work you do. I want to make a difference and protect these beautiful creatures before our ignorance sees them disappearing from the wild for good and that the only place we may see them is in an aquarium. The job you all do is important and the knowledge you give those who don’t know perhaps will make them think next time they drop rubbish in the ocean about the impact they have on our marine life and their habitats. I would love to give back my time to help at the Aquarium by volunteering if you would have me and sometime, like Bradley, I hope to get my first job there (I will be 15 in November). I would also love to do my work experience there, but that is still a little time away.

Thank you all for making my dream come true… for the awesome photos and for making the day one I will never forget. I am SO grateful for the opportunity to have had that experience, but even more so, I am thankful you did everything you could in the lead up to the dive to make it happen. I know that it wasn’t an easy thing to get approved but I am so very very thrilled it was.

With love and many thanks,

Matthew Gaythorpe