Ryan and Emilie Matthias spent nine gut-wrenching months watching their 5-year-old son Garrett battle a rare form of pediatric cancer. Even through the painful treatments, Garrett never lost his sense of humor. The kindhearted preschooler and prankster loved teasing his doctors and nurses. He was usually the one making them laugh.
When the couple from Iowa learned their son's cancer was terminal, they realized how important it was to talk to Garrett about how he wanted to be celebrated. But they wanted to tread carefully.
Ryan and Emilie never specifically talked to Garrett about his funeral or the fact he was going to pass away. "We had a lot of conversations around 'When I die, I want to do this,'" Emilie told WHO TV.
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In July 2018, Garrett passed. He left behind the now-viral obituary that he was able to write himself. In it, he mentions his beloved grandparents, his love of superheroes, and his distaste for needles and wearing pants.
"That's him speaking," Ryan said. "Those are his words verbatim."
But in Garrett's final words, he also made some unexpected final requests, hoping his parents would fulfill them.
Read Garrett's full obituary here.
