My name is Matt Coleman. I’m a 44-year-old husband, father, and General Superintendent at McDonald Building Company. I’m the proud dad of two amazing boys, Austin (8) and Wyatt (6), and husband to my incredible wife, Cecelia — her age is classified information.
On the evening of March 17, 2025, everything changed. I was unwinding on the couch after a long day at work, with my boys cuddled up under each arm, when I suddenly had a grand mal seizure — something I had never experienced before. I blacked out. When I came to, I was surrounded by an EMS team and being loaded onto a stretcher. I was rushed to Cooper University Hospital’s emergency room.
The ER was packed, so my wife and I waited in the hallway. Shortly after a CAT scan of my head, we were moved into an exam room. That’s when we got the news that flipped our world upside down. A doctor told us the seizure was caused by pressure from a 7.4 cm lesion in the front right lobe of my brain. We were in complete shock. Life had finally been falling into place — our boys were thriving in school, our marriage was strong, and I had just taken a huge step forward in my career, one I had once thought was out of reach.
I looked at Cecelia and asked, “Is this really happening?”
At that point, no one knew exactly what the lesion was. The ER doctors urged us to stay calm and hold onto hope — it might not be cancer. We were admitted for further observation and met with a number of specialists, including neurosurgeons. Their recommendation: a craniotomy to remove and study the tumor.
We were discharged soon after and decided we needed a second opinion. We reached out to Dr. John Lee at Penn Medicine and were able to see him within two days. From the moment we met him, we knew he was the right doctor for us. He listened, truly heard us, and laid out a thoughtful plan for both pre- and post-surgery care. That was a Friday. Surgery was scheduled for the following Wednesday.
That night, we sat down with our boys and explained everything as best we could.
Wednesday came, and I went in for a three-hour surgery. When I woke up in the ICU, my wife, sisters, and parents were there. They gave me the incredible news: the surgery had gone well. I spent one night in the ICU before being moved to the med-surg floor, where I stayed until Saturday. On Friday, Dr. Lee visited, and it just so happened that our boys were in the room. He told us he was able to remove more than expected — possibly over 95% of the tumor. It meant the world to us that our sons could hear that good news firsthand.
Then came the wait. Initial pathology suggested the tumor was an oligodendroglioma, but further testing later confirmed it was actually a grade 3 astrocytoma. These results showed us why it’s so important to have biomarker testing to understand the molecular makeup of my tumor to make sure we could make informed decisions about my care. It meant I’d need six weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy.
Fast forward to today, May 8. I haven’t been able to work since March 17. Between medical appointments, physical and occupational therapy, and having my driver’s license revoked due to the seizure, returning to work has been nearly impossible.
But there’s light in the dark. I’ve started getting active again — walking a couple of miles daily, even doing a little run-walking. Staying physically active has always been a big part of who I am, especially with my background in endurance sports.
This journey has been anything but easy, but we’re moving forward, one step at a time.
