Who is Jeni Stepanek?
Well-known as “Mattie’s mom” – Jeni is the parent of the late teen poet and Heartsongs peace ambassador Mattie Stepanek – she has three other amazing children who also died young due to neuromuscular disease, a rare genetic condition she unknowingly passed on and was diagnosed with later as an adult.
What was Mattie Stepanek disease?
Stepanek, of Rockville, had dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy, a genetic disease that impaired his heart rate, breathing, blood pressure and digestion, and caused muscle weakness. His mother, Jeni, 44, has the adult-onset form of the disease, and his three older siblings died of it in early childhood.
Was Mattie Stepanek gifted?
Mattie defied medical and developmental odds; not only did he live almost 14 years rather than the handful of hours anticipated early on, he was also developmentally and academically advanced, becoming a gifted writer, a respected teacher, and a spiritual and inspirational speaker.
How many siblings did Mattie Stepanek have?
Three older siblings
Three older siblings, Jamie, Katie and Steven, died of the disease before age 4, and his mother, Jeni Stepanek, has an adult-onset form that confines her to a wheelchair. The bespectacled boy was near death many times during his short life. He reported twice seeing angels who beckoned but then “just vanished.”
Who is Mattie Stepanek mother?
Jeni StepanekMattie Stepanek / Mother
Jeni Stepanek is the mother of Mattie Stepanek who became well-known after appearing on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” Mattie was a child poet and peace activist who inspired many with his words. In 2004, he died from a rare disease related to muscular distrophy. He was just shy of his 14th birthday.
Where is Jeni Stepanek now?
She is now CEO & CPO (Chief Peace Officer) Jeni Stepanek recently transitioned from her role as Executive Director of the Mattie J.T. Stepanek Foundation to the nifty roles of CEO & CPO – Chief Peace Officer.
Is Mattie Stepanek still living?
June 22, 2004Mattie Stepanek / Date of death
Did Mattie earn a black belt?
To get around, he needs a wheelchair and oxygen. Yet Mattie has never let his disease keep him down: He earned a junior black belt in martial arts while tethered to an oxygen tank; and despite being just 11 years old, he home-schools at the level of a high school junior.
Is Mattie JT Stepanek still alive?
Where did Mattie Stepanek live?
He was raised in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and later lived in Rockville, Maryland. His hero was former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who described Stepanek as “the most extraordinary person whom I have ever known”. Stepanek suffered from a rare disorder, dysautonomic mitochondrial myopathy.
Who did Mattie Stepanek meet?
“And [three], to meet with Oprah Winfrey.” Mattie got his first wish when two books of his poetry, Heartsongs and Journey Through Heartsongs, where published earlier this year. His second wish came true when he had a phone conversation with President Carter.
Did Mattie Stepanek get a black belt?
Yet Mattie has never let his disease keep him down: He earned a junior black belt in martial arts while tethered to an oxygen tank; and despite being just 11 years old, he home-schools at the level of a high school junior. But Mattie’s real gift is for poetry.
What happened to Jeni Stepanek?
Jeni doesn’t have much time left; she is dying herself. But her son’s poetry, his proclamations, everything he left behind—she’s still spreading his message, while she still can, trying to figure out how to make it last forever. Jeni Stepanek, aka “Mama Peace,” photographed at the Rockville park dedicated to her son Mattie.
What happened to Katie Stepanek’s mother?
Katie loved her mother’s silly voice when she read “Milk and Cookies’’ aloud, and she died in July 1987, two months before Jeni Stepanek’s second child, Stevie, was born. Stevie lived six months. Jeni remembers the doctors being astonished that such tragedy had happened twice, reassuring her that it couldn’t possibly happen again.
Who is Mattie Stepanek’s mom?
Photograph courtesy of Jeni Stepanek. Her son was a celebrity, the little boy poet with the devastating rare disease who earned a following around the world. Fighting that same illness—and now, a constellation of other afflictions—the Rockville resident looks back on what a brief but wondrous thing it was to be Mattie Stepanek’s mom.
How did Jeni get the nickname Mama peace?
It was the Just Peace Summit, and Jeni sat onstage and told the students her own story, teaching them how to write an elevator pitch, a proposal, a grant. She got the nickname Mama Peace. “When I think of Jeni, I never think of her as someone who’s sick,” says Lulu Cerone, who attended the summit in 2012. “That’s not what comes to mind.