ESCONDIDO, Calif. — The prayers of a teenager battling health problems for years have been answered with the independence of driving. In this Zevely Zone, I visited police headquarters in Escondido for a special ceremony.
Usually when an 18-year old drives to a police station, he isn't met by a crowd of cheering people. But that's exactly what happened as Matthew Tillyer drove up to the Escondido Police Department.
The teenager must have felt pressure parking in front of so many officers right?
"More pressure parking in front of my mom," said Matthew.
Matthew is driving thanks to special hand controls on the steering wheel of his car paid for by the Escondido Police Athletic League.
"You push down for gas and you push forward for brake," said Matthew as he demonstrated how they work.
The teen drives with his hands because he has a hard time controlling the movement of his legs. Matthew was perfectly healthy until he was 12-years-old. A bout with pneumonia left him profoundly weak. He was placed on a feeding tube and lost 30 pounds. For six years his disease went undiagnosed.
"It doesn't matter how disabled you are. I found out they think if they don't know what the name of it is that somehow you are making it up," said Matthew's mother Kristen.
His parents say throughout physical therapy and the eventual diagnosis of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy their son was a fighter.
"Matthew is just a kid that never takes no for an answer," said Matthew's father Michael.
During Matthew's freshman year at Classical Academy, he rumbled his way to an honorary 60-yard touchdown. The online video shows Matthew rolling his way by a whole football team of defenders.
Then in May, as a senior, there is another online video of him walking up to a stage to receive his high school diploma.
"To watch him go across that stage after everything I've seen him go through for years to see him walk across what do you say?" said retired Lt. Al Owens from Escondido Police.
Lt. Owens took Matthew under his wing years ago and teamed up with Chief Ed Varso and the Police Athletic League to get the teen driving.
"He has a great spirit, he's always happy and he's always grateful," said Chief Varso.
Matthew is grateful for a $3,600 gift that got him behind the wheel.
"The independence that it gives Matthew is amazing and he's like I get to drive to college my mom doesn't have to drive me to college," said his mother Kristen.
When words couldn't be identified to describe Matthew's challenge, he found his own.
He tells himself, "It's not that bad, just keep going, there's a brighter day coming for you and there's hope for the future."
Which is one of many reasons why a crowd of people was cheering for Matthew as he drove his car. Matthew will attend UC San Diego in the fall so Escondido's Police Athletic League and Lieutenant Owens chipped an extra $800 to help with books for his classes.