Anesthesia3113 posted:

I know that Trent sometimes reads the Forums so I figured this was the best chance that he might possibly see this. In a way, I wanted to thank him. I had a son born with a brain abnormality called holoprozencephaly, where basically in the third week of gestation a blood vessel ruptured in his head and destroyed 3/4ths of his brain. The doctors didn't expect that he would make it to term with such a severe abnormality. But my son Victor, the little fighter that he was, made it to term and was born despite all odds against him because he wanted to be alive. Though his life was not an easy one, and the effects of the disorder were present. He didn't have the function to eat on his own so we had to feed him through a feeding tube that went through his nose to his stomach. He had a constant battle with seizures that he was on medication for, and it breaks your heart when you have to watch a newborn have a seizure. He had trouble breathing since that part of his brain, although there, was severely damaged. And the part that breaks my heart the most is he couldn't even open his eyes, he didn’t even have the motor functions for it. Victor fought for four good months before he just couldn't fight any longer and quietly passed on. Though the Doctors told us that it was nothing we had done and it was just a fluke. I blamed myself and went into a deep depression. I have always been a fan of Nine Inch Nails since early high school and Trent has always been there for me musically when I needed him and he has helped me though some really tough times. I’m coming up to the second year anniversary of his death and I am stronger now and am able to talk about it, and write Trent and tell him thanks. I'm thankful for every moment that I had with my son. In memory of him, after his death, I got a tattoo on my back of two Cherubs. Above them I got the Lyric from the Great Below "For all we could have done, and all that could have been" above it. That has always been my favorite lyric of NIN, and it is made even more meaningful, powerful, and special when I think about it in the context of my son and the great life I would have had with him. On his memorial I have the last line of “Goodnight Moon” which was the first book that I ever read to him that says “Goodnight Stars, Goodnight Air, Goodnight Noises Everywhere”. On the day of his second anniversary this year I am getting another tattoo with the lyric “Turn off the sun, pull the stars from the sky” with it, even two years later my life is still dark without him. I wanted to try and tell Trent thanks at the Chicago show in person and give him a hug at the meet and greet, but was unable to raise a $1000 donation to the Eric cause. I just wanted to thank Trent and the Nine Inch Nails family so much for helping me through that tough time, and making the most meaningful and powerful lyrics I have ever heard. Thank you so much for everything over the years.
-Matt

My Son
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My Tattoo
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I apologize if I posted this in the wrong place, Never really posted on a forum before.

Alexander posted:

Thank you so much for the opportunity.