I am Matty's mother. Matty was born on May 24th, 1996 and brought great joy into our lives with his knowing smiles, content nature, and dancing velvet eyes. Our lives were pretty simple then, Sunny and I had both finished residency, had one wonderful and gregarious son, Brendan, and welcomed a second healthy peaceful child, making us feel more complete. We did not choose Shaken Baby Syndrome/ Abusive Head Trauma; it chose us. On February 4th, 1997 Matty was violently shaken by our childcare provider and suffered blunt head trauma causing a 2 1/2 inch skull fracture and trauma/ bleeding in the brain and eyes. Luckily, we had Boston Children's Hospital, the best in the country, who offered immediate surgery. Unfortunately, Matty could not be saved. The effects of his homicide on our family are multifaceted, and I did not want his violent end, courtroom drama, and media to just become "fact." My personal response to this trauma is to manage this injustice against Matty and all shaken babies by turning it into a mission to educate caregivers, protect children, and support victims and their families. There is nothing to describe the helplessness of a parent seeing their child violated and hurt. Matty died in our arms. I guess The Matty Eappen Foundation is my way of turning helplessness into helpfulness, of turning victim into survivor into advocate. This is my 6th Boston Marathon, and I am not an athlete. Really, I had not run a mile since 6th grade gym class before my first training season in 2001, after the births of Kevin and Elisabeth. This is not easy, and many times, not fun, but I need to do it and I need your support!