By Yvette Wakelin
Sitting in the corner of his busy Tauranga bedroom, Matthew Hinde just can't stop smiling - his eyes fixated on the wall.
It's far from surprising, for in front of the 13-year-old Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy sufferer is his dream - a flat-screen television, complete with home entertainment system.
Matthew's mother Rachel said the generous gift, donated by national children's charity the Make-a-Wish Foundation at the weekend, was a godsend.
"It's something that Matthew really wanted and will obviously bring him a lot of joy."
And because a majority of the teenager's viewing was done in the confines of his bedroom, she said he was definitely going to get a lot of use out of it.
"We have to have him into bed between 7pm and 7.30pm each night - he's not like most teenagers. So most of his favourite programmes are watched in bed," she said.
Until Sunday, Ms Hinde said her eldest of two children had to make do with a 14-inch television lent to him by his grandfather.
"It was great that he had a television but it was really small and by the time he was in bed it was really hard for him to see. Matt was squinting a lot of the time."
Now all that's behind him thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, who responded to Matthew's call for a new and much "bigger" television. They even threw in a DVD player and home entertainment system to ensure the teenager had the best television-watching experience.
"It's going to be great. Granddad can have his old TV back and Matt will be able to watch TV in style."
An added bonus was that Matthew has also regained access to his desk, previously used as the base for the other television.
"He will now be able to sit at his desk. But I really don't know how much homework he will be doing with this TV in his room," she laughed.
But Matthew promised his new toys would be well used. "I'm going to watch lots of television: The Simpsons, Shortland Street, Monster Garage. And I will listen to heaps of music. It's going to be awesome."
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