NORTH HAVEN -- When Matt Squeglia heads for his basement he finds everything he loves in one spot.
“I really love everything about it, I love that everyone can come down here and make it their own thing. “I love to draw, I can draw at the drafting table, I can play the drums, I can study down here, it’s anything that I wanted to be,” said Matt.
The once ordinary space was transformed into the man cave of all man caves.
The massive remodel came after a major fight for his life for the 18-year-old from North Haven. In high school, Squeglia was diagnosed with brain and spine cancer.
"It was really tough on all of us, on me, on my parents, on my whole family -- but Make-A-Wish was there to help,” he said.
Make-A- Wish Connecticut tackled the costs and logistics and Matt was a driving force with the design.
“He’s just so enthusiastic about this room, adding his own touches and flair to it, so it has really become his home,” says Make-A-Wish Connecticut volunteer, Georgianna Hull.
Matt says his new man cave is like walking into a dream.
“I can see it all in this room, I can see all that I’ve been through. Every time I walk in here it just makes it that much better.”
Two years after his diagnosis Matt is cancer free and thankful for the special space that reminds him of just how far he’s come.
“It is such a relief every time I go for an MRI. I like to think I got something good out of the cancer -- that it gave me this, and it gave me a better appreciation for life.”