So the Whitakers decided to get Matthew a teacher, which proved to be difficult. And they don't play chords and the harmonies and all of that. Because most kids don't play with both hands. 'They were nursery rhymes more so than anything,' Moses Whitaker said. It didn't take long for Whitaker to show that he had a gift. No one in Whitaker's family was a musician, but his grandfather bought him his first keyboard when he was 3 years old. He did start crawling towards music, sometimes sliding up to the speaker to feel the music. So that he would want to crawl, want to reach those things.' So a lot of his toys and stuff we had to have sounds. Well, Matthew couldn't see to get to anything. You know most kids learn to crawl, they learn to walk because they want to try to get to something. 'They said that he might not crawl,' Moses Whitaker said. We'll just deal with it as it is.''ĭoctors told the Whitakers that Matthew may never speak, but the challenges didn't end there. We just said, 'You know what? That's enough. Because the doctors weren't seeing it was getting any better. 'We just felt like he was going through too much,' Moses Whitaker said. Even if it meant he'd be permanently blind. After two anxious years, they decided they didn't want him to endure any more.

Whitaker's parents watched helplessly as he braved 11 surgeries to try and save his sight. 'I think at the time I didn't think he was gonna make it,' May Whitaker said.

60 minutes music prodigy