Mattie Miracle Walk 2023 was a $131,249 success!

Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation Promotional Video

Thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive!

Dear Mattie Blog Readers,

It means a great deal to us that you take the time to write to us and to share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections on Mattie's battle and death. Your messages are very meaningful to us and help support us through very challenging times. To you we are forever grateful. As my readers know, I promised to write the blog for a year after Mattie's death, which would mean that I could technically stop writing on September 9, 2010. However, at the moment, I feel like our journey with grief still needs to be processed and fortunately I have a willing support network still committed to reading. Therefore, the blog continues on. If I should find the need to stop writing, I assure you I will give you advanced notice. In the mean time, thank you for reading, thank you for having the courage to share this journey with us, and most importantly thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive.


As Mattie would say, Ooga Booga (meaning, I LOVE YOU)! Vicki and Peter



The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation celebrates its 7th anniversary!

The Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation was created in the honor of Mattie.

We are a 501(c)(3) Public Charity. We are dedicated to increasing childhood cancer awareness, education, advocacy, research and psychosocial support services to children, their families and medical personnel. Children and their families will be supported throughout the cancer treatment journey, to ensure access to quality psychosocial and mental health care, and to enable children to cope with cancer so they can lead happy and productive lives. Please visit the website at: www.mattiemiracle.com and take some time to explore the site.

We have only gotten this far because of people like yourself, who have supported us through thick and thin. So thank you for your continued support and caring, and remember:

.... Let's Make the Miracle Happen and Stomp Out Childhood Cancer!

A Remembrance Video of Mattie

November 7, 2008

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Today's Message (thank you Carrie!): I believe in the Sun even when it is not shining; I believe in Love when feeling it not, and I believe in God even when he is silent. ~ Barb Flint Gifts of Many Cultures

Mattie had a very special day from start to finish. He started his morning with a visit and piano lesson from Caroline Eaton. Mattie enjoyed his time with Caroline and wanted to show her his new remote control car, he demonstrated it out for her, and even introduced Caroline to JP (our neighbor) and of course to our resident Jack Russell Terrier, JJ. JJ came with Dunkin Donut treats! JJ always knows how to put a smile on Mattie's face. Caroline was so thrilled to meet JJ, and she said she has read so much about JJ that she felt she already knew him. In a way, meeting JJ for the first time is a lot like meeting a Hollywood star, because both JJ and the stars get a lot of publicity and certainly JJ gets his share of blog publicity. I loved Caroline's analogy today, because she is right, in our world JJ is one of our stars. Caroline and Mattie played on the electronic keyboard today, and at several points it sounded like a jam session. Mattie was even getting his feet involved with playing. Normally I would have a big issue with this, but since he may be playing with his left leg for the next couple of weeks, I went with his clever idea. I tried to snap a picture of his new way of playing, but I wasn't successful at it. Every time he saw the camera, his foot would leave the piano. Below is a picture of Mattie with Caroline. Thank you Caroline for a lovely morning, and we are so happy to have the chance to get to know you better.
Peter spent the morning assessing all of our house plants to determine which ones we needed to either bring to his office or give to Larry Jenney (one of Mattie's Kindergarten teachers) to take care of over the winter. When we found out Mattie had cancer, all of our house plants were removed from the house and kept outside. There is the potential for molds to grow in house soil, and it is recommended that none be kept in the house this year. That may not seem like a big deal to most people, but to the "crazy plant lady," as Peter and Mattie affectionately call me, this is a major problem. I have had some plants for over 15 years, and I am very fond of them, some were given to me by family and friends, and these plants I hold dear, because I view them as an extension of our relationships. In any case because of the colder weather, several of our plants were relocated today to Peter's office, and the rest went to Larry's home today. Thank you Larry for opening your home to my green friends. While we were outside sorting through plants, I captured a photo of the newest Red Sox Nation Member (kidding of course, but I couldn't resist!). Got to love this grasshopper, who hopped onto Peter's hat.

After Mattie's piano lesson, we packed up into the car, and headed to Ms. Debbie Pollak's art studio in Alexandria. Debbie is Mattie's art teacher at SSSAS. Debbie worked hard to create a happy day for Mattie from start to finish. This day called for a lot of pre-planning and set up on Debbie's part. Debbie is very aware of the physical challenges that Mattie faces next week, and she thought if they created a painting together, this would inspire Mattie through his recovery process. He could look at the painting (which will hang in our living room), remember this special day, and this would hopefuly motivate him to work and rehabilitate his arms so that he could return to making more art work in the future. It was a lovely and heartfelt sentiment! In order for this day to go as smoothly as it did, Debbie purchased a large canvas and primed it with a background the day before. She invited Jennifer and Dylan Li (SSSAS students) to assist with creating the backdrop on the canvas. Debbie explained to Mattie that they were working with acrylic paints today, and that it was important to have the backdrop already done, because if not, they wouldn't be able to actually paint a scene today. It has to be done in stages. Fortunately Debbie thought ahead and worked on the first stage, so that Mattie could jump into the project today. In addition, Debbie planned both lunch and dinner for us, with the help of two lovely SSSAS parents. Thank you Luda for a fabulous lunch. We simply loved it! I became friends with Luda during SSSAS' weekly chapels. Luda was my chapel buddy, we sat next to each other each week. Debbie set a glorious table. She spoiled us with a silver tea pot, lovely china, and silver platters. It was like going to the Ritz for tea. Walking into Debbie's is an experience. She has transformed a car barn into an amazing Italian villa on the first floor, and a bright and airy art studio on the second floor. Each piece on the first floor was fascinating, and picked with love. I have come to see that Debbie is very sentimental and parts of her first floor reflect the special love she shares with important people in her life, such as her mom and dad. Being of the same sentimental persuasion, I truly appreciate this aspect of Debbie. Below is a picture of us enjoying our lunch with Debbie!




After lunch, Mattie and Debbie went upstairs to her incredible studio, and began working. I have included pictures below of the masterpiece from start to finish.









Mattie is dressed in Debbie's Hawaiian smock, and is standing in front of the canvas that was primed with a background color. So this is the pre-painting picture, before Mattie did anything to it.




The next phase of the "sun" painting.










This was the final product. It is hard to see the 3-D nature of this painting. Because the actual sun, is a separate piece of canvas that was hot glued onto the bigger canvas. In addition, we hot glued feathers onto the canvas, since Mattie learned a few weeks ago that Native Americans hold feathers while they pray... since birds fly high in the sky, it is believed that the birds carry prayers to God in heaven. So from my perspective, Mattie's sun is lighting the way for birds to carry our prayers to God in heaven.
Mattie even signed the painting himself with his left hand!





Mattie and Debbie! I love the expression I captured on Debbie's face, because she is a proud teacher happy with her student's accomplishment. Mattie was aglow with his sunshine. He said that looking at the painting made him happy!








Toward the end of the day, Dinny Li (a SSSAS mom) was very thoughtful and brought us a wonderful chinese food dinner. It was delicious and very generous of her family. Her children, Dylan and Jennifer (as seen in the picture), helped prime the canvas with Debbie yesterday, and came to see the finished product this afternoon. We thank the Li family for their support!

Debbie surprised Peter tonight with a birthday cake. Debbie and Mattie frosted this delicious and sinful chocolate cake earlier in the day. So Mattie felt very good about himself, that he was able to keep this a surprise from Peter. I really appreciate Debbie doing this, because normally Mattie and I would be baking a cake for Peter and frosting it, but since Mattie will be in the hospital during Peter's birthday, I just figured it wouldn't happen this year. Thank you Debbie for this special treat and surpise. I captured Peter and Mattie blowing the candles out. I don't need to ask, because I think I know exactly what Peter wished for!
Today was a very memorable day. I think Mattie's "Sun" creation is breathtaking, and I look forward to displaying this original piece in our living room. There is something special and healing about the sun. This painting is vibrant and alive, and I know it will help us through some difficult days ahead. This work of art is something that I will hold near and dear to me, because it isn't just a snap shot in time, it is something more meaningful. Through this art, it captures Mattie's brightness, vivaciousness, and personality. These bright colors fit him as a person. The sun provides purpose and direction to the time and place in our lives, and in essence Mattie is my sun (not just my son). This art piece will be part of our permanent collection. In a way, we created an important tangible piece of family history today. Thank you Debbie for this precious moment.

When we arrived home tonight, we received a lovely dinner from Davis Knox (a colleague of Peter's from the American Red Cross). Mattie thoroughly enjoyed the pasta as well as my parents. We look forward to eating your pumpkin bread (one of our favorites) tomorrow. Thank you so much for thinking of us and for your support.

I received a lovely e-mail from Carrie that I wanted to share with you. Carrie was commenting on all the emotions that Mattie is forced to deal with in any given day. She wrote, "I love the lamp Mattie made for you and he knows how special you are to him and he probably is trying to separate from you to be strong, so yes he may feel bored with you in essence (nurturer/mom)..... but I think that is to be expected considering what he is going through... I think I would have quite a bit of anger if I were in his place and he is dealing with all of this. He may have anger and then at the same time being with a nurturing person (mom) could be confusing. Like how can both of these things exist in my life at once? Hurt, pain, and then love? Do you know what I mean? Such a big lesson for such a young person. But mattie seems older (emotional maturity) than most people I know!" Carrie, I totally agree, it is hard for an adult to process all these emotions, much less a six year old.

On the electronic front, we want to thank Cousin Rosalinda, Karen, and Grammie for the great e-cards and videos! In addition, Mattie received a wonderful toy sports car from Leslie Williams (his Kindergarten teacher) today. Thank you Leslie, Mattie is busy playing with it tonight! He loves it. Also, we want to thank Patty Lease for the wonderful videos she is sharing with Mattie. Patty is Mattie's science teacher at SSSAS. These videos belonged to Patty's children, and we look forward to watching them together. It was very thoughtful of you to think of Mattie. I end tonight with a quote from Debbie Pollak's father: "If you can't do anything about your own problems, do something extraordinary for someone else. You will feel better." Thank you ALL for making us feel better each and every day.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a remarkable day indeed, Vicki! Mattie's art piece is simply gorgeous. It shines just as he does. What a fantastic reminder of the great light that resides in him and the hope that resides in all who love him. It is no coincidence that you have such remarkable people in your lives (i.e. Debbie, Dr. Henshaw, Carrie and on and on) to help you through this. Thank you for sharing your stories, your quotes of the day and your hope. It challenges my faith and yet ultimately deepens it. It inspires me, and continuously reminds me of what's most important. You all are truly incredible.

Julia said...

Wow, what a beautiful art piece! I love the meaning that goes with it too. That chocolate cake looks good too! Glad it was a great day.
Love and hugs,
Julia

Anonymous said...

what a great painting, vicki! could debbie get prints made?

ashley

Anonymous said...

great idea to get prints made. they could be sold to benefit Mattie's fund. If not prints, note cards perhaps?
-Charlie

Anonymous said...

Ooh yes, I think note cards would be wonderful! I can even imagine them with the quote or part of the quote that Vicki used at the beginning of this..."I believe in the sun even when it is not shining..."