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

April 25, 2011

Monday, April 24, 2011

Monday, April 24, 2011

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2006. Peter and Mattie took me out to lunch for Mother's Day in Maryland. Most likely before Peter snapped this picture, he asked Mattie to show me how much he loved me. I think his smile and face say it all! No gifts, cards, or words were necessary. The picture illustrates his love. I can also see that right next to me sits Mattie's bag of tricks (toys, books, legos, etc) which I always took with me anytime we went out to eat. Mattie was NOT interested in food or having a dining experience, but he was interested in interacting and playing while eating. So this bag was essential.


Quote of the day: I'm Gone now, but I'm still very near.

Death can never separate us.
Each time you feel a gentle breeze,
It's my hand caressing your face.
Each time the wind blows,
It carries my voice whispering your name.
When the wind blows your hair ever so slightly,
Think of it as me pushing a few stray hairs back in place.
When you feel a few raindrops fall on your face,
It's me placing soft kisses.
At night look up in the sky and see the stars shining so brightly.
I'm one of those stars and I'm winking at you and smiling with delight.
For never forget you're the apple of my eye. ~  Mary M. Green


I selected this quote/poem tonight because of a ladybug sighting I had last night.  On my bedside table sits a reading lamp. I could hear something flying around the lamp last night, and I was just about to swat at whatever it was, when I saw it was a beautiful ladybug. Mattie and I loved ladybugs! I told Peter about this ladybug and his response to me was it was a little early in the season for ladybugs, and instead, Mattie was sending me a message that I wasn't alone. That he was checking in on me. In a way that notion was a very special Easter gift. So as I was reading this poem tonight, I couldn't help but pause again and reflect on the aspects that surround me in nature that are signs of Mattie's presence and his connection to me. These connections are all I have left.

I received a text message from my friend Tina today. She wanted to know if I wanted to go for a walk. I should be going for a walk everyday, but haven't been in the mood lately. However, her invitation got me to stop and to make the decision to go outside and get some fresh air. I met Tina at 2pm, and we walked outside with her dog, Max for about an hour. Max and I get along quite well and we seem to understand each other. Tina's neighborhood is filled with beautiful blooming trees, bushes, and flowers. It was an amazing sight of color to walk down each street. Somehow I never saw colors so vividly before as I saw them today and as we passed certain yards we just stopped and checked out flowers and fragrances. It was a gloriously warm weather day in Washington, DC, and it really made you feel that perhaps spring is finally here. I appreciated Tina's message today and our walk. Walking and talking always makes me feel better.

I began my day tackling this hospital script. I wrote another page to the script, but now am addressing the hardest part, the lessons learned. Lessons that may perhaps get physicians to think outside the box. I believe I have crafted a way of delivering this message without being negative or accusatory. Instead of discussing things that didn't work, I am reflecting on the things the medical staff did that worked beautifully and why.  Or at least this is my current thinking.


I received this wonderful picture today from Lauren. Lauren is our 13 year old Face of Hope. She is an osteosarcoma cancer survivor and will be one of the featured teens at the Foundation Walk this year. As many of my readers know, Lauren creates hair bows out of duct tape, sells them at her school, and gives the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation her proceeds. Lauren continues to be very successful at raising money for our cause! Lauren designed this "Bows for Hope" sign, which she uses at her school to promote her hair bows. At the moment Lauren is very busy not only with school work, but also hand designing many duct tape bows to sell at our Foundation Walk! It is my hope that all those in attendance will stop by and see Lauren and check out her bows!

I would like to end tonight's posting with a youtube video I came across last night. Frankly I did not even know this video existed. Peter must have put it on youtube a while ago! It is a short video of Mattie in his PICU room. He was sitting on his bed next to Katie, one of our outstanding HEM/ONC nurses. Mattie nicknamed Katie, Dorothy, because of her pretty shiny red shoes. Any case, I leave you with Katie and Mattie, and their version of ....... This Little Piggie!

Katie and Mattie --- This little piggie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUYwM972jD8&NR=1

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