Wednesday, September 21, 2011Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Mattie was home from the hospital between treatments and had his good buddy Campbell over to visit. As you can see, Mattie and Campbell began transforming the floor in Mattie's bedroom that afternoon. The trains were all set up and the stuffed animal dogs were important visitors on the track. Mattie and Campbell could play with each other for hours because they fed off of each other's creativity. Though I do not have a train running through Mattie's room now, many of the things you see in this picture are still set up just as Mattie left them. To me, our second bedroom will always be Mattie's room. If this room could talk, it would have many stories to tell. Stories of Mattie as a baby, Mattie learning to sleep, Mattie transitioning from a crib to a bed, and of course Mattie battling cancer. During Mattie's battle, whenever he was home from the hospital, he would sleep in his bed, and I would sleep on the floor (on the oval floral rug you see in this picture) because with his IV's he always needed to be carefully monitored. I can't look at this rug some days without remembering all our nights together as we battled cancer at home.
Childhood Cancer Facts of the Day: Only 3% of National Cancer Institute's $4.8 billion cancer research budget went to childhood cancer (NCI 2008 budget report).
Peter flew to San Diego tonight and arrived there safely. Peter has an all day business meeting on Thursday. However, on Thursday night he will be driving up from San Diego to spend the next four days with us in Los Angeles. Peter needs a change of pace and a break, and hopefully this different scenery will help.
My parents had a meeting this morning, so I had a slow start to the day. I was able to finish a book I have been reading for quite some time. Which was a good feeling and then I decided to sit outside for a bit in my parents backyard. It was lovely to just be peaceful and quiet for a while and read the second book I brought with me. Quiet time is needed no matter your age, because it gives you time to just be calm and do whatever it is that will re-energize you. For me, being outdoors and surrounded by greenery makes me happier.
The thought of it becoming Fall is not appealing to me at all. My friend Tina sent me a picture by email of the trees turning in her neighborhood. She is trying to prepare me for the season change. As I told her, I would be thrilled if it was summer weather all year long. Despite my distaste for Fall, I can certainly appreciate the beauty of the colors that only mother nature can produce. As my readers know, September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. As such, Congress hosts an annual childhood cancer caucus. This year's caucus will be held on September 23. I would like my readers to be aware of this event and to visit the link below. On the caucus website you will notice that HR 262 is mentioned. As a reminder HR 262 is the Resolution the Mattie Miracle Cancer Foundation worked on with Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Rep. Mike McCaul (R-TX). The resolution supports efforts to raise awareness, improve education, and encourage research and treatment of the psychosocial needs of children diagnosed with a childhood cancer. In addition, on the website you will see a link to a Childhood Cancer Hill Reception on September 22. Mattie Miracle is proud to be one of the sponsors of this event, an event that is hosted by the Children's Cause for Cancer Advocacy (an effective childhood cancer advocacy organization that has been very inclusive of our Foundation). To learn more about the caucus, please visit: http://childhoodcancer-mccaul.house.gov/
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