Friday, May 4, 2012Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2009, at The Mattie March. In this picture Mattie was surrounded by his cousins (the young children near him) and the rest of the people you see were ALL his vital care team at Georgetown University Hospital. On the far left in white is Dr. Aziza Shad. Aziza is the chief of the pediatric hem/onc program at Georgetown and the doctor who has and continues to help me at Georgetown with my own medical issues. Everyone in the picture wearing a beautiful orchid lei were part of our Georgetown team. At the Mattie March ceremony we acknowledged each of these amazing women, because it took this entire team to help us through Mattie's 14 month battle! This group is comprised of Dr. Shad, Mattie's nurses: Jen, Janelle, Katie, Tricia, Nicole, Erin, Kathleen, Jenny, Ellen, Mattie's Physical Therapist: Anna, and Mattie's Child Life Specialist, Linda. Also featured in the picture is Brandon (Mattie's big buddy) and Robbie (one of Mattie's favorite Child Life Volunteers). Both of these fellows played an important role in Mattie's life and were part of our Georgetown family, which is why it was important to have them in the picture.
Quote of the day: The law of love could be best understood and learned through little children. ~ Mahatma Ganghi
I received a lovely email from our friend Tim today. Tim is a hospital administrator, but the bottom line is he is foremost our friend. He supports us in incredible ways and though he is super busy at work, he hasn't missed one of our Mattie Miracle events. Tim is also a blog reader. He has told me in the past that when he isn't having a good day or needs perspective, he reads the blog. A high compliment! But today's email from Tim caught my attention and it has been swirling around in my head ever since. He wrote about the incredible raffle baskets we put together for the Walk but specifically said, "all that you do is a labor of love honoring Mattie. What is remarkable is how much caring, dignity, and grace goes into that labor."
Though subconsciously what Tim is saying I must know, but reading it made me pause. The incessant pace I work under, and what I have been able to accomplish these past couple of months is beyond the expectation of what one person could possibly do. One of my friends recently said what I can achieve in one month, most people couldn't possibly do in a year. It was a funny notion, but Tim nailed it today. I do it because I am on a quest. Not sure of what, but the quest is driven by Mattie. The energy some of you see me put toward the Foundation this year, is the typical energy I put into things I care about. So you can imagine what I must have been like living in the PICU 24 hours/7days a week, and even on little sleep, I functioned well enough to get people jumping. If only all this work could bring Mattie back or he could see what his cancer battle has inspired. Needless to say, I found Tim's comments very profound today and they have made me very reflective. In actuality planning and hosting the Walk are emotionally challenging for me, and Tim's kind words made a difference to me today.
I am proud to say that I am DONE with wrapping raffle baskets. All 13 baskets are complete. The last one I did today is shown below with its contents listed next to it. If you would like to purchase raffle tickets please visit our raffle website at (remember you do not need to be present at the walk to win a basket): https://www.mattiemiracle.com/Raffle.html
Collectible Lego Systems
1) X-Large LEGO Storage Brick, 2)Creationary LEGO game, 3) City Alarm - Join the Chase LEGO game, 4) $100 Gift Card to LEGO, 5) 2 - 243 piece Fire Truck Kit, 6) 408 piece Mobile Police Unit Kit, 7) 294 piece Marina Kit, 8) 403 piece Off-road Command Center Kit, 9) 243 piece Fire Truck Kit, 10) LEGO City Sticker Storybook, 11) Mini-Figure Ultimate Sticker Collection, 12) LEGO - Built this City! Storybook, 13) 2 LEGO key chains, 14) 32 piece helicopter kit, 15) LEGO wrapping paper
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