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

October 6, 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2008. By this point in time, Mattie completed both limb salvaging surgeries and was home recovering from the second surgery. We rented a hospital bed and set it up in our living room. As you can see Patches, our cat, came to keep Mattie company and was probably thrilled we were all home. If I had to give this photo a title, I would call it " Between Friends." As Mattie's treatment continued, and we spent less and less time at home, Patches was placed under the care of our vet for over a year. We just couldn't manage her health needs and Mattie's at the same time. Yet Patches was a good companion to Mattie, she never tried to scratch him even when he would chase her and pull her tail when he was a toddler. These two were just good friends, and after Mattie's death, Patches was out of sorts and grieving in her own way. I wouldn't have believed this was possible if I had not observed it for myself.


Quote of the day: I count myself one of the number of those who write as they learn and learn as they write. ~ Augustine of Hippo


Peter and I are now in New York for the evening. We packed up and left Cape Cod at around 10am, and by 2:30pm, we were in Westchester County, NY. It takes a good 60 minutes to drive through the entire Cape to get to the main land, especially since we stayed almost at the very tip of the Island. This evening we are getting together with Karen, and Peter and I are both grateful for the lay over before we have another four hour drive ahead of us tomorrow. As promised, I am sharing pictures with you from our walk last evening on Ryder Beach. I snapped a picture of Peter wading out into Cape Cod Bay. It is funny, our differences.... I was wearing a sweater and fleece, and Peter was in shorts and a t-shirt!


The next set of pictures captured the sunset we saw last night. Most of the days we were on the Cape were foggy and rainy, so seeing a sunset wasn't possible. But last night's conditions were perfect! The Cape is one of the few places on the East Coast where you can see a sunrise over the Atlantic and the sun setting over Cape Cod Bay. This was a photo of Ryder Beach right before the sun began to set.

This was the beginning of the sunset. You should note that absolutely NO ONE was on the beach with us. Some people were watching this glorious sight from their homes, but the beach belonged to us and the birds!

It is unfortunate that my camera didn't capture the true color of the sun. The sun last night was RED. Yet it was a red color I have never seen before in the sky. It wasn't a fire engine red, but the red you sometimes see with cherry flavored ices. As Peter says, my analogies always involve food!

Keep going it gets even better!
The glow and glimmer of this sun on the water was breath taking.
The falling of the sun into the water occurred within minutes!
When we see the sun and the moon, we think of Mattie. Last night's sunset was huge and we literally sat there glued to the sky.
Now watch the color of the sun turn an amazing pink.
The sun began to look like the cap on top of a big mushroom.
It is almost gone.
You can see a shore bird flying on the left of this photo. The birds were all a flutter and SO were the SEALS!
This photo was taken immediately after the sun set into the water. I am so happy we went back to the beach to experience this sight.












While watching the sun setting, seals were frolicking all around us. To me they are a glorious sight, and one I will always associate with the Fall season on the Cape. Needless to say, my surroundings look very different now, and driving through traffic today seemed unusual. We did not experience traffic or crowds on the Cape. A very different existence for us from living in Washington, DC!

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