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 16, 2012

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Tuesday, October 16, 2012 -- Mattie died 162 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2008. Mattie went to his buddy Campbell's house and as you can see enjoyed a wonderful Halloween cookie. Mattie met Campbell in kindergarten and they became very close friends. Watching Mattie and Campbell play together was always a treat because they both loved to build and create, and had wonderful imaginations. Their imaginative play was a sight to see. A playdate for them was always active and never involved the TV or electronics. In many ways their type of play was very unique and rare to see in today's day and age, where electronic stimulation has almost replaced the imagination that we had to have as children growing up. I will always remember the play and friendship between this duo fondly.



Quote of the day: When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too. ~ Paulo Cohelo


Tonight's quote seems quite apropo considering the hospital meeting I just attended. At the hospital, I serve on a parent advisory board. This is my third year on this board and I joined it in hopes of making a difference in the lives of children and families at the hospital. Keep in mind that I am the only parent on the board who lost a child, and I do think this impacts my thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. At times it is hard knowing that Mattie did not survive, and I am the only bereaved parent in this group. Yet the members of the board are wonderful and committed individuals who are passionate about helping and making a difference. Which is a great motivator for me! This brings me to tonight's quote. Our board is guided by love and compassion. We unite together every month with the goal of making the lives better for those in crisis, and though this is a noble cause, I am well aware of the fact that money talks. Some parent boards raise money for the hospital and these boards get more attention, notice, and respect than let's say the board I am on. What a screwed up society we are, a society where money talks louder almost than good deeds. It is vital when confronted with skewed priorities (individual versus a system), that we stay committed to our convictions. It is easy to get down and upset by this lack of respect and value we are given for our service, but in the end we must see that our vision is based out of love, and love will inspire us to make the system better for children and parents who have to use it.

When I entered the hospital tonight I was literally hit with an incredible antiseptic smell. Naturally I have been to the hospital all summer long, but it is ironic that tonight the smell absolutely hit me, or I should say brought me right back to July of 2008. I truly believe that grief is a sensory experience, it impacts our sight, hearing, touch, and smell. As tonight's experience illustrates, certain smells can evoke memories, and naturally not all memories are loving and happy. The smell triggered my memory of our times in the hospital, that was the first affront. Then the second affront was visual, I had a heightened awareness that I was walking down the stark white hallway of the hospital, a hallway I walked many times with Mattie. In essence, it was like reliving the battle all over again. I haven't had a reaction like this in quite some time, so my feelings caught me off guard. However, in tonight's meeting, Mattie's sedation nurse angel, Debbi, was there, and some how her presence helped in ways I can't quite describe.



Some of you know I have been working on a craft project in the midst of everything else I am doing. I took on this project because I just wanted to. Though these are fall colors, they are most definitely Mattie colors. Basically I bought a beautiful ceramic pumpkin shaped bowl, filled it with Styrofoam, and designed a floral display with silk flowers, silk leaves, and orange gourds. I love sunflowers, so as you can see they are well represented here.

 

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