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

June 25, 2013

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Tuesday, June 25, 2013 -- Mattie died 198 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2003. Mattie was one year old and as you can see here, was traveling around by his favorite method. In a backpack on Peter's back! That particular day we took Mattie to Great Falls to walk the trail and to see the water. Mattie loved it, he loved the freedom of being up high and to have his legs dangling in the air, but check out that smile!!!! Guess who he was smiling at?!!!


Quote of the day: When you're struggling with something, look at all the people around you and realize that every single person you see is struggling with something, and to them, it's just as hard as what you're going through. ~ Nicholas Sparks


The highlight of my day today was going to zumba class. To me this is a great way to start the day and to get the body and brain moving. I joke with Jenny, my teacher, all the time. She needs to make house calls. I like her class so much that I drive from DC to Alexandria to attend it. After class I returned home and worked the entire day on Foundation items.

I had a conference call today with one of our psychosocial standards working groups. As a reminder four working groups were created as a result of the think tank the Mattie Miracle Cancer foundation funded and hosted in Huntington Beach, CA, in February. I have to tell you these are very diligent psycho-oncology professionals. I serve on two different work groups and each group has MONTHLY calls. Mind you these professionals are not getting paid or compensated in any way for the research, time, or surveys of fellow practitioners they are performing. When you sit back and think about this, one has to say WOW! I do not know many people self motivated these days and compelled to help out of the goodness of their hearts, especially when they already have such full schedules and work loads. But this group of people truly is an eye opener to me and I feel quite certain their patients and families are lucky to have them on their cases. This group realizes that I am working along side them on this psychosocial standards process, but in addition to that, they also listen to my concerns and feelings about some of the things lacking in Mattie's care or especially in our bereavement care (or should I say LACK there of care!!!).

Some of these psychologists I have had the pleasure of meeting in Huntington Beach in February. Several of them left a lasting impression on me. Especially two of them which referred to Peter and I as "the real deal." Which is a compliment and refers to the fact that we aren't all talk, but we are a Foundation that talks and acts. In some cases actions do speak louder than words, and as co-founders of the Foundation, I have learned that my role is to remain focused and not get swayed by other organizations and their priorities. The priorities are very clear to me and when in doubt, I only need to reflect upon Mattie and our battle together for some perspective and clarity!!!

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