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

April 12, 2014

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2009. This photo was a follow up to the one posted last night, of the boat races that took place in the oncology clinic. Mattie and Jocelyn teamed up, created a very unique boat made out of cups, tin foil, and paper sails. They raced against Brandon and Jocelyn's sister, and take a wild guess who WON?! It is hard to believe that just a month later Mattie died and now five years later, Jocelyn died as well. 

Quote of the day: No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section of hell. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don't. ~ Stephen King


Peter and I began our day at the crack of dawn! In addition to headaches, I also am unable to sleep. This issue has been going on for weeks, which is a royal problem and greatly impacts my headaches and everything else about the way I function. Peter took our neighbor, who is an older adult, to the emergency room at 7am. She fell and really needed to be examined and scanned. While Peter went to the hospital, I began Foundation work. There are certainly seasons in which I am literally working around the clock. Probably not unlike any small business owner. Just constantly working! If I don't work, nothing gets done. That produces a great deal of angst and pressure, which I know correlates to physical symptoms. Throw in grief and trauma, and we could have a party.


The highlight of our day today was meeting up with our friends Heidi and Phil. They asked us to go out to dinner. Typically when working on Walk website design, we wouldn't have wanted to leave our home. But we decided that we did need to take a break. I of course jump at the chance to socialize, since I spend a great deal of time by myself typically. We had a lovely dinner outside in DC, on a rooftop deck. It truly was spring in DC and after dinner we walked several miles home to where we live. On our journey home, we passed Mattie moon! I naturally couldn't help but capture a photo!
While crossing through Dupont Circle, we saw an unusual site.... a Mallard Duck! Mattie would have gone bonkers over this! Check out this "Dupont Duck" just lounging in the greenery! Honestly the East Coast has been so isolated inside all winter long, people are just craving outdoor time! People are literally like ants coming out of the woodwork! They are EVERYWHERE!











Later this evening Michelle, the undergraduate student from Georgetown who I had the pleasure of meeting a few weeks ago, sent me a few more photos from the Relay for Life that took place on the campus this weekend. She created a "In Memory of Mattie Brown" luminary. I was very touched to see this photo of Facebook tonight!









In addition to the luminary, Michelle also created this beautiful tribute of Mattie to post at the Relay. Very lovely and as I told her, it means a lot to me that my presentation captured her attention enough for her to want to spread Mattie's story around to others. It not only makes me feel effective as a Foundation leader, but it makes me feel proud as Mattie's mom. Through my words I was able to convey just how special a boy he was!

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