Sunday, November 2, 2014

Sunday, November 2, 2014
Happy Fifth Anniversary Mattie Miracle!!!

Tonight's photo was taken in October of 2008. This was right after Mattie's first limb salvaging surgery. His right arm was bandaged up and he was in a wheelchair and managing pain! Yet this was also his potato chip phase! The funny part about Mattie was he wouldn't eat just any kind of chip, they had to be Utz potato chips. Which are more local chips. I remember one night Mattie demanding potato chips and honestly his situation was so dire that if he wanted just about anything we would have tried to deliver on it! Peter ran ALL over the hospital to every vending machine looking for these potato chips! He finally came back to the hospital room successful! It was like we won the lottery. We were all thrilled! It is ironic what can bring you happiness and joy when you are dealing with a life and death situation.


Quote of the day: Why have random acts of kindness when you can have intentional acts of good will? ~ David Wagner

I think tonight's quote applies to today!!! I had friends send me photos which seemed out of the blue to me but were VERY INTENTIONAL to them! My freshman college roommate, Leslie, and I have been friends for a very long time. She lives in Maryland and is a devoted Mattie Miracle supporter. In fact her whole family is! Leslie has been teaching her children the importance of supporting local charities and particularly charities who are transparent about their finances!!! Her daughter Faye, who is 14 years old, had a "Mitzvah Day" (usually referring to a charitable, beneficial act performed by another person) at her temple today! Faye selected Mattie Miracle for her Mitzvah project when she was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah, but her service to Mattie Miracle did not end there, as is evident in this photo! In just thirty minutes today, this is how much candy she collected for our candy drive from members of her temple community! Absolutely amazing and more is coming! Faye not only collects it but she and Leslie also sort it for me! This is a special gift and a true testament to a long standing friendship. 

My friend Carolyn, our Foundation Raffle Chair, sent a photo of what was going on in her dining room! Her children collected candy for our drive and they are sorting for me too! The sorting is such a gift to me because this alone can take me hours on my own. The fact that friends are taking this on makes me so happy. I know sorting is laborious but when we give the hospital candy in bulk to be stored for a long time, it really does need to be sorted. It stores better that way.  




Five years ago today Mattie Miracle was incorporated in the State of Virginia. Therefore today is officially our fifth anniversary. As such, it is wonderful to see what we have achieved in five short years! Here are our top ten facts about us!

1. Dedicated to addressing the psychosocial needs of children and families living with childhood cancer and developing a national psychosocial standard of care.

2. Educate health care providers and the community on the psychological impact of a childhood cancer diagnosis.

3. Ran the first ever psychosocial childhood cancer symposium on Capitol Hill.

4. Sponsored the first ever childhood cancer psychosocial think tank at the 

American Psychosocial Oncology Society Conference.

5. Contributed over $100,000 to Georgetown University Hospital to support psychosocial services since 2011.

6. Fund a monthly support group luncheon for pediatric nurses.

7. A founding contributor of a free hospital snack cart offered to in-patient pediatric families.

8. Supply over $10,000 worth of items to the free hospital snack cart a year.

9. Introduced legislation on Capitol Hill addressing the psychosocial needs of childhood cancer.

10. Sponsor an annual Awareness Walk & Family Festival.

This was a photo that was taken from the Mattie March in 2009! Mattie was alive and this event was held by our amazing support community. It was from this event that the Mattie Miracle Walk evolved. In this photo Mattie was surrounded by his cousins and his treatment team at Georgetown Hospital! This March was held to show Mattie how many people loved and supported him and it was a day that none of us will forget. Which maybe why each year when I attend our Foundation walk, others are there having a good time and running around, but I am instantly transported back to this day you see in this photo! 

This is a photo of Mattie and Bob Weiman, aka the Magic Man from the Mattie March. Bob is the head of the lower school at St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School. Bob worked diligently throughout Mattie's battle with cancer to teach him magic. Magic was therapeutic for Mattie and it provided him with skills that made him feel special and unique. Mattie enjoyed doing tricks in the hospital for his nurses and therapists and Peter and I will always be grateful to Bob for his generosity of time and devotion to Mattie and his continued support of us. 

During the Mattie March the school's baseball team came to greet Mattie before heading off campus to play a game. The coach and all the players touched fists with Mattie and gave him a signed ball! It turned out that the team won the game that day and they credited Mattie for their win!

This photo is posted in my kitchen! I have had it on display for years! This is Tricia and Mattie. Tricia was Mattie's nurse! Not just any nurse, Tricia is an extraordinary nurse. Highly competent, compassionate and knows how to advocate beautifully for a family. She helped us on many occasions with doctors and a few other nurses, in which she proved herself early on to me. In the first week of chemotherapy when Mattie told me he hated me and started to kick and hit me, she intervened and handled this like a champ. Not just like a nurse, but as a mom and true human being. Tricia did not only care for Mattie, but she cared for me and Peter as well. She is part of our story as we reflect on our 5th anniversary of what we have been through, what we have accomplished, and what we continue to evolve into. Some how I know Tricia is with us, supporting us along the way.