Friday, August 14, 2015

Friday, August 14, 2015

Tonight's picture was taken on August 8, 2009. Mattie's cancer diagnosis became terminal on August 5, and now three days later we decided to surprise him with something he always wanted, which was a ride on vehicle. When Mattie was healthy, he always wanted a big car that he could drive. One of our neighbors had such a car, which gave him the idea that he too needed one. But because these vehicles are expensive and I figured it was a fad that he would play with for a couple of minutes and then forget about, I refused his request for such a large gift. Yet when your child is dying from cancer, it is amazing what you wouldn't do! Things that you said NO to many times before now seemed ridiculous to deny. This ride on car being one of them. Tonight, I am going to show you a series of photos leading up to how Mattie was surprised with his gift. In this photo, you can see Peter wheeling Mattie outside to our deck. Peter asked Mattie to close him eyes. Mattie knew something was awaiting him, but he really had no idea what it was! 


Quote of the day: I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse. ~ Florence Nightingale

When we opened our front door, this was the huge box Mattie saw. We live in a complex in which we park our car, one floor below where we live. So that meant we had to get this large box out of our car, through the parking garage and onto an elevator! That alone was a feat. Mind you Peter and I were physically exhausted by that point in Mattie's treatment trajectory, not to mention emotionally on over load. But something kept driving us to accomplish this important task and that was Mattie's happiness during his last days. 

This was Mattie's face as he saw the big box on our deck! He was happy as we explained to him what was inside. 

As the box was being opened, I snapped a photo of Peter and Mattie together. Mattie was excited to touch the car and couldn't wait for Peter to assemble the car so he could ride on it! 

As you can see, Peter tried to make the assembly process fun! Because there were MANY parts to put together, and it was getting boring for Mattie. Peter jumped into the box to liven things up! 

Mattie was supervising the assembly process that day. It wasn't a short process either, but he was eager to watch and be involved. Which was no surprise since this was something he truly wanted for a long time! 

Here was a photo of Mattie in the final product! Mattie named the car, Speedy Red! Though I was anxious about Mattie driving this car, because it literally drives like a real car with a gas pedal and break, Mattie quickly learned the art of driving within days. At first I was his side kick in the passenger seat, but soon thereafter he dispensed with me and wanted his freedom. I always ran after him as he was driving because he had oxygen and a pain pump on board and all those things made me anxious. After Mattie died, Speedy was a part of our life for a long time, and sat parked on our deck. I couldn't seem to part with Speedy, or donate him.