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

December 3, 2015

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Tonight's picture was taken on January 4, 2009 (see below). I remember snapping this photo of Mattie. We were sent home for the holidays, and this was a very difficult and complicated time for us. Filled with pain, an inability to move, depression and anxiety. Nonetheless, in the midst of that chaos we also had happy moments, as you can see. However when you look at the actual photo below, you can see Mattie's hospital bed in the background! Our Facebook friend, Tim Beck, found this photo on our blog and created this stunning composition for us! I love Tim's fall themed background and it seems to bring out the happy and trusting feelings that Mattie's smile was exuding by being with Peter! 




Quote of the day: If you’re giving to get, all you’ll receive is disappointment. 
But if you’re giving to give, all you’ll receive is joy.  Toni Sorenson









It is my hope that by the end of tomorrow ALL of Mattie Miracle's candy will be gone and distributed all over town. Keep in mind that prior to Thanksgiving I delivered candy already to Children's Inn at NIH, Hospital for Sick Children, Ronald McDonald House in DC, Ronald McDonald House in Falls Church, VA, and Special Love for Children with Cancer. The notion that this is almost over is thrilling! It is a great effort to collect, sort, manage, and distribute this amount of candy. We are talking over TWO TONS of candy!

This afternoon, I went to the St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Alexandria, VA (SSSAS, school mascot: SAINTS). I can't thank SSSAS enough for their incredible efforts to help Mattie Miracle collect, sort, store, and distribute 5,000 pounds of candy all over the DC area tomorrow! Mattie was a student at SSSAS and I remember someone telling me after Mattie died that once you are a SAINT, you are always a SAINT. Today really made me see this!

I had the opportunity to meet 13 students and several faculty of the School today. These 18 men helped cart candy to this truck and load it! I will be riding with this truck tomorrow to all our remaining delivery sites! This was such an incredible effort, I asked that everyone pose by the truck so I could capture the moment. Mattie was used to my picture taking. Though I can no longer take photos of him, I land up taking photos of anything related to the Foundation. Since in my mind the Foundation is my Mattie proxy. 


I posted this photo today on Facebook and this is what I wrote along with it.......

Want to see what 18 SAINTS look like? Look no further!!! These amazing guys moved and loaded 5,000 pounds of candy onto a truck within MINUTES!!! These students attend St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School (SSSAS, school mascot is the SAINTS) in Alexandria, VA and are also members of the School's wrestling team. The team work, spirit, and positive attitude displayed today were noteworthy! Tomorrow SSSAS will be delivering the candy all over town with Mattie Miracle and helping us fulfill our psychosocial mission.
Mattie Miracle gives a SPECIAL THANKS for coordinating this large candy collection, storage, and distribution to...... Bud Garikes (Director of the Upper School), Keith Mills (Dean of Students at the Upper School), Trae Humphreys (History Teacher at Upper School), Larry Jenney (Associate Director of Summer Programs), and Joe Shabelski (Assistant Athletic Director of Facilities and Grounds)

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