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 1, 2016

Friday, April 1, 2016

Friday, April 1, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2009. I remember this moment in time very distinctly! Mattie was having a rough day and then Dr. Gonzales came into his room and she wanted to examine him. Mattie did not want to have any part of this and wanted the doctor out of the room. Clearly the easier option would have been if Dr. Gonzales turned around and left the room. But that was NOT what she did. Dr. Gonzales did not work with Mattie often, but she is bright and understands the art of medicine. She quickly deduced that Mattie was intrigued by things and how they worked. When her pager went off in Mattie's room, it caught his attention. Instead of hiding her device, she took it out, showed it to him, and the next thing I knew she and Mattie were paging people ALL over the hospital. Not only did they build an instant rapport, but Mattie let her examine him. There were long term benefits from this beautiful encounter as well. Dr. Gonzales was the only attending physician that truly believed Mattie had pain and never denied him pain medication. She had the instinct he wasn't fabricating pain. She was 100% correct!


Quote of the day: God created birthdays, because the world couldn't exist without you. ~ Unknown



Last night I loaded up the car with all the toiletry items that we have been collecting for the April Item Drive over the last couple of months. I was getting tired of living with these items, so I arranged to meet Katie (child life specialist) at MedStar Georgetown University University Hospital.

When I arrived at the Hospital, I pulled over by the curb in order to drop off materials. I was parked in a red (tow away) zone. As is typical, whenever I do this, I get a talking to by security. So today, as soon as I pulled over, no surprise to me..... security came over to me. However, the security officer on duty was Jey. When Jey saw me we both started laughing because I knew he wasn't going to move me away. 

Jey was Mattie's radiology transport assistant at the Hospital (meaning that Jey wheeled Mattie from his room to all his scans), but they became close to one another and Jey always referred to Mattie as his "little brother." Jey was outstanding with Mattie, and he understood right from the beginning that Mattie was scared and in pain and that scanning was challenging for Mattie. Jey became a fierce supporter of Mattie and of Peter and me. Whenever we were in the hospital, which was often, Jey would come to the pediatric unit to visit us. For Jey, his work is NOT just a job. But a part of him. After Mattie died, Jey left the radiology department. He was absolutely heart broken about Mattie, and did not want to work with anymore children. Jey now works hospital security and whenever I am on campus, we always have a chance encounter. Jey never hesitates to talk about Mattie and always acknowledges us for all we do for Georgetown. Jey is always a highlight of my hospital visits! He helps me keep Mattie alive.


This was what my trunk looked like, completely filled with toiletry items! 














My back seat was brimming with kcup coffee! Needless to say, I am happy to have all of these items out of our home and now in a place where they will be useful. All of these items stock the FREE snack/item cart we offer to in-patient families of children with life threatening and chronic illnesses.  

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