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

August 15, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2009, after we found out about Mattie's terminal diagnosis. As you can see Mattie was wearing oxygen at that point and was also attached to a pain pump 24/7. Yet despite that horror, he was at the art table in clinic playing. On Mattie's right was Jenny, one of his art therapists, and an incredible support to our family. On Mattie's left was Jocelyn. Jocelyn was a big Mattie supporter and a fellow osteosarcoma patient. Jocelyn met Mattie by happenstance early on in his treatment process. Once she found out Mattie had the same cancer as she did, she took him under her wing. Mattie truly related to Jocelyn, trusted her, and felt that she understood what he was dealing with. It is a tragedy that both Mattie and Jocelyn lost their battles with osteosarcoma. Neither one of them will ever be forgotten as they both were super smart, engaging, and full of life. 


Quote of the day: You can do anything in this world if you are prepared to take the consequences. ~ W. Somerset Maugham


I love tonight's quote because it applies to SO many things. But in this particular case I am furthering to my desire to rescue a cat and a dog. Rescuing a pet that comes with a questionable past can produce uncertainty and fear.  I know I have been wondering whether I could handle this new obligation. After all, we have been without a child for six years and without Patches our calico cat for three years. But I did not make this decision lightly, I thought about it for several months. 

Then an opportunity came to get Indie, our tortoise shell cat, in July and it worked out wonderfully. She is filling up our home and our lives. Last night I received an email from the rescue shelter about a Sunny, the border collie mix, and his status. Sunny is NOW in DC, he was transported here from South Carolina. Sunny hasn't had an easy life, was abandoned and living in a kill shelter, where they kill 90% of more of dogs that aren't adopted. Because I am heading to Los Angeles tomorrow, I did not want Sunny to come into our home until I got back. Peter works full time and Sunny needs a companion by day until he gets used to us and our routine. So while I am away, Sunny is staying with a foster parent in DC. I have already been in communication with Leah.   

This is the photo Leah posted on Facebook of Sunny (dog closest to you) and her dog in the background! They almost look like twins! She described Sunny as a "love bug" and basically house trained. I purposefully wanted an adult dog who was passed the puppy behavior stage. Sunny looks adorable but sad to me. It is very hard to adopt a dog you have never seen, but my hope is that Sunny is as wonderful an addition to our home as Indie. 

1 comment:

Margy Jost said...

Vicki,
Sunny does look sad. That is so hard to see yet I imagine a scenario where you post a photo months from now. This photo will be a happy one because he will have had time to get your love and will respond. Like Indie, it is a matter of time until they both crawl onto your heart!!! He is a beautiful dog.

It is always a surreal picture and sad realization that these young, smiling faces are gone from this earth and their families forever..