Friday, September 9, 2016

Friday, September 9, 2016


Tonight's picture was taken in September of 2008. Our neighbor had this special cowboy dog created for Mattie. The pooch even had Mattie's name and a message to him on the bottom of his boot. We got a kick out of this because the stuffed animal was almost as tall as Mattie. When I look back at this photo, I can remember how ignorant and naive we were because we thought that we were aggressively fighting Mattie's cancer and that there was some sort of hope that he could survive the disease. 




Quote of the day: Some memories are unforgettable, remaining ever vivid and heartwarming! ~ Joseph B. Wirthlin

My friend and colleague, Nancy, sent me this book in acknowledgment of Mattie's anniversary. Nancy knows how much Mattie loved cardboard boxes. The book highlights what a child can do with a little imagination and a box. Something I saw first hand. 

At an early age, Mattie gravitated to boxes. He would turn any package or delivery box we received into a car, a house, an airport, etc. 

This love for boxes continued into kindergarten. Mattie's kindergarten teacher ran a construction club after school and Mattie LOVED it. In the club kids got to use everyday items and created masterpieces using hammers, glue guns, you name it! 

These three examples below are some of Mattie's creations from his construction club days. Notice the paper towel roll, the plastic container, a cereal box, and popsicle sticks. 

You may even notice in the lower left hand corner, Patches (our calico) checking out Mattie's creations!

A Mattie tower

Boxes became crucial in the hospital. In fact Mattie's psychosocial staff would save boxes just for Mattie because they knew how eager he was to create. While creating, Mattie wasn't focused on how he was feeling or his situation. Boxes became healthy diversions! 

In this particular case Mattie designed a box to hide away in, since he didn't like the noise and commotion in the clinic at times. He was hooked up to an IV, but in there he couldn't see the pole. 

In October of 2008, Mattie worked hard at creating the ultimate Haunted House out of a VERY large box. He worked on this house for weeks. After it was built, he even designed a witch and ghosts! He played with this house often while hospitalized and pulled others into his play schemes. 

This large blue plane was designed by Mattie and Peter in the child life playroom (if you can call it that) at Memorial Sloan Kettering. The room is as large as a warehouse! 

The child life staff there did not get Mattie at all. Linda, Mattie child life specialist at Georgetown University Hospital, called to talk to her colleagues in NYC. She told them about Mattie's love for boxes and to save some for his arrival. They literally thought that was a crazy request and were also not intrigued by the final product. They did not get us and we did not get them! It was a mutual distaste. Thankfully Mattie did not have to have treatment there long term. Mattie was so in love with this plane, that he insisted it come back to the hotel with us. You should have seen that going into a NYC taxi. Mattie thought it was a riot to see a big blue plane loaded into a taxi, but he enjoyed seeing the plane in our hotel room and felt proud of his accomplished creation.