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 31, 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2006. My parents and I took Mattie to tour USS Midway, a retired aircraft carrier. We were standing on the top of the ship, where aircraft landed in the past. On this non-active runway, now sits all sorts of airplanes and helicopters for visitors to see and ask questions about. Mattie had an incredible time exploring the ship from top to bottom. You may not be able to see it here, but Mattie had a big smile on his face when I snapped this photo. 


Quote of the day: Heroes didn't leap tall buildings or stop bullets with an outstretched hand; they didn't wear boots and capes. They bled, and they bruised, and their superpowers were as simple as listening, or loving. Heroes were ordinary people who knew that even if their own lives were impossibly knotted, they could untangle someone else's. And maybe that one act could lead someone to rescue you right back. ~ Jodi Picoult


It was a first full day back in Washington, DC. Despite being three hours behind and still on Los Angeles time, I got up early as Peter was leaving for the train station to head to NYC. Peter and Sunny woke up "on!" I may have been tired, but Sunny was raring to go. He walked once this morning with Peter, and then three times with me. I saw behaviors from Sunny today that I have never seen before. Typically Sunny loves all dogs and is very easy going. However, today he spied a female dog about his size and made a b-line for her. Actually he dragged me across a street to meet her. Fortunately the dog's owner was lovely. However, as soon as Sunny got close to this dog, he started barking his head off and got up on his hind legs. This display frightened the other dog, who looked very shy to begin with. I couldn't get Sunny to stop barking, so I finally separated him from the mix, apologized to the owner and moved on. I have NO explanation for this outburst, since I have yet to see him ever do this before. 

Later this evening, Sunny was outside in our common's area with me. A neighbor's dog, who is MUCH MUCH smaller than Sunny, came up to play with Sunny. Typically Sunny is very calm and allows this dog to jump all over him and smell him. Sunny did let this dog do this for quite a bit of time, however, at one point he had enough of this dog's hyperactivity and literally put a paw on this dog and pinned it to the ground. Sunny did not hurt this dog at all, but I was stunned by this new found behavior. What this tells me is like people, Sunny also has different moods and at times can act out of character. I am not sure why this surprised me, but this behavior did because it is NOT like Sunny. 

On Saturday, we will have Sunny ONE WHOLE year. Though Sunny's official birthday is August 14, I have given him a new birthday, September 2. In honor of the day we brought him home. Similarly I have deemed July 6, Indie's birthday, despite the fact that she was actually born on Peter's birthday, November 13. It is hard to believe Sunny has been with us ONE year now. Tomorrow I am going out to get him a special birthday treat and I am still trying to figure out what to do on his special day.... though Saturday is supposed to be 100% rain. 

1 comment:

Margy Jost said...

Vicki,
I love the quote and will be copying it in my quote book! I knew many superheroes. They did not wear capes, fly through the air or leap tall buildings. They did vomit, then continue with their birthday party. They held still while two nurse, one on either side gave them a shot of chemotherapy, then come back to the play area to finish a game of UNO. I watched kids who chose to stay awake during a spinal tap because they knew their reaction to the sleep medicine was harder than laying still & the pain from the needle. They would listen to me read and even ask questions. I heard kids learn, there was nothing more to be done and watched them in the following weeks, thank each of us who had a part in their care know how much they loved them. I could go on & on but you get the point. The world has a messed up definition of what & who a true hero is. In my life I have known too many to count