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

February 17, 2018

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Saturday, February 17, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken on Valentine's Day of 2009. Mattie's classmates made him all sorts of Valentine's Day cards. Enough cards to fill two shoe boxes! In addition, one of Mattie's friends gave him this big lollipop! Mattie thought the size of the candy was hysterical! He never ate it, but enjoyed playing with it!


Quote of the day: Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it. Margaret Thatcher




I am now back in Washington, DC. However, this is what I left today. The weather has been glorious all week in Los Angeles. Sunny every day, and in the 70's! As is typical, DC greeted me with its usual..... raw and rainy weather.

This was what I saw during take off! 
Flying over the Pacific! Looking at Southern California and mountains in the distance!
Quite a sight! 
I couldn't get over all the sailboats in the water! They are all the little white dots in the water!

As it typical with me, I got to know my seatmate. He started talking to me. He grew up in Westchester County, NY, like me. He said he could hear my accent! As I said to him, you can take the girl out of NY, but you can't take the NY out of the girl!

In any case, I learned a ton about this man. He was visiting Los Angeles to say good-bye to a friend of his who is dying from cancer. Can you imagine having to do this? I could just picture his week, and from that alone, I knew anyone who experienced this would need a listening ear. I also learned about his dad who has Alzheimer's and the challenges he has been facing with his dad's care. Ironically, when flying back from LA, I always meet someone who has a meaningful story! I remember one of my last seatmates. His name was Kevin. He served in Afghanistan and I got to hear some of his experiences. At the end of the day, we both concluded that we experienced two different traumas, but the aftermath was the same. He literally talked to me for 4.5 hours. 

When I arrived home, Peter snapped this photo of Sunny and me. This is one happy pooch tonight! 
Can you see Sunny smiling? 

1 comment:

Margy Jost said...

Vicki,

I see Sunny's smile! Mine was pretty big too when I got your text - landed!🌹

Your seatmate was very fortunate to have your listening ear. I wonder if he realized it. I flew back & forth between here & Wisconsin many times when my Dad & Mom were dying. I never sat with anyone who talked. How much peace, that young man must have felt being able to share with the kind heart, you have!