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

September 22, 2018

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Saturday, September 22, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2002. Mattie was six months old and though he could hold his head up, I found at times he would lean to one side and totally topple over. He liked to sit on our couch, but I always propped him up with pillows to prevent the leaning. In front of Mattie were his cups. He absolutely LOVED playing with these plastic cups. Seeing them always reminds me of Mattie. Believe it or not, even today, these cups sit on the rim of our tub. 


Quote of the day: Gray day. Everything is gray. I watch. But nothing moves today. Dr. Seuss


Dr. Seuss' quote sums it up! DC is constantly gray. In fact, I feel like I have been transported to Seattle. One or two gray days one can handle. But I am losing track of when, if ever, we see the sun. We have had two consistent weeks of grayness and rain. Then we had one sunny day this week, which was a tease. Now we are back to gray and tomorrow the rain starts up again for a week. Honestly!!!! I find this weather very dreary and depressing and it certainly doesn't help one's mood. 

This afternoon we went out to buy new raincoats and rain boots. When walking Sunny in this nonsense, I have come home day after day soaked. It takes time for my sneakers to dry out and literally our old raincoats weren't cutting it. So now we are fully armed for a deluge. 

We went shopping in Bethesda today. I can't recall the last time I went to Bethesda. But it is cute, vibrant, and every dog imaginable was out and about. After shopping, we stopped to have lunch and even ate outside. Grayness and all. Lots of others were also eating outside, despite the fact that we are officially into Fall now. We all know that we have to get as much outdoor time before the cold weather hits us. 

It was a change in our usual weekend routine..... going out and to Bethesda. We spend many weekends working on Foundation things or walking Sunny. So something different helps on a gray day. While having lunch outside, I watched people walking by and for a brief moment it made me feel like I was like them.... normal and not inundated with childhood cancer. Naturally this feeling doesn't last long, but it is a good reprieve.

This feeling takes me back to a client I used to counsel. This young fellow was one of my very first clients in my career. He was very bright, but did not like therapists. Yet he tolerated me. He dealt with depression. But it is one of his comments that remains with me always. He once told me that he went to Starbuck's just to feel normal. I asked him to clarify what on earth he was talking about because in my twenties I did not get it! He explained that when he was out and about surrounded by people in Starbuck's, he felt like he was part of the living world. That in that brief moment in time, he wasn't depressed, but just felt like everyone else. I empathized with what he was telling me but I couldn't relate and truly understand until now. 

Now on my gray days, I think back to this client, and I have to say, that for being in his twenties he was very astute. His observation about feeling normal for a short period of time is so spot on and accurate. When we are caught up in the energy of those around us, we can get transported for a bit of time. 

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