Tonight's picture was taken in June of 2004. Mattie was two years old. You may think looking at this photo that Mattie was resting in Peter's lap! Actually..... NO! Mattie had two switches, on and off. There was nothing in between for him. Mattie was running around our home and literally jumped or crashed into Peter's lap. It was just a momentary pause before moving again. But it was long enough for me to capture Mattie NOT moving on camera.
Quote of the day: When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. ~ John Muir
I noticed today that my email in-box was filling up with messages from fellow childhood cancer advocates. Many of whom were saying they checked out our website and wanted to learn more about our Psychosocial Standards of Care. Specifically requesting phone calls with me.
Given the volume and focus on the Standards in these messages, I was wondering what was up? But then a fellow advocate, who runs another childhood cancer non-profit, wrote to me. She filled me in and mentioned that a bunch of childhood cancer advocates are at a conference. At the conference one of the developers of our Psychosocial Standards of Care was presenting. This researcher highlighted the Standards and Mattie Miracle.
We did not know about this conference presentation today. But this is the beauty of having 80+ researchers all around the Country, Canada and the Netherlands who have been working on this project with us. This is a committed group of individuals, all who do work on the Standards for basically NO compensation! Can you imagine??? It is hard to get anyone today to do something for free, but this amazing group of professionals are equally committed to Mattie Miracle's vision. A vision that one day every child and family will have access to optimal psychosocial area along the entire cancer journey.
John Muir's quote resonated with me tonight. Because one tug in nature DOES have a cascading effect. The Psychosocial Standards of Care are case in point. In 2010 (shortly after Mattie died), I began reading a lot of psychosocial journal articles. Specifically those addressing trauma. So on a lark, I decided to email the main author who I saw listed on many of the articles. The author was Anne Kazak. As I learned later, Anne is considered the guru on trauma and the impact of childhood cancer. I am not sure what I was hoping to accomplish from my email to Anne, other than I wanted her to know her articles were making a difference in my life. They were helping me put words to my own experiences. I
Turns out Anne actually wrote me back. Anne and I joke all the time, that the Psychosocial Standards of Care project started OVER ONE SINGLE email. Would the Standards have been created if I never wrote the email in the first place? Or if Anne never responded to the email? I have no idea. My hunch is maybe, but the Standards are truly our vision. A vision that the psychosocial community has embraced. I am so glad I gave that ONE important TUG, and from this tug I have been connected to INCREDIBLE psychosocial professionals all over the USA and Canada.
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