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

March 17, 2020

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Tuesday, March 17, 2020 -- Mattie died 546 weeks ago today. 


Tonight's picture was taken on St. Patrick's Day of 2009. That day, Mattie had a clinic appointment. He decided to wear his shamrocks to the hospital. Several friends gave Mattie these green themed gifts and he was proud to show them off. To this day, I still have the glasses and the headband. 










Quote of the day: Daily report from the CDC (cases in the USA):

  1. Total cases: 4,226
  2. Total deaths: 75
  3. Jurisdictions reporting cases: 53 (49 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and US Virgin Islands). Though I hear West VA just had its first case today. 


Though I was hesitant to go, I had my annual physical today at my doctor's office. I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to find. As the office is located within a hospital. However, unlike a typical day in her office, there were only 5 patients in there with me. The office looked like a ghost town, because they are advising patients who are sick over the phone. I know my doctor's nurse and she told me she is returning calls from patients throughout the day and staying much later into the evening hours each day. I have a feeling, doctor offices maybe changing their policy about non-emergent care shortly. I feel like I was lucky enough to get in today and of course I chatted with my doctor about the procedures she is following if myself or Peter feels symptomatic. To my surprise I learned that her office doesn't have access to testing kits. 

Tomorrow I was supposed to visit my dentist to get crowns put on the two teeth which had root canals. However, the office called me to reschedule as the American Dental Association has asked ALL dental offices to close down for four weeks. Meanwhile, I decided to go back to the grocery store today to stock up on vegetables and more meats. The produce section was a disaster. There were no plastic bags to put vegetables in. I asked the grocery store folks about this and they said they were all out of bags. So I went to the front of the store and grabbed the plastic bags they put your groceries in when you check out. As I was filling these bags with vegetables, a store employee started yelling at me. He was saying that if I put my vegetables in these bags, the check out clerk won't be able to see what's in the bags. Total nonsense and to me it made more sense to bag my items than to put them on the check out conveyor belt loose. Any case, I was in no mood to deal with his attitude and I snapped back at him. My intention was to signal to him..... leave me alone.  


This afternoon, Peter got all of us outside on the balcony. For fresh air and to try to have a moment of peace from the news. 
Our balcony view. 
We aren't far from Reagan National airport, so we are still seeing flights coming and going. 
Despite the absolute chaos around us, some of our perennial plants are in bloom. The trees, flowers, and birds are the only things that seem to be stable right now. Nature has always been a sign of hope to me since Mattie died. 

















Each night, I have been sharing a story about the Coronavirus. Tonight's story is about Italy. Just today alone, they had another 2,500 citizens diagnosed with this virus. Because they are having trouble keeping up with patient care, they have decided to allow 10,000 medicine school graduates start work eight or nine months ahead of schedule and waive the mandatory exams they normally sit for before qualifying. These students are needed to help support general clinics and nursing homes, so that the qualified practitioners are freed up to address patients with coronavirus. 

Italy rushes new doctors into service as coronavirus deaths rise above 2,500:

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-italy/italy-rushes-to-promote-new-doctors-to-relieve-coronavirus-crisis-idUSKBN214245

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