Mattie's Blog and his Fight Against Osteosarcoma

Thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive!

Dear Mattie Blog Readers,

It means a great deal to me that you take the time to write and to share your thoughts, feelings, and reflections on Mattie's battle and death. Your messages are very meaningful and help support me through very challenging times. I am 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 have stopped writing on September 9, 2010. However, like my journey with grief there is so much that 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 me, and most importantly thank you for keeping Mattie's memory alive.

As Mattie would say, Ooga Booga (meaning, I LOVE YOU)! Vicki

May 14, 2020

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in May of 2009. We were at the Mattie March, the event our support community held in Mattie's honor. In this photo, you can see Mattie sitting (front and center) in a wheelchair. He was surrounded by practically his entire treatment team at Georgetown Hospital. These are incredible professionals who made the impossible much more bearable. It was this event that set the ground work for all subsequent Foundation walks.

Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins.

number of people diagnosed with the virus: 1,390,406
number of people who died from the virus: 84,119

Today was a whirlwind! It is after midnight, and I am still working. In the midst of our long day, we took Sunny to physical therapy. Which is located in Leesburg, a 40 minute drive each way! Sunny's PT loves him and she feels five weeks post surgery, he is doing great. Says we are doing something right, since he is looking good. We are all grateful that Sunny is motivated by food. It makes it super easy to do therapy with him. He actually popped out of the car today and couldn't wait to go inside. Why? They use special treats with the dogs to keep them engaged and motivated to work.