Friday, January 22, 2021

Friday, January 22, 2021

Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2009. That day Mattie was invited to two birthday parties. This was the second party. Both were friends from kindergarten. As you can see, all the birthday guests were girls. Mattie was the only boy invited. I believe the party had a fashion theme, where the girls got dressed up and were going to do a fashion show. Naturally Mattie was a bit out of his element, but wanted to be there. I was Mattie's legs for the party and carried him throughout the event. I would have to say that the girls did a great job with Mattie and no one treated him differently, which truly was noteworthy. 

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

• Number of people diagnosed with the virus: 24,737,567
• Number of people who died from the virus: 412,239

Can you imagine that the Psychosocial Standards of Care (which was Mattie Miracle's vision) are being used in Iran? In December a hospital in Tehran reached out to us and told us their story. They stand behind the Standards, as they help guide their practice. In fact this hospital is the first international organization to ENDORSE the Psychosocial Standards of Care! I will sharing this press release soon, but to me this is BIG news!

While on a conference call this morning, I learned that the Psychosocial Standards of Care are being used in Botswana too! Which leads me to believe that there are many stories to tell about the Standards and the people implementing them into practice. Stories I wish to find and pull together. Nonetheless, this makes me stop and reflect...... this is all possible because of a 6 year old boy named Mattie who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. The Standards are Mattie's legacy. 

Sunny and I went out for our daily Roosevelt Island walk this morning. It was a beautiful weather day in DC and we practically had the Island to ourselves. Well except for the deer! They were everywhere!

Because I was holding Sunny, I couldn't snap too many photos. But I saw all sorts of deer.... babies, deer with huge antlers, and many female deer. 

A baby deer along our pathway. The deer on the Island are very tame and used to people. Sunny, though very interested in pursuing deer, is compliant and knows he can't bark or chase!