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

March 25, 2026

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Tonight's picture was taken in March of 2009. That day we took Mattie to the circus. It was our first and last trip to see the circus. Mattie was gifted a special VIP booth, which enabled him to attend and not be around crowds where he could have potentially gotten sick. It was a big event for Mattie and he absolutely loved it. He was glued to watching the show and before the show started we bought Mattie several light up circus toys. He had a ball seeing them glow when the lights were dimmed in the arena. It was a special moment in time and his smile said it all!

Quote of the day: I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. ~ John Burroughs

This morning after I dropped my dad off at his memory care program, my friend came over to catch up and walk. I haven't walked the neighborhood since her last visit, which was months ago! I used to be a person who walked daily. Sunny made sure of that! But after Sunny died and then caregiving alone, I have had no interest in walking anymore. Which of course is not good for my physical or emotional health. Walking was something I always did with my other half as well! We loved and appreciated nature and even when facing great loss and trauma.... we kept walking. It became a form of our therapy! It is one of the countless things I miss!

If you have been following my saga, I am still trying to recover lost electronic files, photos and documents. I thought the problem was contained to just a few years of photos! NOPE! It is far more extensive and I am desperately trying to address this.... by doing a little recovery work each day! All I know is I have been robbed or a future, there is NO WAY I will have my past erased.

I have been working on recovering photos from 2023. As I was downloading photos, I came across a series of post it notes! I naturally saved all the actual notes, because they mean a great deal to me. They remain in my closets and I still look at them daily to remind myself that I was loved and this was NOT a figment of my imagination! Keep in mind that I have MANY notes from over the years, but these series of notes occurred in March and May of 2023, which is ironic because by September of 2023, I was separated. If I am confused by what transpired, then all I have to do is look at these notes!