Thursday, July 12, 2012

Thursday, July 12, 2012


Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2009. Mattie was home temporarily from the hospital and was building a LEGO structure in the living room with Peter. Back then, our entire living room, looked like a LEGO warehouse. As you can see, Mattie was having a challenging time breathing, and needed oxygen at all times. As I sit back and look at this, I have to say I was and am amazed by Mattie. I know how scary it is to feel sick and to not know what is happening to your body, but for this to happen to a seven year old, I imagine Mattie must have been terribly frightened at times. Yet Mattie never cowered in the corner, or even questioned why he needed oxygen. He accepted it and kept on going. I do attribute a small part of Mattie's spirit and courage to Peter and I. We were always with him, advocated for him at all times, and tried to normalize a very abnormal situation for him. It was very clear the love and appreciation went both ways.  


Quote of the day: Talking is comforting. Talking is comprehending. Talking is healing. Talking is remembering. This parents must do. This they will do. Anyone standing between these parents and their need to express themselves about the experience of their loss and their feelings relative to it will be deeply resented, and eventually their friendship discarded or pushed aside. ~ Ronald J. Knapp


I had the opportunity to get together today with a consultant who helps non-profits with fundraising, strategy, and development. This consultant and I share a mutual friend, and it was my friend Heidi who connected us together. I am always amazed when a professional approaches me and offers guidance and help pro-bono. Jen attended our Whole Foods Day in Alexandria in January and our Foundation Walk in May. She wanted me to know that for a person who does not have a background in marketing, fundraising, or running a company, I am doing great! Her insights today were very helpful, because just like a financial portfolio, one also has to diversify funding sources for the health of a non-profit. We talked about a whole host of things today from targeting grants to corporate sponsors. Jen confirmed my thinking, hosting more fundraisers is not the solution. We have to seek revenue from other areas, and I look forward to pursuing and learning more about this from her.

In the midst of us discussing Mattie Miracle, we also talked on a personal level. Like me, Jen is a mom of an only child, a son. So with that alone, we have instant commonalities, and therefore, my story hits quite close to home for her. Yet despite that, I admired her courage to want to meet with me, to want to help, and to also want to hear about Mattie. One thing I do notice, is once I start to explain the necessity of psychosocial support and services for children and their families with cancer, people get it. They see that surviving cancer takes much more than just the medical treatment, because as those of us personally touched by cancer know, the treatment is only a small part of the battle. Fighting cancer is a day to day battle, that goes on well after the treatment is over.

Later in the day I received an email from Jen. She wanted me to know that she found our interaction energizing, which I was happy to hear. Since I felt the same way, so much so that soon as our meeting was over, I stopped by Peter's office to briefly chat with Peter about the information I learned.