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

January 15, 2013

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

 
Tuesday, January 15, 2013 -- Mattie died 175 weeks ago today.

Tonight's picture was taken in January of 2005. Mattie was almost three years old. By that point, Mattie LOVED baths. I am not sure that he loved the idea of getting clean or the simple joy of playing in the water. Literally with each bath Mattie chose different toys to bring along with him to play with. Usually cars, trucks, rubber animals, and so forth. There was nothing boring about bath time. Mattie went from a toddler who hated water to a preschooler who did not want to get out of the tub even when it was drained of water.


Quote of the day: If animals could speak, the dog would be a blundering outspoken fellow; but the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much. ~ Mark Twain


What a night of sleep or lack there of!!! Patches started howling at 3am and at 4am, she was out of control. A family friend of Peter's wrote to us last night after reading the blog and recommended nightlights throughout our home for Patches. By 4:30am, we had lots of lights on! Tonight we are starting with the lights on and we will see where this gets us. Something has got to give here because it is like living with a newborn. Except we know our furry friend is dying.

I accomplished several chores this morning and though I wasn't planning this I went to visit my friend Mary in her assisted living facility for an hour or so. Mary hasn't been feeling well at all, she is congested and has a cough like SO many people all around us. While visiting with Mary and her caregiver, I had the opportunity to watch her nurse come in and try to administer an antibiotic to her. Since Mary has trouble swallowing, the antibiotic gets crushed up and given to her in apple sauce. It was painful to watch Mary try to ingest this concoction. After about 15 minutes, Mary refused to swallow it and eventually spit it right out of her mouth. Because I know Mary's likes and dislikes, I know she doesn't like applesauce even on a good day. So combining a pill with applesauce is an absolute "no-no" in my world. I love food and eating, and so does Mary. So I happened to acknowledge Mary's feelings and told her if I were her, I would have done the exact same thing. So I asked Mary's caregiver if the nursing staff ever used pudding, specifically chocolate pudding. She said that they will if it is available but it isn't always available. Interesting! Seems like a no brainer for medication administration! Chocolate camouflages LOTS of flavors! Any case, I text messaged Ann and suggested she bring in chocolate pudding this evening for her mom's next antibiotic administration. Sure enough Ann let me know that the pill went right down with chocolate pudding. That news made me very happy! It actually made my day, because I suspected it wasn't that Mary couldn't swallow the medication, she just did not like how it tasted and it made her gag. I relate to my 80+ year old friend all TOO well.

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to have lunch with one of my chapel buddies from Mattie's school. When Mattie was in kindergarten I attended chapel with him each Tuesday. The children sat with their classmates and the parents sat with each other. I always sat between Junko and Luda. Though I no longer attend Mattie's school, my chapel buddies are still part of my life and they are very generous with our Foundation. Luda does all the professional signs and banners for our Foundation Walks each year and she is helping me now with a project for our upcoming psychosocial think tank in February. I appreciate this kindness and this desire to support us on achieving our mission. It is hard to believe however that Mattie is gone and yet all the children I once knew are still growing and developing. At times I feel like I live in an alternate universe. A universe where I need to function around other moms, absorb their content, their highs and lows, and yet knowing I am not one of them.
 
This is tonight's photo of Patches. Typically I wouldn't allow her on the table but she wants to sit very close to Peter. As you can see if she could sit on his arm, she would have! A lot of heavy purring was going on here and Peter brings her happiness. If you look closely you will see her right eye is smaller than the left. It is getting swollen shut from the tumor in her face.


 

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