Tonight's picture was taken on Halloween of 2008. Mattie celebrated Halloween both at the Hospital as well as with his closest preschool buddy. This photo captures both Mattie and Brandon together. As my faithful readers know, Brandon was battling cancer at the same time as Mattie. Though there was quite an age difference between them, they were good for each other and Mattie considered Brandon his "best friend." They were a cute pair together and we will always be grateful to Brandon for being such a loyal and caring friend to Mattie.
Quote of the day: Sometimes I think that the one thing I love most about being an adult is the right to buy candy whenever and wherever I want. ~ Ryan Gosling
Tonight's quote makes me laugh! There is something quite special and magnificent about candy. Of course I am sure there are a host of adults out there who may not agree with me! Certainly I recognize that candy is filled with sugar and calories but I also know that nothing can get you through the most challenging and difficult of times like candy. Did I love sugar prior to Mattie developing cancer? The answer would be YES! But when Mattie was battling cancer, sugar and chocolate became staples. When people from Team Mattie would visit us in the Hospital, they always brought me something sweet. It was a gift of kindness, thoughtfulness, and caring. Candy and sugar became symbols of compassion in my mind. Without these gifts, I most likely wouldn't have had access to candy and sweets. Mainly because I never LEFT the pediatric floor and I was usually with Mattie. Back then the hospital had NO snack cart, so getting such a treat wasn't even an option.
After Mattie died, I joined a parent advisory board at the Hospital. At a board meeting the notion of a snack cart was proposed. Mattie Miracle decided to help take on this project. The project was meaningful to me for two reasons. First it enabled families caring for sick children to have access to snacks. I can assure you when given the option under stress, most parents aren't turning to granola bars. They are turning to chocolate. The other reason funding the cart interested me was it was a chance to keep the tradition going of sharing "compassion and kindness," that was shown to me, with other families.
Needless to say the snack cart is a hit at Georgetown University Hospital. Recently one mom told me that she couldn't have survived without this cart. It really made her day when it revolved around the floor. Needless to say as tons of candy comes before me this week and next week, I remind myself as to why the Foundation is doing this. Certainly we couldn't do it without the generosity of so many people in our community, our supporters, and local moms groups and businesses! We thank you!
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