Tonight's picture was taken in April of 2008. Only three months before Mattie developed cancer. Hard to believe really when you look at this photo. In any case, this was one of Mattie's favorite past times..... playing with the hose and water. I remember the first summer we took him to the beaches of North Carolina. Mattie wanted NOTHING to do with the sand and surf. Instead, he wanted to hang out on the deck and play with the hose. At the time, I wasn't too thrilled with his decision, but he grew to love the beach after exposure to the ocean a few times. In this particular photo, Mattie wasn't out on our deck watering the plants, but instead getting soaked!
Quote of the day: Each day holds a surprise. But only if we expect it can we see, hear, or feel it when it comes to us. Let's not be afraid to receive each day's surprise, whether it comes to us as sorrow or as joy It will open a new place in our hearts, a place where we can welcome new friends and celebrate more fully our shared humanity. ~ Henri Nouwen
Today we had a phone call with the American Cancer Society (ACS). How we got connected with ACS isn't something I am going to share on the blog. But there is definitely a story there. None the less, a few weeks ago, we asked ACS to stand up with us and make psychosocial care a priority. Specifically we asked them to consider funding a follow up symposium we would like to host on Capitol Hill in the Fall. Talk about wonderful surprises as Nouwen mentioned in his quote..... we learned today that ACS is willing to give us a $12,500 grant to host our event. For Mattie Miracle this is a huge amount of money, because I have learned to do A LOT with NOTHING!
A follow up symposium is crucial, to help launch the next phase of the Standards project... IMPLEMENTATION. Our first symposium occurred on March 20, 2012, and was 8 hours long. It was greeted with MASSIVE enthusiasm, with over 85 attendees (doctors, psychologists, social workers, counselors, physical and occupational therapists, child life, and parent advocates) from 12 different States. Along with congressional staffers and members in attendance. The core research team at the symposium loved Mattie Miracle's vision to create Standards of psychosocial care. This vision was appreciated so much that after the event, Dr. Lori Wiener (NCI/NIH) emailed me and asked whether we could consider funding a think tank at a National conference to start brainstorming how such a vision could become a reality. In three years the impossible became possible. So though phase three (implementation) is very daunting, I can't forget how we navigated through phase 1 (creating the standards) and now phase 2 (getting them endorsed by professional organizations). This is an historic feat!
We need to give this second symposium a great deal of thought but having funding to help with the cost of bringing in the right leadership to help direct this conversation is crucial. So I am thankful to ACS for joining us and giving psychosocial care a voice at the cancer table of care.
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