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

February 14, 2018

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken on Valentine's Day of 2009. This was the last Valentine's Mattie and I celebrated together. Mattie worked with his art therapists for several hours that day. They were in the child life playroom and I was sent out of the room. When I was allowed back in, Mattie surprised me with this paper crown of hearts and a box filled with all sorts of cards he made for me. This maybe my all time favorite photo, which was taken by Jenny, one of Mattie's outstanding art therapists. She captured what Mattie always did with me.... touched noses and looked right into my eyes. 




Quote of the day: Anyone can give up; it is the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone would expect you to fall apart, now that is true strength.Chris Bradford



I started my day today with a photo of Sunny! Peter tells me that my absence is very noticeable to Sunny! Look at this sad face! Sunny is good at turning it on.














As today is Valentine's Day, I have found there are really two types of people as it relates to this holiday. Those who are all for it and those who truly avoid it like the plague. Naturally the reasons why one may not like this holiday can vary by person, but when grief and loss are factored into the picture, it can provide insight into the reactions we see.

When I mention grief and loss, I don't necessarily mean from a physical death. It could be the dissolution of a relationship, the longing for a bond and connection with someone special that hasn't happened, or simply the feeling of isolation. All of these things can impact how we view the holiday of love.

I decided to google..... "Valentine's Day and Loss" and a host of articles popped up. The one that intrigued me is below. It is entitled, "Valentine's Day - using loss to celebrate love." This blog posting was written by a fellow mom whose daughter died unexpectedly. She explained that her daughter died four days before Valentine's Day and therefore this has clouded her whole feeling for the holiday. Not that she was ever a big Valentine's Day celebrator to begin with, for like me, she feels it is a commercialized day.

Yet it was her rationalization toward the end of the article that captured my attention. I totally agree with her. That when you lose a child, aspects of happiness, celebrating, and actively taking part in life dies. In fact, when you feel happiness or celebration it is tinged with feelings of guilt. Yet I do think it is possible to acknowledge such a great loss and also recognize the importance of one's marriage. It isn't one or the other. Both are possible, and yet it does take some time to come to this realization. As this mom points out..... "we’re still there, we’re still committed, we still care."

Using loss to celebrate love is a very appropriate title for her article, because I do think through great loss, we hone in on what is actually more important in life. Valentine's Day is not just for romantic love, it is for celebrating friendships and our connections with others. Given that St. Valentine was the patron saint of love and young people, it is simply tragic that several families in Florida are either sitting in a hospital room or identifying their child's body from such a senseless school shooting today. It is a horror of grand proportion and was sickly timed with the love that today is supposed to symbolize. My hearts go out to these families and school community, as I know all too well the journey these parents will be forever facing.


Valentine’s Day – using loss to celebrate love

https://chasingdragonfliesblog.com/2015/02/13/valentines-day-using-loss-to-celebrate-love/

1 comment:

Margy Jost said...

Vicki,

This picture of you & Mattie is my favorite! It clearly shows the bond, you & Mattie had. The trust & love is shown in this photo.
nHolidays are so commercialized, often bringing great pain to those who have lost a child.

I too, am deeply sorry for the families in Florida who have lost their child through a senseless shooting. In many ways in life, we have failed children. Kids diagnosed with Cancer quickly find out that treatments, they receive are the same ones received years ago. Research is stymied because of a lack of funding. How can this be? Yet it is! Now children in school aren't safe either. They are murdered in their school classrooms because, we the people can't seem to figure out a way to regulate gun ownership or how & who came purchase on. No one needs an AKA assault rifle yet instead of admitting that gun ownership need better regulating, it has been ifecided to blame the mentally
ill. Those responsible should admit, they have failed our children! So much forever loss