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

October 21, 2018

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Sunday, October 21, 2018

Tonight's picture was taken in October of 2008. Mattie was home recovering from his first limb salvaging surgery. Despite how awful he felt, he was still getting into the spirit of Halloween. A former neighbor of ours gave us this wonderful witches hat and as you can see Mattie decided to wearing it that day. 



Quote of the day: In every walk in with nature one receives far more than he seeks. ~ John Muir



We wanted to visit Mattie's tree today to plant bulbs around it. However, before doing this, Peter ran some chores in Alexandria and dropped me off at one of my favorite private school campuses to walk Sunny. 

Episcopal High School is a private boarding school in Alexandria and whenever I step on its campus, I feel two things.... like I am back in college and that I am surrounded by greenery. No cars or traffic and it is peaceful. I absolutely LOVE walking Sunny on their campus, and Sunny is also thrilled as he loves chasing the squirrels and chipmunks. Despite walking on this campus many times, today, Sunny found a wonderful nature trail that is on the school's property. It was a total surprise to me and found totally by happenstance. So between the campus itself and its nature trail, this has to be one of my favorite local walking spots with Sunny. 

Sunny stood guard while we were digging and planting around Mattie's tree. While I was walking Sunny, Peter bought planting dirt and mulch at Home Depot. Together we planted hundreds of bulbs around the tree. In the Spring, daffodils, crocus, and spiranax will be in bloom. It is a sight to see because none of the other trees on campus have bulbs around them, making this tree stand out and be extra special. 

While we were planting, one of the teachers at Mattie's school drove in and then walked over to talk with us. She told us how special the tree is to the school and how the children love to see it decorated. She mentioned she missed our wind chime on the tree. Our last wind chime got destroyed in a wind storm. But I told her to never fear, as I am on the look out for the right chime. After all, this can't be a twinkling tree without a chime. 

Though Mattie never had this particular teacher, I remember her well, as I interacted with her everyday on the school car pick up line. In a way it seems like a long time ago or another lifetime. Which is what I would say happens with a traumatic loss. There is a before and an after, and as such there was a Vicki before cancer and now what appears to be Vicki, but actually I'm very different. Or at least I feel that way on the inside. 

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