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 13, 2019

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in February of 2009. Mattie was home in between hospital stays. Though it was painful for Mattie to walk, he did try taking some steps around our home with his walker. Mattie did not like a forward facing walker, somehow it made him feel like he was falling. But the reverse walker was a hit. Back then, our goal was to get Mattie walking again after treatment. Never realizing that this wasn't going to happen. 








Quote of the day: You can be a good neighbor only if you have good neighbors.  Howard E. Koch


Yesterday Peter told me he saw staff from the DC medical examiner's office come into our building. They were taking photos and also had a body bag and gurney with them. Never what you want to see! Of course we did not know what had happened, but bad news has a way of traveling around quickly. Who died? The neighbor above me, who hated dogs. This woman and I had several major run ins with each other. In which she yelled at me and told me she was going to report me to management every time she saw me. She had an absolute fear for ALL kinds of dogs, even the little ones in our building. Imagine being scared of a docile chihuahua? 

Though this neighbor and I did not get along or even see eye to eye on pets, I certainly wouldn't wish her harm. Now that I know she died (and mind you she did not look physically ill) I actually feel badly that I couldn't find a way to get along with her. As Koch's quote points out, it is easy to be a good neighbor when you are surrounded by good neighbors. Unfortunately this woman did not bring about my best traits. Which illustrates who we surround ourselves with makes a big difference in our own attitude, opinions, mood, and behavior. 

The death of this neighbor truly bothers me. I am not sure it is because of our disagreement over Sunny, or because she died alone. So alone, that it wasn't until neighbors reported a bad smell coming from the apartment, that her body was found. Clearly she had no family around to check in with her. Which of course has me reflecting on my own life. My biggest fear is to land up like this lady, which could happen, since we too have no children. Caregiving responsibilities typically fall on one's children, but what happens if you lost your child to cancer? I am sure one figures out alternatives, but it isn't the same. As my neighbor's death poignantly reminds me. 

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