Friday, May 31, 2019

Friday, May 31, 2019

Tonight's blurry photo was taken by me in June of 2007. We were at Dutch Wonderland in Pennsylvania and Mattie and Peter went down this gigantic slide together. By that point, Mattie had overcome whatever hesitation he had about slides. Mattie had a great time at the park that day, as he went on every roller coaster possible! I was thankful Peter could share in this excitement with Mattie, because unlike the both of them I do not care for such motion. 






Quote of the day: Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~  Winston S. Churchill

In all reality, Churchill could have been talking about cancer. Because I would say it is the courage to continue on that is amazing! It is what makes all people with cancer super heroes in my book, as they dig deep to find the inner strength to face each treatment, each side effect, and the long term psychosocial issues that impact one's mind, spirit, and quality of life. 

Today I went to visit my friend Margy. Margy is a thyroid cancer survivor, and now she is coping with a second diagnosis.... metastatic ovarian cancer. Margy was diagnosed in January of 2018, and will begin a trial next week, as standard of care hasn't stabilized her disease. 

I was so thrilled to hand deliver the Dining Around Town raffle basket to Margy today. As she and her family support Mattie Miracle in many ways. You may find it interesting to note that we only talked a small percentage of time  about her diagnosis and the upcoming treatment next week. That may seem odd to read this, but I know first hand what living with such a life threatening disease feels like. Just like with grief, when managing a cancer treatment, you really have to go in and out of the disease. Meaning, in order to psychologically survive, distractions are NEEDED. These positive diversions truly take our minds and hearts off of being ill. So I am happy to serve in that capacity today. 

To my surprise Margy and her husband made me my own photographic placement for THEIR kitchen table. I try to visit monthly and now I officially feel like part of the family. 

This photo was taken around Margy's birthday in April. 

One of the items in the raffle basket was this light up fourth of July headband. Margy put in right on, so we could show off our gifts. Margy with her headband and me with the beautiful seashell pendant she brought me back from the beach. 

I wanted to highlight several of the wonderful vendors or corporations that support the Mattie Miracle Walk. This is Sergio, from Rack Impact Entertainment. Sergio has been our DJ at the Walk for 5 years now. He brings his entire family, and all of his children volunteer with us. I found Sergio years ago on a website called Gigmasters. Sergio responded to my request for a DJ and never charges us even a penny for his professional service! He and his family are delightful to work with and he brings a certain level of fun and life to our event. 

This is Dylan, from Dylan Draws Stuff. I found Dylan through Gigmasters too. He started working with us last year and he was a major hit at the Walk. Like Sergio, Dylan charges us NOTHING for over 4 hours of his amazing service. I consider our vendors..... Mattie Miracle workers as they enable us to generate funds for the Foundation and also ensure our Walk participants have a good time. 

This is Candra, from Beaux Lou Events. How did I find Candra? No surprise, from Gigmasters. Candra responded to my on-line request for a face painter and balloon twister. Candra and I connected immediately as she lost her Aunt Maddie (who was a pediatric nurse) to cancer. Candra also donated her hours of service for free. 

This is Adina, our child life specialist at Children's Hospital at Sinai in Baltimore, MD. Adina set up a booth at the Walk and was on hand to answer questions about what child life is and does, and also provided fun activities for kids of all ages.

Adina has been working with us since the Fall, and is truly dedicated to helping children but also committed to learning more about Mattie Miracle. Adina created a Sinai Walk team this year and her entire family attended our event.  

This is Lenny and he works with TeraThink. TeraThink is the presenting sponsor of our Walks. TeraThink has been a Mattie Miracle sponsor since 2011. This year, they made a $10,000 commitment to us. In addition to monetary support, they also provide on the ground professional support with our other activities..... such moderating our Round Table on Capitol Hill. 

These ladies work at the local AT&T store. They asked whether they could set up a community tent at our event. After I discussed this with them and learned that our supporters weren't going to get pitched for products and services, I agreed to their attendance. They were lovely and they want to get more involved in our future events. 

Our other big corporate sponsor is Anthem. From left to right is Carolyn, Artis, and Ernest. Carolyn flew in from Atlanta to walk at our event and it was delightful to be able to thank them in person for their generous support!