Tonight's picture was taken on October 27, 2007. Mattie was invited to a Halloween party hosted by a preschool family. By that time, Mattie and his friends were in kindergarten and attending different schools. Yet this wasn't just an ordinary preschool. It was a community that bonded children and their families with one another. In this particular picture you will see Mattie and his friends trying to turn me into a mummy. That was me covered with toilet paper on the floor. They were part of a contest, as there was another mom on the floor also being wrapped.
Quote of the day: Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy - the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation. ~ Eric Hoffer
I think cancer is the type of disease that when you look at it in whole, you can feel dejected and think..... what on earth can I do about it? How can I help or make an impact on those affected by the disease? Because in all reality, one organization can't meet all the demands in our society! A rather sad commentary, since that means there are too many children and adults diagnosed each day.
There are days when I feel Mattie Miracle is doing a great job, and days where I think..... it's like trying to hold back the ocean. Yet, I continue on realizing that what we do does have ripple effects within our community. Which is why we have been committed to developing evidence based Standards of Care as well as finding ways to implement these Standards at the 200 cancer treatment centers in the USA that focus on children.
Within the last two weeks, we have awarded $15,000 in continuation grants. These are follow up grants to the researchers we began supporting in 2018. The reason we are passionate about supporting their work is because one researcher is generating an evidence based tool to help reduce stress in parents and caregivers of children with cancer. The other researcher is designing a blueprint to screen, assess, and provide psychosocial care to siblings of children with cancer. You would be surprised by the lack of attention and support siblings are provided at our health care centers. There are many reasons for this oversight: 1) a sibling is not the intended patient in a hospital setting, 2) siblings are not always present in the hospital and therefore aren't available to receive support, and 3) how does a hospital get reimbursed for providing care to a sibling? These are vital questions that need to be answered and we are honored to be able to support research that has direct clinical practice.
No comments:
Post a Comment