Saturday, November 23, 2019

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2008. Mattie loved playing on the floor of his hospital room. Since I always questioned how clean the floors and room were, we would lay a sheet on the floor. The lady sitting next to Mattie is Tricia. Tricia was Mattie's favorite HEM/ONC nurse and as you can see, being on the floor did not stop Tricia from doing her job. She got right down there with Mattie and engaged him in conversation while accessing his central line where he received all his fluids and medications. 


Quote of the day: I should know enough about loss to realize that you never really stop missing someone-you just learn to live around the huge gaping hole of their absence. ~ Alyson Noel

For the most part, Peter and I do not attend funerals. After attending Mattie's, that was more than enough for us. 

When Mattie died, his favorite nurse Tricia told us she wouldn't be attending his funeral. Tricia feels similarly to us about funerals, most likely from experiencing the tragic losses of two siblings. Nonetheless, a few days before Mattie's funeral, she received a sign. A sign she perceived was from Mattie. So not only did she break her rule about not attending funerals, she came and also spoke at Mattie's celebration of life ceremony. When we found out that Tricia's husband, Mike, died unexpectedly on Tuesday, we knew we had to see Tricia and attend the funeral. Perhaps it is our close understanding for each other, as Tricia saw Peter and I at our absolute worst and helped us in ways that are too intangible to describe. We are comfortable with each other and trust each other. Which to me is a special gift. 

The wake and funeral were in La Plata, MD. Which took us about an hour each way. When we got there, we were greeted by men in uniform. They were US Capitol Police, as we learned that Mike was a long time mechanic for the Capitol Police. The police loved Mike and said he could FIX anything. They knew if he serviced a vehicle, it would be good to go! It was very moving to have the police participate in the service and they folded a huge American flag and handed it to Tricia. It was beyond moving. 

The room was covered in flowers from friends and family and Tricia did a beautiful job creating photo displays and a video. Even Mattie Miracle walk photos were featured. 

Though we have known Tricia for 11 years, this was the first time we met her siblings. Ironically we all felt like we knew each other and I am so happy I got to know this side of Tricia. We met her close friends as well and spent a great deal of time chatting with Tricia and her family after the ceremony. 

After the funeral, there was a celebration of life reception at the American Legion. I loved seeing the sign, but it truly is hard to believe that someone who was only 61 years old could die. Especially after hearing that Mike looked like the picture of health on Sunday.