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

June 14, 2020

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in August of 2006. That day, my parents and I took Mattie to the USS Midway. Which is a World War II air craft carrier, that was turned into a museum in the San Diego harbor. Mattie LOVED all sorts of locomotion, and we figured he would love exploring the carrier. Everyone working on the carrier was professional and friendly and Mattie got a full tour of the ship, from top to bottom. In this photo, we were standing on deck, where thousands of air craft, over the course of history, took off and landed. 




Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins
  • number of people diagnosed with the virus: 2,094,058
  • number of people who died from the virus: 115,732


We get up early each day, Peter before 6am, and me by 6:30am. This timing is important, in order to get as much done during the day as possible. This morning when I awoke, I found my dad up and in the bathroom. My mom and I asked him if he wanted to go back to sleep or wanted to take a shower. That question set him off and he started yelling. He did not want to take a shower and proceeded to tell us that he never took a shower 7 days a week at any point in his lifetime. We tried to explain to him that this wasn't true and reminded him how fastidious he has always been about himself and what he wore. Naturally from a mental health standpoint, I know arguing with someone who isn't cognitively intact serves no purpose, but it much harder to be this impersonal when it is a loved one. 

Any case, my dad went back to bed and at 8am, we woke him up and tried to find out what he wanted to do. He did take a shower today and I have to say this one was easier than yesterday's. The first is always the hardest, because you just don't know exactly what you need to do. 

Saturday and Sunday, no therapists come, so we have more flexibility in how our day will go. We did a lot of packing today and by the end of today, we have moved all my parents clothes to the new house. Peter and I spent three hours moving things to the new home, and I unpacked the entire kitchen and set it up. Peter was working on cleaning floors and it is my hope to get to cleaning bathrooms tomorrow. It is non-stop work and I know that if I do not manage the details, which includes packing, unpacking, and setting up every room of the home, it will be impossible for my mom to do alone. 

Meanwhile, I snapped this photo of the Famous Bob Big Boy mascot in front of the restaurant. A restaurant which has been at this location since 1936 and was declared a historical landmark by the state of California in 1993. I couldn't get over it, even Bob had on a mask! 
At the end of the day, this is the amount of trash we brought back to my parents home. What is it? Packing boxes (that were unpacked) and paper used to protect breakables. 

We now have a garage filled with donated items and garbage! I am thrilled both are getting picked up tomorrow. As this will be one less thing to worry about. 

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