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

July 18, 2020

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Tonight's picture was taken in July of 2007. In typical Mattie fashion, he got out one of this toys to build! That day Mattie used Lincoln logs and created this big tower. Naturally the tower needed a place for a toy car. Vehicles of any kind were very popular with Mattie, and he found a way to integrate locomotion into all his play schemes. Got to love that smile though, no?









Quote of the day: Today's coronavirus update from Johns Hopkins

  • number of people diagnosed with the virus: 3,676,942
  • number of people who died from the virus: 139,748


Just when I thought the paperwork was coming to an end. More was piled on me today for another insurance plan of my dad's. This particular plan requires not only paperwork from us, but from my dad's doctor. So I wrote to the doctor today and attached the document he was asked to complete. Don't you know the doctor asked me to start completing it and then he would review it and sign it. That meant that I needed to complete his form as well as write a letter of medical necessity for caregiving services. Though I am familiar with the medical profession and certainly my dad's case, I am not a medical doctor, nor do I write in medicalese. None the less, I did it, because I want NO EXCUSES! I want all this paperwork to get to the insurer this week! 

Today's scenario with the doctor reminded me of my days in graduate school and all the hoops I jumped in order to get a doctorate degree. Sure you need some degree of intelligence to earn a PhD, but overall getting a doctorate means you have survival skills, and can manage people belittling you, people taking advantage of you, people making you do their work for you, and the list goes on. It is all apparently a necessary form of hazing to get into this prestigious academic club. So when someone now says to me that I have to write a letter or complete a document in order to get to the next step of the process..... no problem! I have no problem doing the work, if it accomplishes my agenda.  


It was a very hot day in Washington, DC. Sunny needed to walk, but we debated about where to take him. We decided on Turkey Run. I can't remember the last time I went to this park. A park that isn't far from where we live. 
Sunny apparently now stops for lizards too! He literally stopped moving to track this lizard. Mattie would have approved. 
In 90+ degree heat, Sunny can walk for about 1.6 miles and then gives up. Nonetheless, we had a beautiful, peaceful and very green walk. Canopied from the sun!
At this point, Sunny gave up and sat down in the woods. Peter walked back to get the car and met us not far from this spot! 

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