Mattie Miracle 15th Anniversary Video

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

December 10, 2024

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Tuesday, December 10, 2024 -- Mattie died 792 weeks ago today. 

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2002. Mattie was 8 months old. It was his first Christmas with us and I wanted our holiday card to feature this cute face! I literally dressed him up, dragged out Mattie's entertainment saucer and we snapped photos of him. Being the first snow fall of the season, it was a magical moment. As you can see, Peter was introducing Mattie to the white stuff, and it peaked Mattie's curiosity. I now have lost both of my boys, and only have photos left of our time together. 


Quote of the day: Each divorce is the death of a small civilization. Pat Conroy


I spent a good portion of the morning on Foundation communications and administrative work. It is close to impossible to believe that I now run Mattie Miracle without Peter. Creating the non-profit was Peter's idea. I was too traumatized after Mattie died in 2009, to have any clear thought about this matter. But I went to all the legal meetings and went through the process right along side Peter. It seems fitting, that like everything else, I now manage it alone. It is hard enough knowing that................... 

I am divorced (against my will), 

My husband is in a relationship with my neighbor, 

I worry day to day about finances and my future, 

I have been caregiving for three years without a break, and 

I am the sole parent keeping Mattie's legacy alive. 


It is not unusual for me to say to myself..... what else can Peter do to me? Clearly I am the most affected by Peter's behavior, but I am not the only one who feels shocked, stunned, and betrayed. Those close to us, who thought they knew Peter are equally troubled, and continue to tell me.......... they too would never have seen this coming. Why? Because Peter appeared to be a devoted and loving husband. In fact, it wasn't unusual to hear, after Mattie died, that I was Peter's reason for living. Without me, he wouldn't of had a purpose. Not my words, HIS!

If some of you are thinking.... Peter wanted a divorce because of Mattie's death and that this is some sort of unresolved or complicated grief issue, I am here to tell you, NO that is not it. Peter and I survived the impossible. Mattie has been dead for 15 years and through this journey, we walked it together. We may not have always been on the same page, because grief is an individual journey, but we were there for each other.

This afternoon, my parents wanted to go out to lunch. They did not want me cooking. I have introduced them to a local restaurant about 10 minutes away from home. I did not do this sooner, because the last time I went to this restaurant, it was with Peter. It was at that restaurant in which Peter first told me he was unhappy in our marriage. Not only that he was unhappy, but he was unhappy for a long time. Of course depending on when I spoke to Peter, the timing would change. From being unhappy for a long time, to being unhappy from 2018 onwards, or being unhappy after my parent's moved in. That inconsistency drove me batty! When Peter dropped this news to me at this restaurant, I wanted to start screaming! What way to tell me this horrid news, in a public space, where I was trapped. 

I thought that day we were going out for dinner to reconnect. As I was strung out from caregiving and upset with his constant attention and hours spent with our neighbor. I was hoping that this space away from home would have given us the chance to talk. Forget it! Because Peter's plan to dump Vicki was already in motion. Vicki just did not know it yet! Needless to say this restaurant has held very bad memories for me. In fact, I was so upset with Peter, that I got up from the table and walked right out of the restaurant.  

Though I will freely admit to suffering from trauma, I push myself through spaces that were traumatizing. I learned this skill from past traumas. Today was the third time I have been back to this restaurant, each time with my parents. The restaurant was beautifully decorated for the holidays, it was playing Christmas music, and we got a lovely table by the window. All I know is for a minute, I was able to erase the toxicity of Peter in this space, and to appreciate this restaurant for what it is. 

What Peter has done to me, could cause me to have a nervous breakdown. I discuss this feeling with my friend in England (who I met in an on-line support group) often, who I swear is living a parallel life. The circumstances are a bit different, but the cruelty, abandonment, and radio silence are all the same. It takes great inner strength to hold it together, but it is a terrible feeling to know that I have been tricked. That I have been lied to, not just recently but for years, and to know that I was living with someone who truly hated me, and yet I did not see or feel it. That alone is a frightening and disillusioning notion. 

December 9, 2024

Monday, December 9, 2024

Monday, December 9, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2007. Mattie was five years old. Each Christmas, I would dress Mattie up in a holiday sweater and snap a photo of him. These photos always went on the cover of our holiday cards. This was his cute sweater in 2007. I am not sure Mattie loved having a Christmas tree or decorating it. What he loved about having a tree was that he could assemble his Santa Christmas train set underneath and around it. Mattie was enamored with trains and I can't think of our trees without the excitement of Mattie's trains. 


Quote of the day: Divorce is the psychological equivalent of a triple coronary bypass. ~ Mary Kay Blakeley


This morning, after dropping my dad off at his memory care center, I had chores to run. When I got home, I was determined to contact one of the company's that managed stocks that we bought years ago. I knew we have several different accounts with this company. I first started out talking to this company by chat and then this person could see I really needed to speak to a live person. Between the chat and the call, I was derailed for almost two hours. But I got down the bottom of this and learned that I basically have no more stocks left in my name. The surprises just keep on coming. If I reported in full what I have endured since 2023, you would be stunned. Somehow however, hearing this news today, set me off. Yes I have been angry before today, but today's emotions are intense. It is a horrible feeling to be played, lied to, manipulated, and disrespected for years. 

I am livid and there is no time to feel anything else other than constant panic, trauma, and anxiety. Each day, I ask myself.... what shoe will drop today? I wake up prepared for the worst! I just never know if the worst is coming by mail, email, or phone call! 

On an aside, I am very grateful to friends who are reaching out to me either through the blog, text message, or email. What I absorbed today is that Mattie's blog is read throughout the country. As I know for sure that we have readers in Washington State, Colorado, California, Oregon, Missouri, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Maryland, Virginia, and Florida. Literally if I put a map together, it would be truly interesting to see what other states are represented in our Mattie Blog family! 

Seeing my story through the eyes of friends, reminds me, just how outlandish all of this is, how incredibly horrific it is, and as one friend said..... this is just so crazy, you couldn't possibly make this up! As I always say, truth is better than fiction and what I am facing, I couldn't possibly have concocted. It is that over the top, that unexpected, and that devastating. 

Being so wound up this afternoon, I came home at 4pm, got my dad settled and then I went to our backyard to trim roses back by 50%. I filled up three large bags full of debris. You should see how much debris I have at the curb right now. It speaks to my level of angst and pent up frustration, anger, and anxiety. Thank goodness it was a warm afternoon, because being outside is about the only thing that restabilizes me. 

While making dinner tonight, this text message popped up from my good friend. Literally I read it and said.... this is hysterical and I totally understand. 



December 8, 2024

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Sunday, December 8, 2024

Tonight's picture was taken in December of 2007. Mattie was five years old and that day I visited Mattie's kindergarten class. I baked homemade gingerbread cookies and after reading the book, Gingerbread Baby, to the class, the children got to decorate their own cookies. I made royal icing and brought in all sorts of goodies for decorating! This was Mattie's cookie, complete with marshmallows! I always inserted myself into Mattie's classrooms, whether it was preschool or elementary school. I wanted to get to know his teachers and friends. By kindergarten Mattie was asserting more of independence, nonetheless, I always found a way to be involved because it was important for me to share in his experiences. 


Quote of the day: Divorce shreds the muscles of our hearts so that they will hardly beat without a struggle. ~ E. Lockhart


When I began working with my divorce attorney in October of 2023, she saw the writing on the wall WAY BEFORE me. I just couldn't accept what she was telling me. Which was..... Peter was having an affair! I couldn't process this! I felt I knew Peter better than she did and clearly she had to be wrong! After all, there had to be a logical explanation for why he was leaving me! When I told my lawyer that Peter lost 40 pounds, became a runner and exercised daily starting at 4am, had a different diet than the rest of us in the house, and purchased a brand new and expensive wardrobe.... her response was.... these are classic signs of an affair! My lawyer has been practicing for over 25 years, so she isn't a novice. Yet despite her credentials and years of experience, I thought I knew better! I trusted Peter, I believed in our marriage, and I believed that we both were committed and respected each other and our vows. "Always and forever," which is what is engraved on our wedding bands! Given that I had no evidence of past transgressions with affairs, I did not think an affair was possible. Now of course I wonder.... did I miss that too!? Since I did not see this train wreck coming until Peter walked out the door on September 23, 2023, maybe there were other affairs too. 

This morning, I spent about two hours outside pruning one of our crape myrtles and several hydrangea bushes. It was practically 66 degrees in December. It was the perfect day to be outside. I also figured the more I do, the less I will have to pay our landscapers! I wanted to cut back our rose beds too, but I had to stop to take my parents out to brunch. 

At brunch, like so many meals, we got into an argument about Peter. Peter's behavior and cruelty hasn't just impacted me. Though my dad's cognitive decline is significant, he is in touch enough to know my pain and devastation. At brunch he started talking (which is rare!) about the fact that he is upset with himself. When I asked why, his response was because he always thought Peter would be a good husband and father. He approved of my marriage to Peter, and now he feels responsible that he did not see the warning signs to protect me. As if he could have prevented this nightmare! I listened and then I told my dad that he should not give this one more minute of thought. My dad is NOT responsible for what transpired. He couldn't see warning signs in Peter, because Peter never showed this side of himself. You can't warn someone of something that you aren't aware of yourself! I told my dad that we were all working with the knowledge we had, and from our time and experiences with Peter, we thought he was a wonderful, loving, committed, responsible, bright, and professional person. This is the Peter we all saw up until 2023, before this woman came into our lives. 

Do you believe that one person can transform or influence a person's personality? Can transform one's core values? Can get a person to turn against their own wife and family? I know I wouldn't believe that this was possible, and frankly if someone else told me this story, I would be thinking.... what else is really going on? There had to be other problems? There had to be warning signs? But the reality is NO, there were NO years or months of trouble. In fact, up until July 2023 (two months before Peter left me), he was still writing me beautiful notes and cards! Here's the irony of it all, on July 15, 2023, on our 28th anniversary, Peter wrote this in a card to me....

Here is to 28 years together. Wow! I am grateful for the beautiful journey we have shared. Here's to many more cherished moments together. 

So what happened? Do you see my confusion? I did not see any of this coming, but then again, who would think that Peter would leave after a 35 year relationship (just when I needed a lot of emotional support caring for my parents), refuse to talk to me, refuse to connect with our family and friends, and then have an affair and move in with my neighbor? This is so surreal, I couldn't possibly make this stuff up! Yet here I am, facing this reality each and every day.