Thank You!

Posted on May 26, 2015 by hopeformattie

We wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who ran, walked, volunteered, donated, and sponsored the 3rd Annual Run for Hope 5K and 1 Mile Event. With your help, this year’s race was a huge success! We raised over $3,000, all of which will go directly to Mattie’s therapies.

Congratulations to the male and female winners of the race, Romeo Gomez and Kim Myers!

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Mattie was there on race day, cheering on each runner as they crossed the finish line. 588

Mattie posed with all the winners and she was all giggles!

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Check out all of the fantastic pictures from the day HERE

Race results are posted on Cool Running HERE

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our next event, The 3rd Annual Hope for Mattie Charity Golf Tournament and Dinner Banquet. It will take place at Heritage Harbor Golf Course in Lutz on October 17, 2015! Registration will be opening soon.

We are always overwhelmed by people’s willingness to help us. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and goes a long way towards helping Mattie reach her potential. From our family to yours, thank you.

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Thank You!

Posted on April 23, 2014 by hopeformattie

We wanted to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who ran, walked, volunteered, donated, and sponsored the 2^nd Annual Run for Hope 5K and 1 Mile Event. With your help, this year’s race was a huge success! We raised over $4,000, all of which will go directly to Mattie’s therapies.

Congratulations to the male and female winners of the race, Jonathan Bing and Lisa Vaile! .

Winners

Mattie was there on race day, cheering on each runner as they crossed the finish line. She had a blast. After the event was over, Mattie and her dad went in the bounce house together. Her giggles melted my heart!

Check out all of the fantastic pictures from the day HERE

Race results are posted on Cool Running HERE

Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our next event, The 2^nd Annual Hope for Mattie Charity Golf Tournament and Dinner Banquet. It will take place at Heritage Harbor Golf Course in Lutz on November 8^th, 2014!

2nd Annual Run for Hope 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk

Posted on February 14, 2014 by hopeformattie

We are just 2 months away from the 2^nd Annual Run for Hope 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run/Walk!

This year will be even bigger and better! We are excited to announce that we will be adding a Family Post Race Party with Music, Bounce Houses, Food, Raffles and More!

Even if you are not a runner, come walk the 1 mile in beautiful Lake Park or become a volunteer. Help us spread the word by sharing our event with family, friends, co-workers, and schools!

For more info please click this link: RUN FOR HOPE

To register, click the link below:

We are still looking for Sponsors Please email us at hopeformattie@yahoo.com or click HERE for more details. Sponsorship opportunities are available for as little as $50.

Don’t forget, all proceeds from this event directly fund Mattie’s therapies!

Everyday holds the possibility of a miracle!

We hope to see you on April 12^th!

The year in review

Posted on January 22, 2014 by hopeformattie

One of the most difficult things about being the parent of a special needs child is that progress isn’t linear. There are periods of time when Mattie seems to be improving in leaps and bounds, followed by months of seemingly static capabilities. This result’s in a constant emotional roller coaster: feelings of elation when things are going well; and downright depression when they aren’t. You see, as parents our efforts don’t change, they are constant and all encompassing. Jess and I have devoted the vast majority of our time, money and energy to improving Mattie’s prognosis, with the hope that one day, these efforts won’t be necessary. But it’s difficult. Time seems to exist in snapshots, from one therapy to the next. And sometimes I get so caught up in what we’re doing, that I forget why we’re doing it.

The end of the year provides a fantastic opportunity to look back at the year and attempt to put our efforts, as well as Mattie’s progress, into some perspective. In 2013, Mattie was able to attend:

96 ABM sessions
20 Occupational therapy sessions
21 Speech therapy sessions
27 Early intervention sessions
10 Gymboree group visits
17 Hippotherapy sessions
4 Craniosacral therapy sessions
1 MNRI session

Wow! When we added all of this up, we were astounded. The logistics of getting to all of these therapy sessions was no small feat, and included 4 out of state trips. Mattie also went out of state in October for SPML surgery to reduce the spasticity in her legs.

Cold Wind

Gym Time

2013 was a great year for Mattie. At the beginning of the year, her primary mode of transportation was rolling around. This past year Mattie first learned how to army crawl, then later developed her “frog-hop” (patent-pending). Mattie also learned to sit up on her own, albeit in ways you and I wouldn’t even think about attempting. Mattie’s biggest progress this past year came in her language and cognitive skills. A year ago, Mattie could only say a small handful of words. Now, Mattie is capable of talking to you in 4 -5 word sentences. The other day when I came home from work for lunch, she exclaimed to the nanny, “I want to play with my daddy!” It was the highlight of my week.

Just recently Mattie has started to develop her sense of humor. One of her favorite games occurs when Joba jumps on my back. The conversation goes like this:

Me: Mattie, is there something on my back??!!
Mattie: Yes.
Me: What is it?
Mattie: A monkey. (with a big smile on her face)
Me: What’s the monkey’s name?
Mattie: Joba! (Both kids laughing hysterically)

2013 was also a busy year for the Hope for Mattie charity. We held our first major fund raiser in April, the Hope for Mattie 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run. This event was a huge success, with over 200 runners coming out to show their support for our daughter. Later in the year we had our second fund raising event, the Hope for Mattie Charity Golf Tournament and Banquet Dinner. Over 100 people participated on a beautiful fall day. Between these two events we were able to raise over $11,500; all of which went directly to Mattie’s therapies! We are currently in the planning stages for the 2^nd Annual Hope for Mattie 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run, to be held on April 12^th, 2014. This year we are adding a bounce house for the kids and a cookout for all attendees. For more information about participating in this event, CLICK HERE! If you would like to volunteer to help or to become a sponsor, email us at runforhopetampa@yahoo.com.

2013 was a great year for Mattie and our family. It was hard work, but Mattie has really made amazing progress. All of this is possible because of the support and generosity of our friends and family. Thank you all for being a part of Team Mattie! – Jim

Mattie

Run for Mattie

Posted on March 21, 2013 by hopeformattie

The Run for Mattie Team just completed the Gasparilla ½ Marathon on February 24th. Our Fund-Racing team for this race consisted of 7 members who all worked hard to “Run for Mattie”. As a team we raised over $2,500 for this race. We were just amazed at the generous donations that kept pouring in and actually continue to come in. Again, I am left with no words to express just how grateful we are to have such amazing friends.

Running 13 miles for Mattie is an experience I will never forget. In just 3 hours, I went through such crazy emotions. I have been asked how the race went and all I can say was it was good and bad and emotional. I will not lie; I have never run 13 miles before. The best I could do to train for this was 4 ½ miles, so going into Sunday morning I was really nervous but excited at the same time. Jim promised he would run with me. I know that was hard for him as he has run ½ marathons before and can run them in less than 2 hours. My goal was under 3 hours. The beginning went really well, probably too well. Between mile 4 and 5 we started taking walking breaks but we were running more than walking. Around mile 7 I told Jim “I can do this”. At mile 10, Jim gave a pep talk and I was motivated to finish it out. We were on track for 2 hours 40 minutes… then my body took over and gave me the middle finger. I was done. I was cramping, I had the chills, I was hungry, and I started crying. I was a done deal. Mile 10 took us 22 minutes to complete. Then Mindy texted me that she saw a sign that read “Kids with cerebral palsy think running is a gift”. The tears came again and we pushed on. When Tasha handed over our Run for Mattie banner as we were about to cross the finish line, tears came poring out. So, it was not pretty, almost pathetic really, but who cares. I did it. I did it for my beautiful daughter, Mattie, in hopes that she will one day realize that I would do anything for her.
Here is what a few of the Run for Mattie Team said about the day:
“I was so honored to be able to help you guys in any way that I can. It definitely was an emotional experience due to the fact that I almost cried in mile 1.”
“It was truly the most meaningful and emotional race I have ever run. I am so glad I was able to run it with everyone. It really touched my heart to have Mattie as my motivation throughout training and during the race. I was so blown away by the generosity of my friends and family too. I have always known I have been blessed with such great people in my life, but to see them all answer the call, when I asked them to, still had me in awe. I am so grateful to have been able to help Mattie and as with all things in my life, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without the support and love of my generous family and friends.”
“Running this race for Mattie was an amazing experience. Running is an ability so many people take for granted and my hope is that one day my sweet niece will be running along side of me. It was such an honor to be part of Team Mattie!!”

Here are a few pics from the race.

Run for Mattie

Run for Mattie 2

Team Mattie

The View on the Run

Our Bling!

A very amazing friend put together a Raffle for Mattie recently. We were raffling off a personalized signed game day jersey from Rob Gronkowski, the New England Patriots tight end. With 115 entries into the raffle, the winner was Ian Baxter, who by the way, is a huge Patriots fan. Ian had the shirt personalized with his kids names 🙂 Too Cute! Click this link to see Mattie pull the winner:
http://youtu.be/F9Qm87yGCUI

The past few ABM sessions have gone exceptionally well! We could not be doing as many sessions if it were not for all of you. Mattie has a big 5k race coming up, Run for Hope. Have you checked it out? All of the proceeds from the race will continue to fund Mattie’s ABM sessions. If you can’t be there April 27th, please consider donating or becoming a sponsor, we still have a few sponsorship spots available.

I know I have said this a hundred times… but… we appreciate the generosity shown to our family. You guys rock and with your support, Mattie is going to go far!

Change for Mattie

Posted on November 7, 2012 by hopeformattie

Somehow, someway an entire middle school was able to raise $1,306.83 for Mattie. The amount is amazing. The day my mom told me the total, I was in shock. So many amazing people came together to make this happen. A special needs class civic project taught me more about giving then I have ever known. The thought of other special needs kids helping out Mattie is just amazing. What a beautiful lesson to be taught 😉

Jim recounts our experience:

Ms. Emison, a special needs teacher who teaches at WeightmanMiddle School, (the same school as Jessica’s mom – who is also a special needs teacher) started a civics project called “Change for Mattie”. The basic idea of the project was for the students to learn how they can and should always give back to their communities in some way, shape or form – life lessons in community service! The students began by using the brainstorming process to learn how each student’s idea should go on the board without rejecting anyone’s idea. Then they discussed the different ideas on the board to determine what would be the best idea for their civic project. Many of the students had seen pictures of Mattie after she was first born and knew about all of Mattie’s doctor appointments and therapies. So when Mattie’s name came up, the class had made up their minds to ask the rest of TEWMS to help them raise money for Mattie!

The entire student body was told that the class which raised the most money would be treated to an ice cream party where they would have the opportunity to meet Mattie. Each morning a video would play of Mattie. This video showed how hard Mattie worked to try and do what most children take for granted. The students and staff pulled through from their hearts and piggy banks to donate, showing tremendous support for her and the classroom’s project. The talk on the campus was how much they wanted to meet Mattie, they weren’t interested in the ice cream!

One sixth grade girl especially took the challenge to heart. She went home and told her mom that she was going to help raise money for her new friend Mattie who couldn’t walk. The girl had her mom bring her to a local bakery and bought cookies. She then set up a stand in front of the cafeteria before school every day and sold the cookies at a profit. The little girl raised $78.00 for Mattie all be herself!

This past Friday Jess, Mattie and I headed to the school to accept the money the students, teachers, and administrators had raised and to participate in the ice cream party. When we arrived, Jess’ mom met us at the front desk and we proceeded to sign in. We had about 20 minutes before the ice cream party started, so we went to her classroom and had the opportunity to meet the children in her class. It’s really easy to get caught up in the everyday efforts it takes to raise Mattie. Meeting these kids with other difficulties really put things in perspective and reminded me to be thankful for the capabilities Mattie does have. My heart breaks for the parents of other kids with special needs and it is important to realize that while Mattie has her own difficulties, she also has a lot of things going for her and that not all kids are as well off as she is. This thought also extends to Joba and how lucky and blessed we are that he is healthy and fully capable of doing anything he decides to do in this world. I wish everyone could have an opportunity like this and to truly gain this perspective (the world would be a better place!)

We also had the chance to go to Ms. Emison’s classroom and meet her students. All of them immediately recognized Mattie from the posters that had been hanging around the school and the kids were all very excited to meet her. It was immediately clear that these kids had personally invested in the project; you could see it on their faces as soon as they caught a glimpse of Mattie. It was also very touching knowing that these kids were all dealing with many of the same issues that Mattie has or will be dealing with.

On the way to the cafeteria we had to walk across the school courtyard where hundreds of middle school aged kids had just been let out of lunch and were getting some fresh air. As we made our way across the courtyard we could hear the voices “Hey, there’s Mattie!” and “That’s Mattie!” We were quickly surrounded by scores of kids wanting to take her picture. It was great to see how excited all of the kids were to get to see Mattie-especially knowing how much effort they had all put in to help our little girl. She was a rockstar!

Once we made our way to the cafeteria, two classes of about 25 kids each were led inside. Several teachers and school administrators were there as well. Again, the kids were excited to see Mattie and were taking her picture, commenting on how cute she is. After everyone sat down, a young girl with cerebral palsy used her walker to come over and give us an amazing gift.

The girl who presented us with the check had told her parents about the fundraiser and they had also decided to come to the party. It was interesting to hear their perspective on raising their daughter and some of the difficulties they had overcome. They told us that Mattie had a lot of the same mannerisms as their daughter and that their daughter didn’t speak or walk until she was 6 years old. Everyone says not to compare kids with CP because no two kids or their circumstances are the same, but it is difficult not to. While it was exciting to hear a similar story as ours and where they are now, it also put into perspective the long road we have ahead of us. This is part of the emotional back and forth parents of a special needs child have to deal with.

Going to the school to see all of the kids was such an amazing experience and very uplifting! With all of the money these kids raised we have decided to bring Mattie back to the ABM practitioner in New York City that we had so much success with this past summer. Thank you Ms. McCallum, Ms. Emison, all of the teachers, administrators and of course, all of the kids for your amazing efforts! We are truly blessed to have you be a part of our journey.

* We took some amazing pics of the ice cream party but for privacy reason we are not going to post them… Instead enjoy some pics from my “photo shoot” with Mattie and her BIG donation check 😉