The Fight of Her LifeBy Sean CooleyEssex Reporter StaffPeggy Mattes could have fallen apart back in 1995 when her 12-year-old daughter Caitlin was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer found mostly in children that attacks the nervous system. Caitlin’s cancer had advanced to stage four and she was given less than six months to live with a 95% mortality rate.Peggy could have fallen apart after nine chemotherapy treatments and two stem cell transplants over the next year and a half couldn’t send Caitlin’s cancer into remission.Peggy could have also fallen apart when Caitlin eventually lost her battle with cancer on Dec. 20, 1996 with a funeral on Christmas Eve.“When she died, I just lost it and didn’t know what to do, I had difficulty even getting up in the morning or taking a breath because I felt like my heart was going to break,” Peggy said.But 12 years later on June 20th,Caitlin’s birthday, Peggy wasn’t mourning another year not seeing both of her daughters growing up. She was instead celebrating Caitlin’s life, walking in the Relay for Life in Essex Junction and speaking to thousands during the opening ceremony to share her memory.Peggy makes sure no one forgets the friendly and energetic 13-year-old girl who aspired to be a lawyer and one day live in Montana amongst her horses and dogs and is now the shining symbol for the Mattes relay team Caitlin’s Crew. The team including Peggy, Caitlin’s father Keith and sister Kristin, has walked each year since Caitlin’s death with members competing to fundraise, raising $33,254.00 for the 2008 relay.“When she died, I just lost it and didn’t know what to do, I had difficulty even getting up in the morning or taking a breath because I felt like my heart was going to break,” Peggy Mattes.As this year’s relay coincides with Caitlin’s 25th birthday, it’s a time for the Mattes family to reflect, laugh, cry and move through another stage in the healing process. The event is another opportunity to continue Caitlin’s fight by promoting cancer awareness and challenging others to give to the cause.Peggy is now a co-chair for the American Cancer Society educational committee and makes it her mission to keep the rest of us informed of the simple ways we can help others – by donating blood or bone marrow, volunteering for events like the Relay for Life – and help ourselves – by quitting smoking, getting routine checkups.After being diagnosed Caitlin sought two promises from her mother – to never leave her alone and not to cry. While Peggy can’t help but tear up when traveling back to the days she lost her daughter, the Mattes family still holds to that second promise, never leaving Caitlin out of their thoughts and hearts.“I know that she’s there,” said Kristin Mattes, 23, of her sister Caitlin. “Whenever I’m scared or I don’t know what to do, I think about the pain that she went through and how much she did and its just amazing.”On Friday the Mattes’s once again set up camp alongside a community that knows all-too-well the heartbreak that cancer brings. Campsites are lined with thousands of luminaries, each representing a story just like Caitlin’s, another unextinguished glimmer of hope.
The Fight of Her Life By Sean Cooley Essex Reporter Staff Peggy Mattes could have fallen apart back in 1995 when her 12-year-old daughter Caitlin was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a rare cancer found mostly in children that attacks the nervous system. Caitlin’s cancer had advanced to stage four and she was given less than six months to live with a 95% mortality rate. Peggy could have fallen apart after nine chemotherapy treatments and two stem cell transplants over the next year and a half couldn’t send Caitlin’s cancer into remission. Peggy could have also fallen apart when Caitlin eventually lost her battle with cancer on Dec. 20, 1996 with a funeral on Christmas Eve. “When she died, I just lost it and didn’t know what to do, I had difficulty even getting up in the morning or taking a breath because I felt like my heart was going to break,” Peggy said. But 12 years later on June 20th,Caitlin’s birthday, Peggy wasn’t mourning another year not seeing both of her daughters growing up. She was instead celebrating Caitlin’s life, walking in the Relay for Life in Essex Junction and speaking to thousands during the opening ceremony to share her memory. Peggy makes sure no one forgets the friendly and energetic 13-year-old girl who aspired to be a lawyer and one day live in Montana amongst her horses and dogs and is now the shining symbol for the Mattes relay team Caitlin’s Crew. The team including Peggy, Caitlin’s father Keith and sister Kristin, has walked each year since Caitlin’s death with members competing to fundraise, raising $33,254.00 for the 2008 relay. “When she died, I just lost it and didn’t know what to do, I had difficulty even getting up in the morning or taking a breath because I felt like my heart was going to break,” Peggy Mattes. As this year’s relay coincides with Caitlin’s 25th birthday, it’s a time for the Mattes family to reflect, laugh, cry and move through another stage in the healing process. The event is another opportunity to continue Caitlin’s fight by promoting cancer awareness and challenging others to give to the cause. Peggy is now a co-chair for the American Cancer Society educational committee and makes it her mission to keep the rest of us informed of the simple ways we can help others – by donating blood or bone marrow, volunteering for events like the Relay for Life – and help ourselves – by quitting smoking, getting routine checkups. After being diagnosed Caitlin sought two promises from her mother – to never leave her alone and not to cry. While Peggy can’t help but tear up when traveling back to the days she lost her daughter, the Mattes family still holds to that second promise, never leaving Caitlin out of their thoughts and hearts. “I know that she’s there,” said Kristin Mattes, 23, of her sister Caitlin. “Whenever I’m scared or I don’t know what to do, I think about the pain that she went through and how much she did and its just amazing.” On Friday the Mattes’s once again set up camp alongside a community that knows all-too-well the heartbreak that cancer brings. Campsites are lined with thousands of luminaries, each representing a story just like Caitlin’s, another unextinguished glimmer of hope.