deeper things - Maddie

There are two disturbing things to me about blogging, that I am sure others have grappled with.

1. This can be extremely self absorbing … it’s as if I am standing on my life’s balcony with the lights on and the drapes pulled back shouting at every passerby…come…take a good look…aren’t I something!!!

2. I do not want to be the Dead Sea… i.e, water flows in, nothing flows out….as I mentioned before , I am overwhelmed by all the compassion and love I feel flowing in since this cancer diagnosis…if I can not find a way to make myself a conduit from here on out, and let that love and compassion flow through me and beyond me…than I am most pitiful. I have some ideas…but I’ll share those later… I may need your help….

I am taking a break today from my self-fascination to write about Maddie…a 7 year old angel who has endured Cerebral Palsy and Epilepsy since birth. Maddie was adopted as an infant by my colleague and friend Ty, the Facility Operating Officer at a Psychiatric Hospital here in Nebraska. Ty and her husband have nurtured and cared for many, many children over the years…as well as many many pets of many many species. Her boundless energy seems limitless. When I first heard Ty mention Maddie a few years ago, I felt an instant love for this little girl and tug on my heart. Ty described the struggles Maddie was having with multiple daily seizures, her CP, other medical issues, frequent hospitalizations, etc. My dreaded stomach feeding tube which may be used for a month or two of my life, has been a daily reality for Maddie since she was three; she graciously takes this in stride, adorning it with charms (belly rings...she still gets to taste and eat pumpkin pie and ice cream.) Maddie is a bundle of joy and full of the love of life; she seems to bring joy to everyone who knows her. Her life itself is a miracle and a gift, as the medical consensus was that she would not survive even the first year of her life. And, as you see from the pictures above Maddie is still joyfully proving them wrong.
There is an organization…Locks of Love. Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. To date, Maddie has contributed around 30 inches of beautiful golden hair…I believe a record in the area for her age group. She grows her golden hair all year and around her birthday, makes her gift…Such an angel!

If those traveling this journey with me would add Maddie to your prayers, you would make me very happy…thanks, Ty, and thanks, Maddie, for allowing me to share your story.