Maddie's life took a sudden turn a few days before Christmas last year when she was diagnosed with with high-risk neuroblastoma, 3 months before her 2nd birthday. After bravely enduring an aggressive treatment plan, she lost her battle on October 17, 2014, less than 10 months after her diagnosis.

We dearly wish things could have been different for Maddie, so that she could have experienced her first day of school or learned to ride a bike. But we can only hope that more research and treatments will prevent others from having to go through what Maddie and her family went through.