Our Warriors Who Inspire Us

Madelyn will be forever 8 years old to us.  Maddie liked horseback riding, summer camp, rock-climbing, and downhill skiing. She loved painting, music, crafts and table games. Her two favorite games were Apples to Apples and Catch Phrase. Over Maddie's short life she was on the the school swim team, played soccer, basketball and tennis, and loved attending high school athletic events. She also enjoyed participating in gymnastics, dance, and piano. She truly loved all animals and debated which occupation would provide the most contact with them. Maddie traveled extensively: Iceland, Ireland, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, NYC, RV'ing in the Black Hills, and of course, the pilgrimage to Orlando. She was a natural leader and would organize many of her classmates to do fun projects together such as the Beanie Boo wedding, and a class party (to the surprise of the teacher).
Maddie had the warmest heart and a deep soul. We witnessed her compassion grow this year as she got to know many children battling cancer. Even with her extensive interests, her family remained the center of her world. Over the last two months, Maddie planned and made Christmas gifts for her family, despite her setbacks. Despite her young age, she understood the concept of heaven and was prepared for it. Her greatest loves, after her family, were Pandas, her friends at Brownell-Talbot, her cat, Titan and her fish, Rosie. Maddie will remain an inspiration to all who have been touched by her.
Madelyn was diagnosed with DIPG on January 26, 2015.  Madelyn received treatment for DIPG as part of a clinical trial at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.  Her initial response to treatment was impressive and she tolerated the maintenance chemo well.  She enjoyed seven symptom free months that we used to take trips to Florida, New York, Michigan, and an RV trip to South Dakota.  We also researched additional treatment options during that timeframe.  In the fall, Maddie had a biopsy performed at Sloan Kettering in NYC due to the return of symptoms.  Genomic analysis was performed as part of the Molecular Guided Therapy trial at Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  The molecular analysis led to a combination therapy of four chemos that targeted the mutations in her tumor.  Initial results where promising and we saw several weeks of improvement.  When things then took a rapid turn for the worse we headed home to hospice since there were no more viable treatment options.  Maddie's decline was mercifully swift and she passed away in our arms in December of 2015.  Maddie's journey in the battle against cancer is posted at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/madelynshumaker