Milan's first friendship was with Maddie. Before they were even born, their parents would take hikes and meet for brunches and dinners and talk about how one day, they'd be lifelong friends.
Maddie, born 4 months before Milan, was one of his first visitors after coming home from the hospital
Milan and Maddie started sharing before sharing was cool
Maddie and Milan even went on exotic field trips around the bay area together
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. Neuroblastoma is a cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in
several areas of the body and most commonly affects children under the
age of 5 years old.
After bravely enduring an aggressive treatment plan, she lost her battle on October 17, 2014, less than 10 months after her diagnosis.
After bravely enduring an aggressive treatment plan, she lost her battle on October 17, 2014, less than 10 months after her diagnosis.
We had the opportunity to remember Maddie at a beautiful memorial with her family and friends. While her loss was felt, it was clear that her memory will endure.
We feel that if something positive can come from this tragedy, it is more awareness of Maddie's illness and directing more resources towards helping people like Maddie. We have donated to the following organizations in Maddie's honor:
where Maddie underwent many treatments
Alex's Lemonade Stand
an NGO that supports translational (lab-to-clinic) pediatric cancer research
an NGO that supports translational (lab-to-clinic) pediatric cancer research
supports many promising nationwide clinical trials
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.
