Welcome Friends!
Maddie M.
Georgia
Biography
Maddie was born Tuesday, December 22, 1998. For the first three
years of her life everything was normal, but just after her third birthday she
was diagnosed with a brain tumor. We noticed about a month before her diagnosis
she would have staring spells. Later we learned that these episodes were
seizures. The type of brain tumor she had was an oligodendroglioma. It is a very
rare tumor to be diagnosed in children, but thankfully, it was classified as
"low-grade." Maddie had surgery in February 2002 to remove the tumor. A post-op
MRI showed residual tumor, so she underwent another surgery in April 2002 to
remove the rest of the it. That surgery was a success! Following surgery, things
returned to normal for us. Well, a new "normal." She had MRIs every 3 months,
but eventually they were spaced out to every 6 months and then to yearly MRIs.
While Maddie remained seizure free, she continued taking seizure medication
after the surgery due to abnormal EEGs.
Maddie grew from a spunky 3-year-old to a mild mannered (almost) 10-year-old
before her seizures returned. We had almost six years of worry-free health.
Well, except for the anxiety that arose when it was time for her yearly MRI. In
September 2008, Maddie had a seizure that frightened us to our core. We took her
to the emergency room, tests were ran, and she was hospitalized. For hours after
the seizure she had no memory...couldn't remember best friend's name, the name
of her school, the color of her bedroom, my name, or her dad's name. She was
transferred from our local hospital to the childrens' hospital in Atlanta. We
had already spent a lot of time there in the past, so it was somewhat comforting
being there again...knowing they would take great care of Maddie. After it was
determined that her seizure wasn't due to any new tumor activity she was allowed
to go home.
Over the past three years she has been on several different combinations of
seizure medications, taking the maximum allowed of each, but the doctors have
been unable to get her seizures under control. She has multiple seizures
everyday. We had to pull her out of school & begin homeschooling her because of
her seizure activity. Earlier this year testing was begun to see if she's a
candidate for epilepsy surgery. The testing process has been lengthy. Some of
them have been painful. Some caused her to experience grand mal seizures. There
have been hospital stays, doctors' visits, and lots and lots of waiting. We're
finally nearing the point of surgery. We have one more appointment to meet with
the neurosurgeon before surgery is scheduled.
The toll the seizures have taken on Maddie physically, mentally, & emotionally
are heartbreaking for her dad & me. I feel like we've been robbed of the past
three years. Time we'll never get back. But, we have hope. We have faith that
God is working in ways we can't even begin to understand or imagine to use this
adversity for our good & His glory.
When you sign up to stitch for Love Quilts you will get a confirmation of your sign up. If your pattern is a duplicate you will be asked to pick another pattern.
We encourage you to join the LoveQuiltsUSA Yahoo group to check the pattern listing for duplications yourself before you sign up.
The lists of patterns already being stitched are posted on the database. LoveQuiltsUSA is an open group so you can sign up easily and view the patterns right away. Please follow this link to sign into the Love Quilts Yahoo Group...
Once there click on the link "database" on the right to view the children and their patterns. Once you find a pattern that you want to stitch and have confirmed it is not already being stitched you may return to the sign up form, fill it in and submit it. If you have any questions about the yahoo group please email Cyberfogie@aol.com, Vicki, for further instructions (yahoo groups email only!) Thanks!
Birth Date - December 22, 1998
Main Diagnosis - Seizure disorder
THEME: Dance- - fav colors pink and purple
