EMZ Memorial Scholarship Fund
Donation protected
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way.
- Third stanza "Love Sonnet XVII" by Pablo Neruda
An initial diagnosis of a UTI in May of 2014 seemed to persist, but was battled through and ignored by my mom as she attended events with friends, a wedding of a dear friend, trips to Baltimore to see the construction of my now husband, Josh, and my new home, and other adventures with my dad, her loving partner of thirty-one years. By the end of the 2014 summer, my dad and I strongly encouraged her to go back to the gynecologist to dive deeper into the issues she was still facing. Upon that visit, a whirlwind of information, initial misdiagnosis, and terms were blowing in our faces knocking us down like the big bad wolf- mass, ultrasound, biopsy, 7cm larger, now 11cm... CANCER.... EMERGENCY SURGERY. Fear was staring us directly in the eye intimidating our family of four who were also in the midst of planning Josh and my wedding which was set for August 8, 2015, a date that was secured as close as possible to my parents' wedding anniversary which was August 11, 1984.
Resiliance was displayed as my mom underwent two emergency surgeries removing four masses from her ovaries, lung, and liver along with a three week hospital stay at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. She was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer that mimics Ovarian Cancer called Malignant Mixed Mullerian Tumor (MMMT), and set to receive chemotherapy every other week. Life continued despite the major setback we were dealing with, my mom specifically. She never allowed cancer to define her as she vigorously inhaled life with endless energy, a dry sense of humor, explosion of joy through her dance moves, avid reader, love for vanilla frozen yogurt, finding beauty in the mundane, little to no tolerance for TV, a writer that should be placed amongst the best, a vocabulary that made her seem like a walking dictionary always challenging me to the Dictionary Game, compassion for animals specifically her grand pups, Lola and Dozer, a botanist's shadow always gardening, dedicated mother, Aunt, sibling, sister-in-law, niece, cousin, friend but most importantly, partner to my dad. Her love of poetry is what brought the two together via 'Open Mouth Poetry' an organization she had co-founded in Philadelphia in the 80's.
In April, 2015, my mom was placed in 'remission'. We celebrated as my dad's optimism always carried us through- a miracle had happened. Again, life went on with a sheer focus to plan the most thoughtful, love-filled wedding for Josh and me. My mom's goal throughout her fight against MMMT was to dance at our wedding and present an articulate, compassionate speech with my dad. That was our prize, to have my mom do exactly that. We had been given warning that this aggressive beast had the likelihood and potential of coming back...and it did, tenfold. We cried many emotional tears fearful my mom would not be able to attend our wedding, but we did not acknowledge that my mom had a goal in mind, and that would be her fuel to continue to go back to war against this disease. Not only did she continue to battle, but also she looked like the queen of England, elegant as ever, despite being as swollen as a woman seven months pregnant. She wasn't able to wear her silver Cinderella shoes, but she danced, laughed, indulged in all of our guests, took great pride in the wedding she and my dad worked so hard to give to us, witnessed and was a vivid part of the most important day of lives, and gave the most beautiful speech with my dad that engulfed the lessons of true commitment, devotion, and deep love....
On August 11, 2015, my parents' 31st wedding anniversary, my mom began her second round of chemo which was administered once a week - WWII against MMMT began. She fought tremendously and with the most brave attitude. She overcame struggles, including defeat from chemo side effects and negative thoughts about what her life had left to hold, without losing her thirst for knowledge, faith, and innate optimism. We, as a family unit, were not giving up hope, not one ounce.
February, 2016, things began to change again for the worse. My mom had been extremely in tune with her body, like a mother is to her child. Something was wrong and tumors were growing back. My mom had built a resistance to the second type of chemo she had been receiving. Fear was lurking again like a dark cloud. My dad was our head coach maintaining hope and positive thoughts. My mom was our hero refusing to give up the fight. What looked like a perfected, meticulous game plan beginning a new chemo which would only be administered once a month as opposed to once a week quickly came crashing down as a weekend stay at the hospital turned into a month long fight for my mom's life. My mom lost her battle on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 6:25am despite fighting until her very last breathe with my devoted dad reading her poetry right next to her. Before she let go, barely able to speak, she filled our hearts with positivity and confidence that she will always protect and guide us. Her ultimate plan became so vivid during her final few days and prepared us for the unfathomable which we were not ready to accept.
Her inspiration, love for living, devotion to her family, commitment to writing, remarkable strength, positive outlook no matter the challenge or celebration, and will to be a good person to any and all will forever be celebrated and honored. We are choosing to do so by giving back to two exuberant young women in need who are looking to pursue an education or career in creative writing, just like my impeccable mom. All proceeds gathered through our GoFundMe account will be deposited into two scholarships in her honor at,
1. St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls in Philadelphia, PA
2. San Francisco State University - Creative Writing Department
Thank you for your support and donations for the opportunity to allow my mom's legacy to live on forever. The official scholarships will be called the Elizabeth June Madden-Zibman Memorial Scholarship. As my mom always said, love and light will always carry us through. #loveandlight
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
So I love you because I know no other way.
- Third stanza "Love Sonnet XVII" by Pablo Neruda
An initial diagnosis of a UTI in May of 2014 seemed to persist, but was battled through and ignored by my mom as she attended events with friends, a wedding of a dear friend, trips to Baltimore to see the construction of my now husband, Josh, and my new home, and other adventures with my dad, her loving partner of thirty-one years. By the end of the 2014 summer, my dad and I strongly encouraged her to go back to the gynecologist to dive deeper into the issues she was still facing. Upon that visit, a whirlwind of information, initial misdiagnosis, and terms were blowing in our faces knocking us down like the big bad wolf- mass, ultrasound, biopsy, 7cm larger, now 11cm... CANCER.... EMERGENCY SURGERY. Fear was staring us directly in the eye intimidating our family of four who were also in the midst of planning Josh and my wedding which was set for August 8, 2015, a date that was secured as close as possible to my parents' wedding anniversary which was August 11, 1984.
Resiliance was displayed as my mom underwent two emergency surgeries removing four masses from her ovaries, lung, and liver along with a three week hospital stay at St. Peter's Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. She was diagnosed with an extremely rare cancer that mimics Ovarian Cancer called Malignant Mixed Mullerian Tumor (MMMT), and set to receive chemotherapy every other week. Life continued despite the major setback we were dealing with, my mom specifically. She never allowed cancer to define her as she vigorously inhaled life with endless energy, a dry sense of humor, explosion of joy through her dance moves, avid reader, love for vanilla frozen yogurt, finding beauty in the mundane, little to no tolerance for TV, a writer that should be placed amongst the best, a vocabulary that made her seem like a walking dictionary always challenging me to the Dictionary Game, compassion for animals specifically her grand pups, Lola and Dozer, a botanist's shadow always gardening, dedicated mother, Aunt, sibling, sister-in-law, niece, cousin, friend but most importantly, partner to my dad. Her love of poetry is what brought the two together via 'Open Mouth Poetry' an organization she had co-founded in Philadelphia in the 80's.
In April, 2015, my mom was placed in 'remission'. We celebrated as my dad's optimism always carried us through- a miracle had happened. Again, life went on with a sheer focus to plan the most thoughtful, love-filled wedding for Josh and me. My mom's goal throughout her fight against MMMT was to dance at our wedding and present an articulate, compassionate speech with my dad. That was our prize, to have my mom do exactly that. We had been given warning that this aggressive beast had the likelihood and potential of coming back...and it did, tenfold. We cried many emotional tears fearful my mom would not be able to attend our wedding, but we did not acknowledge that my mom had a goal in mind, and that would be her fuel to continue to go back to war against this disease. Not only did she continue to battle, but also she looked like the queen of England, elegant as ever, despite being as swollen as a woman seven months pregnant. She wasn't able to wear her silver Cinderella shoes, but she danced, laughed, indulged in all of our guests, took great pride in the wedding she and my dad worked so hard to give to us, witnessed and was a vivid part of the most important day of lives, and gave the most beautiful speech with my dad that engulfed the lessons of true commitment, devotion, and deep love....
On August 11, 2015, my parents' 31st wedding anniversary, my mom began her second round of chemo which was administered once a week - WWII against MMMT began. She fought tremendously and with the most brave attitude. She overcame struggles, including defeat from chemo side effects and negative thoughts about what her life had left to hold, without losing her thirst for knowledge, faith, and innate optimism. We, as a family unit, were not giving up hope, not one ounce.
February, 2016, things began to change again for the worse. My mom had been extremely in tune with her body, like a mother is to her child. Something was wrong and tumors were growing back. My mom had built a resistance to the second type of chemo she had been receiving. Fear was lurking again like a dark cloud. My dad was our head coach maintaining hope and positive thoughts. My mom was our hero refusing to give up the fight. What looked like a perfected, meticulous game plan beginning a new chemo which would only be administered once a month as opposed to once a week quickly came crashing down as a weekend stay at the hospital turned into a month long fight for my mom's life. My mom lost her battle on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 6:25am despite fighting until her very last breathe with my devoted dad reading her poetry right next to her. Before she let go, barely able to speak, she filled our hearts with positivity and confidence that she will always protect and guide us. Her ultimate plan became so vivid during her final few days and prepared us for the unfathomable which we were not ready to accept.
Her inspiration, love for living, devotion to her family, commitment to writing, remarkable strength, positive outlook no matter the challenge or celebration, and will to be a good person to any and all will forever be celebrated and honored. We are choosing to do so by giving back to two exuberant young women in need who are looking to pursue an education or career in creative writing, just like my impeccable mom. All proceeds gathered through our GoFundMe account will be deposited into two scholarships in her honor at,
1. St. Hubert Catholic High School for Girls in Philadelphia, PA
2. San Francisco State University - Creative Writing Department
Thank you for your support and donations for the opportunity to allow my mom's legacy to live on forever. The official scholarships will be called the Elizabeth June Madden-Zibman Memorial Scholarship. As my mom always said, love and light will always carry us through. #loveandlight
Organizer and beneficiary
Marielle Zibman Bryant
Organizer
Princeton Junction, NJ
Daniel Zibman
Beneficiary
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