Help Monica & Mike after suddden loss of Maddie

My name is Mary-Jo. I've been friends with Monica and Mike since we were in school together in Nova Scotia in the 1980s. They were high school sweethearts back then, who would later marry and go on to have two very cool, genuinely likeable, kids – Maddie and Mackie. Thereby officially making them the 4-Ms.

 

Tragically, early last Sunday morning, on December 19th, 2021, Maddie -- the girl who, quite literally, was never seen without a smile on her kind, beautiful face -- was fatally injured in a car crash. Less than a week before Christmas. When other families are blessed to be "stressed out" as we rush around and finish the wrapping or make the stuffing, Mike and Monica and Mackie were saying goodbye to their beloved Maddie.

 

The thing with Monica is -- and this is as true today as it was in 1985 -- she has never been the type of person to ask for help. Ever. Not even now, when she is undoubtedly facing her darkest chapter yet -- the loss of her sweet Maddie.

 

But, as her friends, we ARE asking for help.

 

Because our hope for Monica and Mike is that, as a community, we can come together this Holiday season and take care of the unforeseen expenses associated with having to do the unthinkable -- put a cherished daughter to rest.

 

Additionally, our hope is we can alleviate some of the financial stress of day-to-day life. So that Mike and Monica and Mackie can focus on healing. Our greatest wish is that -- not only as Nova Scotians who embody Maritime warmth but as compassionate Canadians who may not have even met the 4-Ms -- we might accumulate enough funds that this lovely family can take as much time as they need to truly grieve.

 

In memory of Maddie, we ask you to hug a cat today. If that’s not your thing, then enjoy a handful of pretzels – even tastier if snuck from mom and dad's treat drawer like Maddie often did. Please join us in showing Mike and Monica just how far-reaching Maddie's fun-loving energy spans, by posting your pretzel-photos with the hashtag: #PretzelsForMaddie.

 

And whenever you hear the sound of rain during a storm, an absolute favourite of Maddie’s, we ask that you pause to remember Maddie and her sweet, lovable kindness. We believe she is with us in all of these moments.

 

On behalf of Mike and Monica and Mackie, and of course, sweet and irreplaceable Maddie, we thank you.