Honoring Maddy: Help Her Seven Younger Siblings Say Goodbye

My beautiful firstborn child, Madeline Smith, succumbed to her battle with mental health issues on Sunday. Her siblings and I are asking for help in funding a soothing, memorable farewell service to help us all process our grief.

Madeline was rushed to the hospital Sunday evening and appeared to be stable until she began having multiple seizures on Monday. The doctors put her on life-support Monday afternoon and took her off Wednesday after her heartbeat improved. However, during the multiple seizure episodes, her heart stopped beating and she stopped breathing long enough that she sustained catastrophic brain damage.

After coming off life support yesterday, she has shown continuing degradation in her brain function. Her neurologist informed her mother and me this evening that she would not be able to breathe on her own and that she will not ever be able to regain any of her brain function. Her mother and I are in agreement and have made the difficult decision to consent to removing her ventilator and allowing her to pass peacefully under sedation.

We have informed our children. We are all devastated and heartbroken. She was a beautiful, artistic, kind young woman. She had a sharp wit and a keen sense of humor. She had a beautiful singing voice. She aspired to be a thespian. She was working at learning sign language. She had a natural eye for photography. She had an unreasonable obsession with Taylor Swift, which I'm sure only fueled the artistic fire behind those beautiful blue eyes.

Madeline, my baby girl... I love you. I've always loved you. I fell in love with you the moment I saw you represented by a plus sign on an EPT stick. I will love you forever. No time, distance, or enmity can ever overshadow my love for you. I'll see you again. Until then, I'll keep some popsicles in the freezer for you.

❤️‍❤️‍