The Miracle of Madison

My stomach kind of hurts as I write this…. But I guess this isn’t about me, directly. My youngest sister (of 5) has been given an unusual amount of obstacles in her short 20 years of life. I can’t say our lives as an immediate family has really been all that tough. We have always had a roof over our heads and food in the pantry… most of the time. We did loose our father to suicide in 2002 but I always told myself “bad things happen to everyone, even good people.” But as I slowly creep up to 32 it gets harder and harder to keep up that mantra, so I can’t imagine my sister’s headspace.

Madison came into this world March 27, 2001 at a whopping 4 pounds 8oz. She was the hardest infant, cutest toddler and spoiled rotten by pretty much everyone, especially as the baby of 5. I’m sure growing up without a father figure was different as my mom, still has yet to find her match, but Madison was a baby when he died and it was just our norm to be honest. My mom (understandably to most family) also struggles with addiction issues and has throughout our whole childhood but still, overall, and I think Madison would agree, she had a pretty average childhood up until the age of 12. In 2009, Madison was 8 and her, my mom and 3 siblings moved to south Florida. My mom had discovered recovery after a near death overdose and wanted a huge change.

Everything was going smooth up until early February, 2013. Madison went to a sleepover with a girl a couple years younger than her. Her house was just a couple houses down from my Mom’s and madison wasn’t the only girl going. To everyone’s horror, Madison was sexual abused that night. I’ve never felt such rage. I’ll spare the details for her privacy but she left early morning, terrified. Hours later she worked up some courage, told my mom and they headed to the police station…. It was FOUR year court process she had to endure WITH a positive DNA match in her underwear. 

Finally, in December 2017 she got to put the stress of statements, court dates and her abuser out among the streets (because he had money), behind her and the pedophile was sentenced, it was a sigh of relief… but not for long.

January 2018 Madison’s best friend, Skyler, died suddenly in a car accident.…. Sweet Skyler, never stood a chance as she died upon contact. Madison was one of the first people on scene. I just selfishly thank the universe she wasn’t in the car and yet again, me and my family just couldn’t believe how much trauma this girl had endure at such an early age. 

I feel like she has needed to spend the last couple years just trying to process. It was hard just being witness to all of it. As her family, we have felt helpless in everything she’s experienced and I can tell she’s tired. Tired of being sh*t on and it’s hard to contradict her.

She graduated high school in 2020 and COVID took her graduation away but she didn’t seem to care much and she was now onto college.

wooohooo!? Yeah, right. 

Madison and I talk a lot… sometimes she really is a Drama Queen but when she showed me a lump that appeared above her collarbone a couple months ago I freaked (inside) and told her she needed to go in ASAP and get it checked out. She already had an appointment and I assured her it was probably, most definitely nothing. I wish I would have been right but if I was, I wouldn’t be writing this.
Madison is now currently undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Diagnosed June 24th 2021. She’s Stage 2. Deauville score 5. Not untreatable but not the news any of us were ready for. Silly me thought, no way are we adding cancer to this list of unfortunate events of her life but, Here. I. Am….

My hope this go fund me will allow her about $400 to $500 each month to take care of herself, not have to work, cover gas for the million dr appts, food, wig (which can be up to $1200… wtf??!) etc….Maybe even a bomb spa days at the end of this “experience”.
She will undergo 6 months of chemotherapy treatments every 2 weeks and hopefully after that (around Jan/Feb) time she may be bald but be able to put say she conquered cancer on top of everything else and be in remission.