Maddie Smith is our 15 year old daughter who is a freshmen at James River High School. Maddie has a passion for helping people (especially the elderly), loves children and animals and has always been able to bring a smile to anyone's face when needed. She is active in her church Youth Group, loves to dance, is a loving big sister to Mallory and has tons of great friends she loves to be with ... Maddie also suffers terribly from Anxiety. And for those of you who don't know, Anxiety is real. Children's mental health is a real issue and we are finding ourselves smack in the middle of it. This is our reality.

On March 1, 2016 Joe and I made the hardest decision we had ever had to make as parents. The next day we would board a plane with Maddie and fly her across the country and admit her into a treatment center in Utah.

We have spent the last 4 months suffering in silence. We didn’t dare tell our family or friends that our child was in distress. Partially because we didn’t totally know what we were dealing with (although we did know she was suffering) and because so often parents and kids alike are judged for mental illness.

Maddie started with anxiety in the 6th grade, it was manageable and we worked on it, but over the years it progressed. We got more aggressive with our treatments as the anxiety got worse.

In November 2015 we were at a whole new level ... the anxiety had reached an all time high. Daily functioning was affected and Maddie was just tired of feeling anxious all the time. That is when the depression kicked in. The thought of living like this for the rest of her life was overwhelming. Maddie was suffering in very dark and serious ways.

We again got aggressive with treatments... new doctors, different medications and local programs. Still no results. It became clear that we needed to take an even more aggressive approach. We searched high and low, across the country for the right program for Maddie. Many factors were considered and although having her so far away is probably the most difficult, we are hopeful that Sunrise is a good fit for her and will finally help her.

Sunrise is a self pay (little, if any insurance coverage) treatment center and we are looking at many months of treatment, our family will be majorly financially impacted. This program and treatment center will cost approx. $9,000 per month with an expected stay of 8-12 months. The money we raise will go directly to paying those expenses. There will be other expenses as well. Plane tickets, hotel stays & rental cars during visitations are among some of the others.

Having Maddie at the best place for her to get the help she needs is critical and necessary. She deserves to be well, feel better and suffer no longer. We are in need of this fundraising immediately as she is already there. The bills are coming and we will do everything in our power to make this work.

Your support, prayers and donations are welcomed and very much appreciated from the bottom of our hearts. There is no more hiding, we need help.

Teen mental health facts:
* 1/5 teenagers in the US suffer from a mental health disorder.
* Just 20% of teenagers who suffer receive treatment.
* 1/12 teenagers attempt suicide each year.
* Statistically, women are more commonly afflicted by anxiety disorders than men.
* Anxiety and Depression disorders can also lead to things such as drug and alcohol abuse, self-cutting, suicide attempts, eating disorders and more.
* With proper treatment, there IS hope for the future.


THANK YOU for helping us help (save) our daughter!
Joe & Katie Smith

Maddie

Maddie & Mallory