Maddie was born premature, and faced extraordinary battles in her life, but always came through.
Until the time she did not.
Along with thousands of other people, my heart broke when she left. To me, she will always be *the* most beautiful girl this world has ever seen. Ever.
She lived on this earth with her gorgeous parents for seventeen months.
Her mum Heather blogs every day at www.thespohrsaremultiplying.com
I often think of a post she wrote not long after Maddies passing. It is called Hand Prints.
How can you get through something like that? Heather and Mike are still working it out. I wonder how they are, often. Heather is very honest and open when she writes, but I expect there is a wealth of thoughts and feelings that she holds back on. There's a photo widget on her blog called "Mamarazzi" ... which holds only Maddie photos. It remains untouched to this day, these rows upon rows of the most beautiful baby girl. There's a finite amount of photos in the world, of Maddie. They are so treasured.
Maddie is a big sister now, with a firecracker of a girl called Annabel arriving on the scene about twenty months ago. Annie reminds me of Rocco ... robust and quick and smart. And a bit naughty. She kisses her big sister's photo goodnight. Her parents are mindfully and actively parenting two daughters.
Her parents are fucking outstanding people and I would push the world off it's axis to ease their pain. But I can only lend an ear or some words .. or in this case, a blog post. They are doing a fundraiser this year, for the charity they started in Madeline's name called "Friends of Maddie."
Mike has recorded a song he wrote called "You are the One." It's available on iTunes for less then a dollar in the US, down here in Oz it's $1.69. I bought it and have listened to it over and over in my car. It's beautiful. You can read more about it on Heather's post HERE.
It's only a few clicks and a couple of bucks, but it would mean a lot to a lot of people.
Some stories stay with you forever. I will never forget you, Maddie Moo. Happy birthday.
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Of course.
ReplyDeleteI remember the shock of Maddie passing away.
I , it was my first introduction, into how much I love the people I follow.
I had no idea.
Will always love Heather, and miss Maddie, so very, very much.
Wonderful post, Eden.
You always seem to do the things that need being done on this planet.
Like The Empress, I was shocked at how much Maddie passing away upset me. It's always sad when babies die but until then I hadn't realised all the little strings that connect us online.
ReplyDeleteShe will be remembered by many.
Heartbreaking - bought song straight away. Hope it helps even the littlest bit as stories like this just take my breath away
ReplyDeleteI've followed their story since Maddie died. It really touched my heart, and still does to this day. Having lost a chid myself (just in very different circumstances) I can certainly relate to much of what they have to say.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been following you that long, but I was glad to see a comment of yours over at Heather's blog recently. Made the world feel *that* much smaller.
Lovely tribute.
xo
Oh gosh Eden this post literally squeezed my heart and my throat.
ReplyDeleteMost of the time when I hear of young children passing, miscarriages, child illness, I say "That's sad" and I mean it, but I don't let myself feel any more than that. I acknowledge it's awful and move on because I can't change it. This time was one of those times when the emotions hit you and you feel them deeply before you can stop yourself and put up those walls.
My heart is with Heather and Mike x
Eden, you are a wonderful friend. You go above and beyond for your friends and help in ways i'm sure that people aren't even aware that they need that help. It is a gift. You are a gift.
I was brand new to twitter when Maddie died and everyone's avatar turned purple. It was the first time I cried for someone I only
ReplyDelete'knew' online.
Heather and Mike are amazing. Their strength is truly inspirational. As are you x
What a beautiful tribute Eden. Thanks for sharing this. xo
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this. I cannot fathom the loss of a child. My deepest sympathies are with anyone who has experienced that loss.
ReplyDeleteAs we are about to celebrate our daughters 4th birthday this week, my heart feels broken for this family......
ReplyDeleteTears again. What a beautiful little girl. I can't imagine how they feel even now, when supposedly time has done some healing. I recently wrote about our mortality and I loved what you said about wanting to move the earth of its axis - it is exactly how I feel. Thanks for sharing a beautiful story so beautifully.
ReplyDeleteNicole xx