Mommy Loves Maddy: January 2012

I've been thinking about this a lot over the last few months, and finally am going ahead to do it. I am going to host an auction to raise money to donate to the BC Children's Hospital in Ellie's name. Ellie is the daughter of a dear friend of mine. She was born 8 weeks early and was later diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Prader-Willi Syndrome. She will endure years of testing, treating, and hospital stays. Ellie's mom, Susanne, is a fantastic wife, mother, and friend. She recently made and gave 16 blankets to the ICU because the ones there were really scratchy.

Along with doing something for a good friend, helping out the BC Children's Hospital is something I'm fairly passionate about. When I was 6.5 years old, my 18 month old brother, C, was diagnosed with Leukemia. This started 4 years of treatments, chemotherapy and many hospital stays. I didn't realize then, how stressful this was for my parents, who surprisingly kept life fairly normal for my brother, J, and I. Now that I'm a parent, I realize how hard this must have been for my parents, and how hard it is for Susanne and her husband, J, and their son, little J. But as both Susanne and my mom have said, you just do it. You somehow get the strength and life goes on, because it has to.

And the amazing staff at the hospital are a huge help. I remember that the oncology clinic had a Nintendo 64 and Sega Genesis with Sonic, which were pretty cool in 1992. All the nurses remembered J and I, who really didn't know what was going on with C. In a recent conversation, Susanne said that Ellie is so loved at the hospital and it makes it easier to leave her there. She even recently witnessed two nurses fighting over who got to feed her. Susanne also said that her son, little J, LOVES going to visit Ellie and will happily spend 5 hours at a time at the hospital.

So on that note, I am announcing an auction to make a donation to the hospital in Ellie's name. There are so many people who love this little girl, and I feel privileged to have spent some time with her. If you are interested in donating a product or service for this auction, please email me at mommylovesmaddy@gmail.com. Please let me know if you are donating the entire sale amount or a portion of the amount, what price you would like the item(s) to start at, if you're including shipping, or charging in addition to the sale price, and include a photo of the item(s).

The dates of the auction are TBD but I would love to make the donation in time for Ellie's first birthday in April, so I'm thinking somewhere near the middle to end of February and the beginning of March. Thanks in advance to everyone who participates, and stay tuned for updates as items are donated and as the dates are finalized!!

And I'll leave you with some pictures!!

Me and Ellie at the Walk for Prader-Willi, Summer 2011