Madelyn

We heard about Hope 4 MVC Kids from a friend shortly after Madelyn was born and they were a great help for those months when Madelyn had to stay in the hospital and we travelled back and forth everyday to see her. They provided help for fuel and for food which was really a lifesaver with how often we were travelling. We had Madelyn’s older brother Jaxson, who was 13 months when she was born at home as well so staying in the city close to her wasn’t an option for us.

Madelyn was born extremely premature at 24 weeks and 5 days on January 1st, 2019. I was in the hospital already being monitored and we watched the New Year’s fireworks from the window. She must have sensed there was a party because 3 hours later she was on her way. She was rushed straight to the NICU, I didn’t even get to see her. Daddy went with them to the NICU to make sure she was ok. The nurses put a New Years crown above her isolette and Madelyn has continued her diva ways ever since.

Madelyn is the most smiley and happiest girl around but she had several big set backs and couldn’t come home until the end of August. Hope 4 MVC Kids supported us with fuel and food costs right up until she came home. They told us to let them know if there was anything else they could help with after we were home.

Madelyn is a very determined little girl and is such an inspiration to be around. She giggles at her big brother all the time and loves to cuddle. She also loves standing (with help from Mommy or Daddy) and playing in her gym. She is also very practiced at the ‘my toys do not belong on my tray’ swipe. Despite her determination, Madelyn has a few very big challenges she deals with every day.

One of Madelyn’s challenges is called Cortical Vision Impairment or CVI. This is when the eyes are healthy but there has been some damage to the brain and it has trouble interpreting what the eyes are seeing. An Ipad was recommended by multiple sources as a great tool to help her with this. The backlighting and accessibility features of the Ipad are the best for people with vision problems. I approached Hope 4 MVC Kids about this as a piece of equipment for Madelyn and within a week they had voted to help and delivered a brand new one for her. This year has been very frustrating for us due to not being able to access things like physio and other developmental aides in person and only sporadically over zoom, so having something we can work on at home is huge for us. Madelyn has been making big gains by herself so this should help her immensely. She already has a couple games she loves on it.

Hope 4 MVC Kids is amazing and have taken a lot of pressure off us when we needed it most to spend time with our daughter when she was very sick. We would not have been able to be with her near as much without their help. Being with your children is everything when they are sick. They have come through again for us with something we couldn’t afford but we knew would help Madelyn with her journey. All the volunteers are just a blessing to have with us on our journey, and with a diva at the helm it’s going to continue to be an interesting one!

You guys are awesome and we thank you so much!

Sarah