This is Madalyn!
She is a bright young lady who’s quick to smile. It doesn’t take long to sense 12-year-old Madalyn’s spark. She’s readily enthusiastic about almost everything, especially school. The first thing she tells you is that she loves to learn. She loves science and participates in every school activity she can, like music and cheerleading.
Nearby is “Sweet Caroline,” her star service dog in training—named after the beloved song which often echoes throughout the halls of their home. You can see that “Maddy,”—as Madalyn is affectionately called by most everyone around her—and Caroline, are quite a pair.
You would never know from Maddy’s easy demeanor that she suffers from a rare disease called Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA.) Caroline became Maddy’s life-long companion almost two years ago and brings Maddy comfort regularly. She cuddles Maddy during medical procedures, assists with small tasks, and is very in tune with her needs. She also seems to have an acute sense for whenever Maddy isn’t feeling well. One day when Maddy was having a little more trouble coming around from anesthesia than usual, Caroline jumped right up into the hospital bed with her and encouraged her to wake up.
Maddy was first diagnosed with SMA around 18 months of age. A part of her medical journey involves special injections that slow the progression of her disease. She will need these timely injections for the rest of her life, and they are only available at the Children’s Hospital Colorado, where she needs to travel every four months to receive them.
Enter Miracle Flights. The Las Vegas-based national non-profit organization’s CEO Mark E. Brown says they are “the cure for distance.” He, and his team, work with airline partners and local businesses to provide free flights to those in need of life-changing medical care not found in their local communities. Miracle Flights provides Maddy’s flights to Colorado for the treatments that support her best quality of life; for the rest of her life.
“Maddy, and the young people like her, are fighters, and we are honored to support them,” said Brown. He and his team are committed to doing everything in their power to connect kids in need with the best medical care available to them, wherever that may be. “There is no distance too great for us. When you see how strong these kids are, it inspires you to work even harder. And Maddy’s spirit exemplifies everything that we are all about.”
Maddy’s family relies on Miracle Flights and faced challenges during the pandemic when flying wasn’t an option for one of her scheduled treatments. Her mom had to make the long and difficult road trip to Colorado and back to Las Vegas to stay on schedule with her injections. Now more than ever, they are grateful for the assistance and kindness they receive from Miracle Flights.
Maddy joined the Miracle Flights family in 2019 and has made quite an impact. She was featured in a local news story in which her magnetic personality captured the attention of Stuart Sobek.
Sobek, the Founder and Chairman of the Las Vegas Concours d’Elegance automobile show, was immediately charmed by Madalyn and her story. He chose Miracle Flights as the featured charity for his elite show, and knew Maddy would be the perfect ambassador for the event. However, what he couldn’t have known, is how much she especially shines in this role.
Maddy has a super keen fashion sense, and she is a complete natural in front of the camera. On a hot summer day recently, she showed up for our photoshoot in a classy vintage black and cream dress with a perfectly appropriate and stylish hair accessory. She had ordered the dress a few days beforehand, unaware of the specific type of car with which she would be modeling. As it turned out, it was a stunning match! We all marveled that even her lipstick looked precisely coordinated against the leather seats in the Classic MG.
She looked every bit the part of a professional model, and as we were all melting in the heat, she didn’t even break a sweat. She posed and smiled in the most perfect sweet, genuine way. She was patient, gorgeous, and absolutely in her element.
Meanwhile, Caroline kept us all laughing and seemed to take her cues from Maddy, posing beautifully but easily distracted by other dogs walking by. Caroline especially loved to roll around in the grass, showing her personality as well.
When we finally wrapped and indulged in donuts to celebrate, Maddy’s choice was the red velvet one—a classic, of course.
That’s just Maddy—the inspiring young lady who loves makeup, sparkly things, modeling, and cheerleading … who exudes a grace beyond her years and aspires to be on the Disney Channel. Most importantly, the young lady who doesn’t let SMA define her. As her mother Christina gushes, “she was born this way and is just going to rock it!”