by george you've got it!: Madison

Madison

I have decided it's time to write about Madison. I have done some scrapbook pages, but that's about it. Madison was my sweet, beautiful granddaughter, the daughter of my oldest daughter, Deseret. When she was 11 months old, she was diagnosed with cancer. It was Christmas Eve, 2003, and it was devastating. Here is what Dez has on a Facebook page dedicated to the memory of Madison:

"Madison Mable Cook was born January 23, 2003, in Las Vegas, NV. She was beautiful, happy and full of life. On December 24, 2003, at the age of 11 months, she was diagnosed with a germ cell tumor - a type of cancer that only 4 in 1 million kids are diagnosed with. She endured 12 long months of treatment, including chemotherapy, surgeries, a bone marrow harvest and many other invasive procedures....

Even through all of that, though, she was happy and smiling and constantly brought joy to others. She would walk the halls of the pediatric oncology ward, dragging her IV pole and usually grandma behind her, making sure to stop to smile and jabber at each doorway she passed along the way. She loved shoes and would wear any shoes that she came across. She stole a pair from a woman one day and clunked around the halls wearing women's shoes and made a friend for life in Pilar and Aurora (a cancer survivor - she appears in many of Maddy's pictures)

In December of 2004, we made the most difficult decision of our entire lives - to stop the treatment and let Maddy have some peace for the remainder of her life. The chemo and various treatments were ineffective against fighting off the aggressive disease, and Maddy was growing tired of the hospital and doctors. We took her home to live out her last days in peace and happiness with her family, playing and laughing like a normal child. Our family got to go on a 'Wish Trip' to San Diego and we had an amazing time and made memories that will last a lifetime.

On April 13, 2005, after a fight well fought, Maddy lost her battle with cancer and we lost one of the brightest lights in our lives. Her memories live on, as does her spirit and the mark that she left on the hearts of each and every person she ever met. Rest in peace my sweet baby girl..."

Madison Mable Cook

This is a cell phone pic, so please make allowances for the blur.

Birthday #1, spent in the hospital.

This is a start. As time goes on, I will add more pictures and tell you more about Maddy. I also have a video, if I can get it on here. For now, this is it. See you later, Gramma G.

I'm trying to figure this "pages" thing out. I guess you just get one post on these extra pages and you just keep adding to it. So that's what I will do.

Here is the video I promised you. It was made by a dear friend (father of Aurora mentioned above) for Madison's funeral. He put it on a continuous loop and we had it playing in the foyer as people came in. It is beautiful and it brought comfort to a lot of people, even through the tears.

More Photos

Talking to the birdies on her trip to Disneyland.

With her Cook grandparents at the 2004 Relay For Life Event.
Grandpa Cook has since passed away.

She loved to play dress-up.
That's big sister, Hannah, in the background.

Baby brother, Isaac, in the high chair.

The bottom of the baker's rack - her favorite place to sit!

Trying to get in the door of Minnie's house at Disneyland.

Maddy with mom and dad.

With "Elvis" at the 2004 Relay for Life.

Walking the track for the first lap at the Relay For Life, 2004. You can just barely see the string she's holding on to, that's attached to Grandpa Hall, who is just out of the picture. She kept wanting to go off the track to visit with everyone, and he would have to pull on the string to get her to start moving again. It was so cute! (Forgive the crooked picture.)