For Maddie

For a couple of days now, I have been struggling with the decision about whether or not to blog about this story. After all, I was not a follower of the blog, I did not know any of the background on this little girl and her family, and it felt a little bit like I would be overstepping a boundary.

But at the end of the day, a baby has unexpectedly died. She developed a cough (a cough!) over the weekend, and passed away on Tuesday. And because of the power of the internet, people from all over the world are pouring their love and support into this family. On Twitter, thousands of people--including Jimmy Fallon and Alyssa Milano--have "tweeted" about little Madeline Alice Spohr.

Through the tragedy, we are reminded of how wonderful we can all be to one another. In lieu of flowers and gifts, Heather & Mike Spohr have asked people to donate to the March of Dimes in memory of their daughter (who was a preemie herself). They were already raising money and planning to participate in the March for Babies later this month, and their original fundraising goal was $3,000. Thanks to the thousands of mourners who have been called to action following Maddie's death, Heather & Mike's total is now over $21,000 raised for the March of Dimes. Amazing, and for such a good cause.

In a strange twist of the internet version of the six degrees of separation, Heather, Mike and Maddie Spohr are real-life friends of Matt and Madeline Logelin, who I have written about before.

I'm crushed about the death of little Madeline, just as I would be hearing/reading about any other person losing their child. It's one of the worst injustices in this world--people are not ever supposed to have to bury their children.

I don't really feel like I can say much else. I just wanted to do my part in helping raise awareness about Maddie, and especially about the fundraising going on for March of Dimes in Maddie's memory. If you feel so inclined, please visit Heather's blog (I've read a few of her past posts, and she's actually quite hilarious), although she has understandably not been updating it this week. For even more information, visit Meghan's blog. She has been coordinating everything for Heather.

I leave you with a beautiful photo tribute that was put together on YouTube. For Maddie.