One life

My heart is still breaking with every tweet and blog I read memorializing Maddie. Why do I keep finding myself in tears and wanting so badly to hold Little S tighter than I’ve ever held her before? I’m not alone.  Her Bad Mother said it far better than I could.

Mothers (and fathers), most of whom had never met the Spohr’s, did what they could when we all felt so helpless for their loss. Almost $20,000 has been raised in Maddie’s name for the March of Dimes in less than 24 hours. Maybe, just maybe, this one angel who touched so many lives-maybe one of the pennies or dollars that are being donated in her honor will be the dollar that funds the research that can help prevent this from happening in the future. The research that will allow other mothers to see their daughters grow up and play softball, go to the prom, get married. That would be an amazing tribute to her short life.

Not that any of that makes the heartbreak of this loss any easier for her family or for any mother, but, in searching for answers where there are none to be found, this was a small amount of hope I could grab on to.

Someone put together this beautiful tribute to Maddie. It struck me so much. Her tiny little teeth, just like Little S. The same toys, the same gestures and expressions that I’ve seen in Little S. And the same unending love that Heather and Mike had for their daughter as Steve and I have for ours. And that’s why my heart continues to shatter into a million pieces thinking about them.