I know I've said this more than once, but I started this blog for the girls as a way to remember the little things and to keep out of town family up-to-date on all things Charley and Carter. For the most part, that is all I've used it for. With the girls still in mind, I want this entry to be something they will read when they get older.
Meet Maddie...I realize that when the girls actually read this, they will already know Maddie...but what they probably won't realize is the impact this sweet child has had on their Momma. Maddie was born a few months after Carter and at two months she was diagnosed with a liver disease that would eventually require a liver transplant. I was out of town for work when I received the email to pray for her and her family. From the very moment I opened that email, Maddie was always on my mind. I knew it could have easily been Carter that needed the prayers, and I deeply empathized with the Whitlocks.
At one of our summer Sisterhood meetings, Michelle asked for prayers specifically for where to have the transplant and the "not-knowing" factors around everything. Yet again, I left that night and could not get Maddie off my mind. I hate to admit this, but so many times throughout my life I have heard the phrase "I felt a calling to do this or that" and to be completely honest, I've always thought that phrase was kind of hokey. Don't get me wrong, I know God puts people in our lives for certain reasons and things happen because of His intervention and I know it has happened to me before...hello, any good deed thing I have ever done or thought about doing came from God...but my point is I have never really been comfortable to say, "I felt a calling to help so-and-so or do so-and-so." Until Maddie.
We all have God-given gifts and talents, and being able to recognize those talents is so important to do His work. I'm a planner. I'm an organizer. I'm goal oriented. According to Craig, I'm really good at telling people what to do. I felt my calling to use those gifts and try to make a difference. With lots of apprehension, I reached out to Michelle, Maddie's Mom, about organizing fundraising for Maddie's liver transplant...specifically a 5K to kick start the fundraising campaign and raise awareness for Maddie, which is kind of crazy because I knew nothing about running or 5K things other than I thought it seemed like it would be a good idea. She loved the idea and put me in touch with COTA (Children Organ Transplant Association) to be their Community Coordinator on Maddie's behalf.
I won't go into all of the details that followed, but I can say that I have never seen God's work in so many people's lives the way I saw it during our very short and quick campaign to raise money for Maddie. COTA told me on our initial phone call to expect the campaign to last 8 months to a year to raise the full $50,000 goal that had been set. That seemed like a long time to me, even though I really had nothing to compare it to, but when they told me they gave a $5,000 bonus to families that were able to reach the amount within 6 months, I knew that would be our goal. A perfect team was formed that far exceeded my expectations from our first meeting. There was a lot of doubt around putting together an event so quickly, but we managed to plan Maddie's Dash, a Halloween 5K, in less than one month. The event went viral and spread over social media, local newspapers and radio, the Tennessean and ABC Chanel 2 News.
Exactly one week before Maddie's Dash, I got the call from Michelle that Maddie had a possible transplant match in Atlanta. Elisabeth Dyal and I headed out late that night. While sitting in the waiting room the morning of the transplant the "Prayers for Maddie" Facebook page had around 1200 likes...within a few hours it was up to around 1500 likes. God's timing is so incredible to see, because the awareness around her transplant grew significantly the week before Maddie's Dash. People were watching her story day by day and were wanting to help in any way possible. The donations, registrations, volunteers and prayers rolled in. God was hard at work, not only with the doctors and nurses that worked to save Maddie's life with a successful transplant, but in the hearts of so many to help with the financial burden of a liver transplant.
Saturday, October 31, 2015 will forever be one of my favorite days. Almost 500 people registered to run in Maddie's Dash, over 100 items were donated for the silent auction and several hundred t-shirts were sold. The outcome was beyond my wildest dreams. We did a FaceTime call with Michelle and Maddie after everything was tallied. We had $49,850 in hand plus $300 from 2 different people "paid" the difference to hit the goal plus $10,000 coming the following Monday plus company matches plus outstanding sponsor and t-shirt sales plus $5,000 COTA bonus and $4,000 Hayden's Hope grant minus minimal expenses...the grand total was right at $70,000 raised!!!!!! Being able to give those numbers to Michelle on that call was amazing. Not a dry eye (even Craig said he was teary) was in the lobby of College Hills or in the hospital room in Atlanta during that call.
Girls, here is the lesson. Always act on your calling. You will never know what kind of impact you could make in someone's life. Regardless of your skill set, you can do amazing things in God's kingdom. I've said this all along, but I mean it now more than ever...
"Each of you should use whatever gifts you have been given to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." 1 Peter 4:10
