4 Paws for Madilynn

Madilynn was born at 23 weeks 4 days gestation weighing on 1lb 4.5 oz and 11 inches long. We will soon celebrate her 10th birthday.
She spent 119 days in TX Children’s NICU before being able to come home. When she came home she remained on oxygen and a feeding tube for several months.

While in the NICU she suffered a bilateral grade 4 brain bleed that caused brain damage and hydrocephalus. At 2lbs a reservoir was placed to drain the fluid and relieve the pressure from her brain then at 5lbs a VP Shunt was placed. She also was diagnosed with Retinopathy of Prematurity,  Chronic Lung Disease, PDA that eventually corrected on its own, she had several infections, and surgery to correct bilateral Inguinal hernias. 

Shortly after her first birthday we thought she had a stomach virus. It turned out it was a shunt malfunction causing the fluid to build up and put pressure on her brain. She was rushed into emergency surgery to repair the shunt. The morning after surgery Madilynn had her first seizure than turned into multiple ones in a short time. She was then diagnosed with Status Epilepticcus. She was on medicine for a year then slowly weened off and stayed seizure free until  April of 2020 at 9 yrs old where seizures began again out of no where. Her doctors aren’t surprised with her history and said they expected it to happen at some point. It’s something you can never be prepared for but changes so much of everyday life.

Madilynn is an independent child and we don’t want her to lose that. Having a service dog would help. We don’t want her out of our sight or in a different room because of the possibility of a seizure happening and us not being there.

Due to the brain damage she was also diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and has severe left side weakness. She doesn’t use her left hand hardly at all. She has an abnormal gate that causes balance issues. Which the service dog would help with as well or get help if she was to fall. She has had orthopedic surgery on both legs and right foot reconstruction. Then had to do 4 months of intensive therapy to get her back on her feet. She has worn braces on both legs and feet since a year old. Madilynn has also received physical and occupational therapy Twice a week since coming home from the NICU.

At 2 days old we were told she would have no quality of life and “IF” she survived she would be deaf, blind, never walk, or not eat & breath on her own.  Thankfully with answered prayer and the amazing team at TX Children’s she has beaten all odds. She is the most resilient child and brings so much joy. She is stronger than I could ever imagine. After everything she has been through and continues to go through she is always smiling and never complains. Her smile is the first thing people always notice. She makes friends with everyone she meets. She doesn’t let her disabilities stop her and always tries to do things and will accommodate or come up with her own way if she can’t do it like others