Maddy’s Story

Site created on March 15, 2012

On March 12, 2012, Maddy was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. She will be undergoing chemotherapy treatment for the next six months. This website is here to document her journey and inform her friends and family of her condition as it progresses.A lot of people have asked me how this all started. How did we get to this point? Six weeks ago around superbowl week, Maddy suffered an intercostal muscle sprain on her right side. At least that's what her diagnosis was at the time. It took 2 trips to the pediatrician, 2 trips to the ER and a trip to OrthoIndy (followed by physical therapy) to get her pain under control. She was out of school for a week (the pain was that intense). We thought this injury happened from volleyball. Then she had a couple things happen that are somewhat unrelated but still affected her health: a pretty bad canker sore which kept her from eating for several days followed by a strange swelling in her left eye only. No redness, no pus, not a sty or pink eye...it just swelled shut. So that took a trip to MedCheck and another trip to her pediatrician. Her eye ended up swelling 3 separate times...still don't know what caused that. Anyway, on March 7th the school nurse sent Maddy home because she had a fever of 101. The next couple of days she experienced fevers, some up to 102 and 103, severe chills, headaches and fatigue. We went back to her pediatrician again on Fri, March 9th (now keep in mind that my kids see their doc once a year for their annual and this is now the 4th time she's been in within 5 weeks). She tested Maddy for strep and it came back negative. She sent us to St. Francis Hospital to get bloodwork to test for mono. Later that evening her doctor told us she tested positive for mono but that she had other concerns. She told us to check into Riley that night for the weekend to rule out the possibility of leukemia...and that's how our nightmare began.

Newest Update

September Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Journal entry by Marizel Justice —

I'm not sure how many people are aware of this but September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month.  Our non-profit charity, the Maddy Justice Keep On Shining Fund, is trying to raise $5000.00 for the month of September to donate directly to Riley Hospital for Children (the hospital that Maddy spent her first year of treatment) for pediatric cancer research.  We still need $1425.00 to reach our goal…that's only $142.50 a day until the end of the month!  I am asking all of our Caringbridge supporters to please consider a donation and help us reach our goal!!

Click on the link below and it will take you directly to our donate page...
http://keeponshining.net/donate/

Thank You!
Marizel Justice
Read More of the journal titled "September Is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month"
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