Make It Happen for Madi Challenge… Holding on for Dear Life

June 11, 2025

WE GET A HOTEL VISIT this weekend!!!! I just found out she finally passed her next value packet which earned her the opportunity to stay overnight with us in the hotel while we are there! HOORAY! This value took her twice as long to pass, which was another stumbling block for her in her own treatments. While every student works at their own pace, this one took way longer than any of us expected... thus the onset of depressive episodes when her own timing to be home by the end of the summer slipped through her hands.

Regardless, now instead of 2 days of 6-hour visits that had 5:00 pm drop-offs, we can spend the whole weekend, non-stop with her! It's the beginning of the bridge to bring the family back together... do I have some anxieties... yes! But I have to Let go... Let God and trust this is all in His timing.

I just want to HOLD HER FOREVER!!! We'll see how well that goes over haha!

The visit comes with rules... no cell phones, no social media, no music that glorifies sex, drugs, alcohol or violence, minimal TV, must be under 100% parent supervision, even in public restrooms, conversations must be appropriate and respectful, no contact with any friends, our own medications and objects that could be used for self-harm must be kept away, she has to do daily goal worksheets, 60 minutes of monitored school work each day and check in with the program director daily by 5:00 pm. Other than that we're good haha!

Nate has been prepped, that he too has to abide by these rules. It will be really good for him to see the structure she follows to help her be her best human she can be... I'm hoping some of it rubs off haha! And what a great time for him to get his summer reading assignment done while she does her school work... we got his book today at the library hahaha!

She is now on the 4th value of 8 in the program and is officially a high school SENIOR after cranking her studies this semester to catch up. I was feeling down seeing all the prom and graduation pictures (one reason I'm not on FB often), but friends reminded me this week that Madi may not have the "romanticized" prom and "pomp and circumstance" of a traditional graduation from high school... but her special moments she otherwise would never have had, become her "prom" and "graduation" experiences because of the memories made and the growth that comes from those fulfilling opportunities... ex: fishing trip, EMT stand-in. It's just different, it's how God planned it... so it's perfect!

Thanks for all the prayers, love and support! We could not do any of this without you all! xoxo

June 9, 2025

It's a 5-day countdown until WE SEE MADI AGAIN!!!!! It's been WAY TOO LONG and we have all felt it! She was depressed and starting to give up on things she needed to do and my heart has been bleeding to be with her. This trip will be extra special because we are bringing our son to see her for the FIRST TIME SINCE SPETEMBER!!! I pray it will all go smoothly and be a trip filled with merciful reconnections, hope and love.

May 26, 2025

“Save the Date!”Hey all… this Friday, May 30th is “Hope in Action Day” and on that day, the nonprofit Help Hope Live will cover the credit card fee for donations made in honor of our “Make It Happen For Madi Challenge”… our fundraising campaign to support Madi's fight for hope in life.

We want to really, really thank everyone for the role you’ve already played in Madi’s fundraising campaign. Mental health is no joke and recovery and healing takes time and that time takes money.

Thanks to you, we’ve been able to cover 2 months of her RTC care as well as be reimbursed for our hotel and rental car fees during parent visitation in April. We are also blessed to have her upcoming June care fee taken care of also as well as the associated costs with our parent visitation coming up in the next couple weeks.

But we still need a lot of help, and it takes a village. We’ve not quite hit our goal which is set to cover 6 months of treatment, but it could be as much as 8-12 months. That’s why we want to thank you in advance for adding May 30th to your calendar and making a donation on that day or helping us to spread the word.

To make a donation, click on the "Give" button on this page.

Your donation is tax deductible and will go a long way to help Madeline continue consistent treatment in regaining hope for a future.

THANK YOU for all you’ve done to put hope back into our lives, especially Madi's!

Love and blessings to all, Kristine and Rob

May 26, 2025

Has anyone else had a "May-cember" like I have? I'm sorry I haven't made an update in a really long time, as a school teacher in May, I've had WAY too much on my plate to keep my head above water and had to let something go and this was it.

To catch up... it's been an up and down road all month. Definitely hit a wall and are slowly trying to make our way around it. I think for all of us, the reality of the longevity of the situation is hitting hard. She anticipated being home for senior year, so did we... but it's not going to happen. There is still so much to uncover, and recover and grow from, and that takes time, especially when she finds herself back into depression of not coming home when she wanted to. That in turn leads to hopelessness. Additionally, she's struggled with abandonment issues which are only exacerbated because we could not get out to see her in May (we had work obligations that we just could not get out of so that was hard). Just the other day, we were able to start a healthy count down to our visit in June, so hoping that helps. Regardless... as a family that hugs often, when you don't get that, it's really, really, really hard to keep going sometimes, ugh!

So it's a "meh" kind of an update. I'm hoping for more encouraging updates to come and welcoming everyone's prayers for Madi to keep persevering through challenging times and to find and to hold onto hope that she CAN overcome. Thank everyone! xoxo

May 6, 2025

Spoke to Madeline last night and she told us all about the EMT training at the University she was involved in and... WHOA! So I guess they had 50 "pretend patients" with about 35 EMT trainees. She and the other pretend patients spent a long time getting dressed and in makeup to make their trauma as realistic as possible. She was there for about 4 hours!

The scenario was that an earthquake had happened. She said her ailment was a severed hand... gross! She said the makeup of making her look like her hand was cut off was so realistic... again, gross! They had to act like real victims with screaming and crying and there was pretend blood everywhere... so gross!

She said when the enactment started an EMT student found her (after a while) and placed a yellow card on her then left her, haha. Then another EMT came and sat with her and talked her through her "ailment." They were inside for the "earthquake" and then transported outside to be loaded onto ambulances and other medivac transport.

After all was said and done she got to participate in the debrief to which she could chime in what went well and what did not. She told them (since she DOES have knowledge from lifeguard training every day) that her tourniquet was not tight enough, even for an enactment and something else I can't remember, and then she said what was good was how the EMT talked to her.

She LOVED participating... which makes complete sense... she is a rescuer! She has amazing instinct to want to get right into the thick of an emergency and rescue someone. She was so excited to tell us about it even saying... "you know that's what I wanted to do remember?!" Of course I did... and is why I gave permission for her to participate. And maybe that gave her even more reason to keep moving forward!

I was in awe though, at how realistic it was, and told her... I guess that is what has to be done for first responders to train to get as close to a live emergency as they can. Truly, to be a first responder is a calling and I have such admiration since I am such a wimp!!!

What a cool experience for her (not me of course as you can tell by all my "gross" comments hahahahaha!) but she loved it! Is that her calling? I don't know. But talk about an amazing "shadow day!"

Mom comment coming... I know she is destined to do amazing things and this journey is only giving her the foundation to make a huge impact in the passions that drive her, and boy was this an experience that she thrived with. I cannot wait to see what she becomes! Thank you to everyone for helping us continue her therapeutic care at a place that offers such AMAZING experiences for these kids!!! XOXO

May 2, 2025

Quick update on Madi's fishing trip last week! She LOVED it!! She caught a 4 1/2 pound Bass the first day and the program director said it was the biggest fish anyone has EVER caught with their program so she might make it to their "wall of fame" haha. She caught two fish on day 1, two fish on day 2 and no fish on day 3 but she didn't care because she had already caught the "whopper." She said she kissed all her fish... GROSS!!! haha. The trip is 6 hours each day and they spend 2 hours of each day out on the boat, so both land and lake fishing. I posted pics below of the whopper and her fishing blindfolded... so cool! The entire trip is mindfulness therapy, a part of the CBT modality to help the students focus on the present moment learning that anxiety comes from fear of the future and depression is a result of remaining focused on the past. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!!

This week she was in her own 3-day workshop #2 for the students and graduated from that, which is a huge accomplishment too detailed to get into. They tap into deep emotional work, which she sometimes struggled with since her defense mechanism is to avoid digging deep emotionally at all cost, to recall the things that hurt her. I learned she enjoyed it but there were definitely hard times to get through.

On that note, I've also been struggling to post here because through the process we recently learned of things that really tear at her and it's heart wrenching as a parent to hear her struggles of the past. I cried for 3 days straight learning the deep suffering we never knew about. And of course, for her own integrity and privacy, they are things that only she can share if and when she is ready and all this is behind her, so thanks for understanding that I do not share. The good news is that she is safe, and in a place where she is thriving, even when she or we feel she isn't... 5 steps forward, 2 steps back, trust the process, and trust God has us all where we are meant to be.

Last thing to share... she was chosen to be in a group of students privileged to go to a nearby university today to help EMT students with their trauma discovery. She will be acting as a victim, holding a note card with what is "wrong with her" for the EMT students to discover her pretend issue and then take the steps to "care" for her. I told her therapist YES she can go because an EMT was one of the professions she was excited to explore, wanting to participate in the EMT program through her high school... however that obviously cannot happen now. This is right up her alley and I think she will love it... I hope so. We will see.

Ok... that was not a quick update haha! Thank you everyone for all your love and support because you are providing Madi with all these amazing and positive experiences and renewed hope for us that we are giving her the best care to have an opportunity for an amazing future. Love you all so much! XOXO

April 24, 2025

At our 2nd parent workshop a few weekends ago, we were told about a book and I GOTTA SHARE! It's a book for any parent with teens, but probably more importantly, those who have kids getting ready to enter teenage years. With a now 17 and 15 year old, I wish I had this book when they were 12! Anyhow... check it out... it's amazing!

"Parenting Teens With Love & Logic, Preparing Adolescents for Responsible Adulthood" by Foster Cline, MD and Jim Fay

Get the third edition which is updated to reflect parenting through cyberbullying and technology in the age of smart phones, violent/addictive gaming, talking to strangers online, premature sex, violent behaviors, single parenting and more.

We are proof of "that could never happen to us"... the modern age has contributed to it and if this book can help anyone NOT go through what we are going through... please get this book and then gift it over and over to parents! Don't assume you will not be touched by any number of teen issues presented in this book... invest in this book and be 10 steps ahead of the game!!! God speed!!

April 23, 2025

I’m now going to preach about Help Hope Live to the world!!! We’ve now been able to see full circle the payment go through for Madi’s April fee as well seen reimbursement for our related expenses of hotel and car rental for our April visit to see her (soon to be able to add one parent airline ticket for our June visit once actualized)! My point… without the platform of Help Hope Live and of course ALL OUR AMAZING DONORS… there is no way we could provide Madi with the much needed care she needs. For anyone going through a medical situation who needs financial help… call Help Hope Live!!!! they are the real deal and their staff is so caring and has walked us through every step of the way. We still have a long way to go… upcoming fundraisers to be created… but with HHL… I feel comforted with hope. THANK YOU Samantha and all the people at Help Hope Live who genuinely care about us, more importantly, about Madi ♥️

April 22, 2025

We talked to Madi last night for our 5 minute call and I am so stinking excited for her because she is so stinking excited! She gets to go on a fishing trip tomorrow, Thursday and Friday... gone for 6 hours each day! That's a HUGE excursion for her!! She loves fishing and has grown up fishing with her daddy and brother on Keuka Lake every summer. This is a part of their therapy, but I'm not certain she knows that. Regardless... She is so excited, and so am I ♥️ I cannot wait until Saturday when we can hear all about it. I pray she has nothing but fun and has a great fish tale to tell haha!

April 20, 2025

Happy Easter! We were so happy to talk to Madeline this morning and learn she had a wonderful birthday! She was able to choose 3 friends to take off campus and they went to a fun park where they played arcade games, won prizes, got soaked with bumper boats, went bowling and then headed to Dairy Queen. The sweet lady who runs the kitchen made her a vanilla cake with whipped-cream frosting, strawberries and dark chocolate pieces… her favorite! Today they have a holiday schedule so she’s looking forward to that. I was so thankful to hear her happiness! Yet at the same time my heart is breaking. I just miss her terribly. If you know her, she’s a bright light of sunshine in her best days, and it makes her absence on days like today and her birthday, sometimes unbearable. But I trust and I give her to the protection of Our Lord and His Mother and I take comfort in that. It’s all good. She is safe, she is happy, she is working to heal. Welcoming anyone’s prayers for her continued forward progress. Happy Easter everyone! Today is a day about leaving darkness and coming to the light! I eagerly await the new beginnings to come ♥️ And thank you again for helping us help her!!! There are simply no words!!!

April 19, 2025

I’m waiting to hear how Madi’s birthday was yesterday. In the meantime, I’m of course preoccupied by these Holy Days and their direct significance in our lives (all our lives)… “Silent and hopeful anticipation must accompany every act of sacrificial love, suffering embraced, sin overcome, and cross carried… The Cross leads to the Resurrection… And when the good fruit of our sacrificial love comes to fruition, the joy of the Resurrection is at hand… leading you over and over again to celebrations of Christ’s victory.” Fr. John Paul Thomas, 40 Days in the Desert (Holy Saturday Reflection)

April 18, 2025

It has not escaped me that Madeline’s birthday this year falls on Good Friday, the day our Lord suffered his Passion. With great sorrow and yet with great love and thanksgiving, I’m drawn to understand just how much she has been invited to share in the suffering of our Lord with her own cross, united to His. Jesus’ forever story has left Him with scars and wounds on this day, and so too is the story of my sweet baby girl. 

I read this yesterday… “Good Friday is the most powerful and transformative day of the year on which we share in the saving Sacrifice of Christ’s Cross. We do not celebrate the Mass that day because the day itself is the instrument of the grace of the Cross.” Fr. John Paul Thomas, 40 Days in the Desert (Palm Sunday Reflection) ♥️

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl! What a blessing that this year of all years, you’re asked to share this day with Jesus. It tells me that the glory awaiting you will be nothing less than magnificent, sharing the same graces as on that first Easter, when your patron Saint was the one at the tomb! There are no coincidences, simply Divine Providence. May you be given the gifts, graces and an intercessory heavenly army to lead you through this battle on earth. You are in my heart and prayers every second of every day! By your side always and forever, with the help of Our Mother… I love you eternally, ♥️Mom XOXO

April 18, 2025

Pray with me that Madi has a beautiful birthday today, and that loneliness and despair are not able to touch her this day!! In Jesus’ name ♥️

April 17, 2025

“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” John 16:33

April 17, 2025

Sorry it’s been a hot minute since I posted an update. Just feeling a little bummed this week and still trying to catch up/recover from our trip. Things I’m not ready to share I suppose, just that my sweet girl, while on the surface can seem ok at times, she actually isn’t. Learned this week there’s a lot more to work out than we originally thought, so it’s a bit overwhelming. Couple that with the fact that her 17th birthday is Friday and then Easter on Sunday… it’s a lot. Darn.

April 10, 2025

Insurance DENIED AGAIN!! I’ll post another time all I’ve learned about the insurance world with mental health care that I wish I knew at the beginning of this journey. But it was disheartening to learn yesterday that we were denied coverage a 4th time! Quote: “This is our final decision. That means you don’t have any more appeal rights with us.”1… Initial denial of coverage 2… 1st appeal denied 3… 2nd appeal denied 4… 2nd Level appeal deniedAnd we learned from an insurance advocate who is looking into our case that a “peer-to-peer” consultation never happened at any point before rendering a decision to deny us coverage… meaning, the insurance doctor was supposed to have a personal conversation with Madi’s medical care team to discuss their clinical support for RTC level of care. That never happened. I’m just in shock. And again, we are eternally grateful for all of you so this fiasco is not our worry… our daughter is 🙏I share this because I want others to be informed to know the questions to ask should they or loved ones be in a similar situation… aka… ask for a peer-to-peer consultation!

April 7, 2025

Just got home from our 3rd visit attending the outstanding Parent Workshop #2 and our first OFF CAMPUS VISIT with Madi!!! 🥰 By passing her 2nd value she earned the opportunity to spend time with us off campus… 6 hours for 2 days (better than 2 hours on campus!) All the parents who had off campus visits scheduled had subtle nervousness, and so did we. You may find that hard to imagine, but after the journey we have been on with her, it would be understandable. Would she try to run away? Would she engage in sensitive negotiations or past manipulations? But her facility clearly knows what they are doing. Because she was ready!! She was so thankful for the littlest things, just driving in the front seat of the car, going shopping for toiletries, books and new shoes (she had worn hers right out of the sole!). She looked forward to treats she cannot normally have like a Dr. Pepper slushee and Starbucks of her choice. We celebrated her upcoming birthday at a beautiful restaurant on the cliff and you would have thought she never had a birthday treat before… she was so thankful and excited. Dad shipped her hiking boots and we climbed to what seemed to be the top of the world… it was amazing! We belted out feel-good songs in the car (poor dad haha) in particular, our go-to song, “You Say” by Lauren Daigle 💕 We are home now. I miss her terribly. But she is so motivated to graduate the program now and to get on the peer leadership committee there. She’s already begun her graduation service project (to speak to young girls about her journey… this girl is meant for big things!). The heartwarming visit however was always overshadowed by the insane amount of scars she has on her arms and legs from past self-harm. They are being cared for, but it’s a constant reminder of the battle she faces within herself and is working to overcome. And with this program, I know she will, because she is a fighter! (“Fight Song” was another belt-out-loud song in the car 🤣) God is amazing, because she is already an advocate for peers at her facility who have it worse than she does and no support from their own parents. It’s so sad and I never realized how many abandoned and hurting kids there are out there. I’m just in awe of what she is doing while in her own suffering. God put her there to be an angel for those other poor kids. I can’t wait to see how all this plays out. But the bottom line is that she wouldn’t be able to do this without all the love and support we have gotten from everyone here, whether through donations, sharing or praying. We are eternally grateful for you all! And I think I already mentioned it… but you all have allowed us to book our flights, (with brother too), to visit her in June! Both the kids cannot wait!!! If she stays on track, she will earn a hotel visit (she stays with us at the hotel for the duration). It will be an amazing family reunion and mini vacation. Thank you all for giving us your hearts. Ours are full because of you! ♥️🙏♥️ Kristine

April 2, 2025

April… Birthday month for our sweet girl 💕 Exactly 2 weeks ago today, we didn’t know if we could continue her so much needed care and yet you all came out in droves to support her. We have been in tears of appreciation, more than you know and continue to be blown away by all the love and support. Later today, Rob and I fly out to see her again and we can’t wait! Worry has been put aside and we will be visiting her with confidence in her continued care. THANK YOU for helping us Make it Happen for Madi!!! Would love prayers for a safe, fruitful and love-filled trip as we go celebrate “birthday-month” with our baby girl ♥️ (and prayers for our brave, supportive guy who is always a trooper, will be staying with friends… all our local supporters for him these last months… there are no words! We love you!!!)

March 31, 2025

THANK YOU John Green!!

He’s given us permission to use his quote from his book “Turtles All The Way Down,” as a slogan for our fundraising efforts! 🎉🎉🎉

“There is hope, even when your brain tells you there isn’t.” -John Green

His new book debuted on 3/18/25… “Everything is Tuberculoses.”Check him out!

THANK YOU JOHN! 🙏♥️🙏

March 30, 2025

We’ve been asked “how have you…?”

“I have told you this so you might have peace in me… In the world you will have trouble, but take courage… I have conquered the world.” ~ John 16:33

Repeating every day… and that is how ♥️?♥️

March 29, 2025

People have asked how often we get to talk to Madi… while this sounds tough (and it is) the strategy for healing makes complete sense to me (as I stand today… maybe not initially). We get a 5 minute phone call once a week and then a one hour zoom session with her and her therapist once a week. Since passing her second value this week, we now also get an additional 10 minute call once a week Sundays. When kids first arrive they can be angry and place much guilt on parents so the separation helps everyone to heal and catch their breath from everything that happened to lead to the situation they’re in. After the kids have made progress through that initial stage they receive their parents in a new light and the communication is met with joy because a lot of the hardships have been addressed, forgiven and we are all moving forward. So there it is. Additionally we can send only postcards. Madeline told us that they played a crossword game for fun and one of the clues was “Madi gets 20 of these a day.” She was confused but all the other kids called out POSTCARDS! 🤣 That’s right… this mama makes sure she knows she is loved and thought of every second of every day! ♥️ (and it’s only 1-5 per day 😉)

March 28, 2025

GREAT news today!!! After a couple weeks of set backs, Madeline has passed the next phase of her program! This is HUGE!!! 🎉 And she is on cloud 9, I’m so happy for her!!!! There are 8 phases the kids work through based on values and virtues (don’t tell me God doesn’t have His hand in this!). They work at their own pace and only pass once they complete their work, complete the self-developed projects based on that value (which have to be approved) and then live out that value in their everyday affairs. Every staff member, day and night, along with the top four directors, have to sign off in favor of her mastering that value before she passes and can move on. With each value come new privileges, giving them a goal to work towards. One of the privileges earned… coming off campus with us with us for 6 hours each day when we visit!! YAY!!! (Before we only had two-hour visits on the property). Just in time for our visit next week!!! 🥰 So dad is packing her hiking boots and we will be taking her out on the town to celebrate her upcoming birthday. She is now on the 3rd value. Keep going sweet girl!!! We are all cheering you on!!! 🎉♥️🎉

March 27, 2025

We continue to be blown away from the love and support coming at us from all directions! There are just no words for how grateful we are! 🙏 We’re channeling that love to Madeline from amazing support being met here, because we quickly find ourselves in reality when we hear things like her new current struggle with migraines, UGH! So hard to not be “mom” I need to be to really discern what’s going on… dehydration? stress? misalignment since she hasn’t been to her chiropractor since Sept to manage her scoliosis? (Cause we all know mom’s get that secret doctor badge once we have kids, right?! 😉 Haha!!!). Tonight we get to talk to her on zoom (YAY!), so this mama will play Teledoc for a hot minute haha. Super special thank you to our local chiropractor, Dr. C, who’s helping us source a chiropractor where Madi is. She and her husband, Dr. Sal, are the best… if in Charleston, go see them! Mignano Family Chiropractic… have healed many ailments for our whole family… even migraines!! For now, I ask God to hold my baby in his hands and bring her comfort and peace, and I trust He will 🙏

March 26, 2025

We have to send a huge shout-out to The Hall of Fame Foundation!!! Y’all are amazing!!! ♥️🙏♥️

March 25, 2025

Small set-back she’s been wrestling with, praying she can overcome… but we spoke to her last night and she had a great day celebrating a peer’s birthday off campus at a nearby park. She said “I made sure she had the best ‘treatment’ birthday ever.” That’s my girl! ♥️ Missing her tons KW

March 24, 2025

Again, there are no words to describe how thankful we are! With your donations we can now be confident in planning to attend the parent weekend in June. That’s the one we want to bring our son Nate to. He hasn’t seen her since Sept. 15, 2024 and has probably talked to her at most 3 times for about 2-5 minutes since then. If you don’t know our son, he an amazing 15 year old freshman who also plays basketball with a heart of gold. Both kids light up with each other, support each other… need each other. It will be an amazing reunion that I will count down the days to ♥️ Thank you for making that countdown a reality!!! 🙏 Kristine

March 23, 2025

A good friend shared this with me:

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, establish, and strengthen you.” ….. 1 Peter 5:10

BEAUTIFUL!!!! I mean… don’t we all suffer in some way?! May all your suffering, one day be your glory! We love and appreciate you all more than you know! 🙏 Kristine

March 22, 2025

Rob and I are pretty much like deer in headlights right now. Just overwhelmed with the outpouring of love by those we know, those we don’t know and those from a lifetime ago. Your grand support has let us breathe which has given us space to “be parents.” A wave of real emotions I’ve had to suppress while in survival mode, were allowed to bubble up and it was nothing but “I really miss my baby.” 😔 Thank you for giving us the opportunity to put one worry aside, to allow our other emotions naturally present themselves. Eternal gratitude is not enough ♥️ Kristine

March 21, 2025

There are NO WORDS! 🙏 in less than 24 hours of sharing our story we have been met with a flood of support in donations, sharing our story, love and the relief that Madi’s care is secured now through June!! 🎉 We are overwhelmed and not sure how to begin to say THANK YOU! We’ve read every message and seen every contribution and wish we could hug you all!! May God bless you in ways that are beyond the scope of understanding! ♥️ Kristine

March 19, 2025

I… am… a… PUDDLE!! 😭 In less than 3 hours, your amazing donations will be able to continue Madi’s care for April!!!!! We are so grateful, there are no words! That first hurdle is slayed! But now we have to plan forward. Our new goal estimates 6 months of care and the required travel costs to go along. If I could ask you to continue to share our page, we are most grateful. May all your generosity, whether in donations, sharing or prayer, come back to you 100-fold! 🙏 Kristine

March 19, 2025

FULL STORY (scroll below to see pictures)

Make It Happen for Madi Challenge… Holding on for Dear Life

Madi is our 16 year old vibrant, spunky, intelligent, beautiful daughter who wants to give up on life. She is a girl who is always the first to help her peers and to come to anyone’s rescue should they need it, but is struggling to be her own hero. Madi is determined, confident and has adopted the mantra… “Make It Happen!” And she has! But when a child wrestles with an underlying mental illness, the weight of the world grows stronger and heavier on a young girl's shoulders until she cracks.

Madi is a girl who used to dream of playing basketball in college and pursuing a degree in Sports Medicine. She was a straight-A student and had aspirations of being either an athletic trainer, a sports physical therapist or an EMS personnel. In the summer, Madi was an amazing lifeguard and loved every minute of it. She was on the high school JV basketball team, Varsity swim team, in sports med classes and was ecstatic that she was recommended by her teachers to enter Marine Biology. She is especially artistic and brought that talent to cake decorating, baking, designing hairstyles and various make-up creations. In everything she did she gave 110% to “Make It Happen.” What we didn’t know was all the suffering she was dealing with “behind the curtain.” She had been battling severe depression and anxiety and we didn’t even know it. She was a master in making it seem like everything was ok, but it wasn’t.

After a long, terrifying year, and to save her life, it was with great trauma and sadness that we had her admitted to a residential treatment care facility that specializes in helping teens like Madi, regain hope in themselves and hope in life.

As a quick overview to our cause, we are fundraising to pay the care fee for the residential treatment facility Madi is currently residing at. Our insurance has recently told us they will no longer pay for her care and instead of gradually stepping down her coverage as is typically the process, we were outright denied any more coverage, despite the recommendations of her onsite psychiatrist and therapist. We are in desperate need to fund her stay to see her through to the completion of the program she is currently in or we will be forced to pull her prematurely from what has been, the first program that has made any substantial difference in her mental health in the last four years. We cannot disrupt the successful treatment she has gotten so far or we will risk her sliding back to behaviors she is not yet able to overcome, as well as run the risk of having to revert back to treatment options that have historically and consistently fallen short, inclusive of abusive treatment to her verbally and physically. The amazing residential treatment facility we are trying to keep her at, has given us the military discount fee of $7,500.00 per month. After exhausting all our resources over the last five months, we desperately need your help!

Here is her story…

While signs of mental health issues began to distinctly show up as a 7th grader, it was not until the Fall of 2023, when Madi was a Sophomore in High School, that she was officially diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder. It was an illness we did not understand to its fullest capacity in a teenage girl and the year that followed was filled with life-threatening horror for our family, despite our many attempts to find the right therapy to help her. Madi covered up her depressed emotions well for outsiders and even to us, but she soon was seeking ways to either end her life or to cope to ignore the feelings she could not get away from. That year we made five trips to the Emergency Room with her, two of them in an ambulance, the last one was on September 15, 2024.

Our sweet baby girl has not been home since that night. In sheer panic and dismay we frantically (and thankfully) found a short term residential treatment center in California because there were no compatible facilities closer that could accept her on such a short time frame. But because of her fragile state of mind and her high risk to run away, we were told she would need to be transported from SC to CA by a transport company and that not just two, but three transporters needed to be hired. With an impending hurricane, we were obligated to pay an additional fee for the extra day the three transporters needed to spend with her before heading out West. Our up-front, out-of-pocket cost was $14,543.99 for her transport.

In CA, Madi made minimal progress. She was unable to tap into the root of her life-threatening behaviors that led her to CA and she was deemed unsafe to come home at the end of that program. We were again in search of another residential care facility, but one that needed to be long term. By God’s grace we found an AMAZING long term residential care facility in Utah. Still with unstable mental health and a risk to run, we again had to hire three transporters. Our up-front, out of pocket cost this time was $12,981.42 (a total of $27,525.41 in transport fees). We still had not seen her since that night of September 15th and now it was the beginning of December. We were all hurting in many ways.

Today, I am happy to report that we have since been able to visit her two times, in January and the end of February 2025, and after the initial encounter and the ability to “unpack” a lot from what had happened, we were reunited in love, compassion, tears and laughter. She has made GREAT strides, but there is still so much progress to be had. In weak moments she has resorted to finding creative ways to harm herself to get through the pain and anguish she suffers in her depression. To our dismay she has had to increase medications to help her overcome anxieties to help her fall asleep and stay asleep through the night. She has on occasion been placed on suicide watch and harm watch to keep her safe, showing the need for continued 24/7 professional care.

Madi is moving in the right direction with what seems to be “five steps forward and two or three steps back,” but it’s forward progress nonetheless… something we could not find for her in therapy during our year of horror. While she was in CA, we had to get a medical request to drop her Junior classes because she could not focus on them. We are thrilled to report that since going to Utah at her current care facility, she has re-realized just how smart she is. She is taking three core Junior classes and thriving in all of them such that she proudly said to us “if I keep going at the pace I’m going, I’ll graduate high school while I’m here,” indicating she would get her high school diploma before what would be the end of her normal Senior year.

She has started to take on a compassionate, leadership role with other peers who first arrive and comfort them to help them adjust. She attempts to be the peacemaker when there is drama and she avidly completes her required work in the program with great desire to move forward. She has begun reading again, drawing incredible artwork and takes pride in doing other girl’s hairstyles. At our first visit she shared with us that one day she wants to speak at middle schools about her journey because that’s where her anguish began, and to open her own treatment center. That was night-and-day thinking from just one month earlier. We couldn’t believe it.

Whether these goals come to fruition or not is not what is important. The KEY is that she has FINALLY for the first time in a long time…. Begun to plan for a FUTURE AGAIN!!!!!!!

While Madi still does not want to discuss her beloved basketball or a career path at this time because it’s too painful to think about things she thinks she has lost… it’s not what matters right now, because she has BEGUN to look beyond just today, but to a future. She is not fully there, and she still regresses by giving up hope when things get hard. She’s having to face her fears for the first time and talk about what she can do differently in healthy ways, instead of maladaptive ways, and that involves a huge reset in her wiring. So it’s a slow process. But we have seen her light turn on again and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!

It has been very hard for us to share our story and to humble ourselves to ask for help by being a burden on those we love, but we love our daughter in ways there are no words. I know you know what I’m talking about. We told Madi that love is not necessarily a feeling. It is a sacrifice. When you love someone so greatly, you will sacrifice anything to help them, to save them, to MAKE IT HAPPEN. So here we are, in a desperate situation to fund her April fee for the care facility and are humbly begging those who feel pulled to help Madi find hope in life again, to help us “Make It Happen.”

Studies have shown that short term treatments do not stick and relapse to old ways are extremely prevalent. Studies support long term residential care treatments in cases like Madi’s to give her the chance at a normal and successful life once she has graduated from this program. She will wrestle with her mental illness for the rest of her life, but if she fully completes her current residential treatment program, she will be best equipped with tools and skills she is learning, practicing, developing and implementing, to properly function in society. Helping Madi to find hope in life again will help her reach goals and dreams for a bright future, and if we know Madi… make a difference in other people’s lives based on the story that she’s been given.

How can you help?

Clearly a donation is most helpful at this time. But if you are not able to financially support Madi’s stay at her care facility, please, please, please share her story everywhere and with everyone you can. While funding her $7,500 April care fee is the immediate need, her program could last another 5-9 months after that, depending on her progress ($37,000 - $67,500). This doesn't even include the travel for us to fly out, rent a car and book a place to stay, or the travel involved when she begins her after-care steps of coming home that require two flights home before graduating thier program. These trips are mandatory in the program to successfully support and heal the family dynamic and is the key to her success when she comes home. We have already used up all our miles and exhausted all our resources.

If you find it hard to donate or share, please, please, please pray! We will be working to host ongoing fundraisers and would love your support financially, prayerfully or in sharing her story. ANY action is welcomed with thanksgiving.

A final note… The last time we visited Madi, we told her we were so proud of her strength and resilience and that she was doing amazing. For the first time in five months she acknowledged her need for help and simply said “I’m getting there.”

ARE YOU UP FOR THE CHALLENGE TO MAKE IT HAPPEN FOR MADI?!

With humble and eternal gratitude, THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for anything you can do to help us save our daughter, to give Madi hope as she holds on for dear life!

Kristine and Rob Wilcox