MADELEINE GRACE MARTIN

[Happyface]

Oh, Paul, I am so sorry. Madeline was such a special little one - never looked like she was conplaining in the pics. My deepest condolences to you, your daughter and her husband, and the rest of your families. This is sad.....

Indeed. She was a little fighter. Straght up to heaven.

[bartyclue]

Mr. W,

My sincerest condolences to you and all you hold dear in your life. This poem was read at my mothers funeral some years back. For me it said it all.

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there, I do not sleep.
I am in a thousand winds that blow,
I am the softly falling snow.
I am the gentle showers of rain,
I am the fields of ripening grain.
I am in the morning hush,
I am in the graceful rush
Of beautiful birds in circling flight,
I am the starshine of the night.
I am in the flowers that bloom,
I am in a quiet room.
I am in the birds that sing,
I am in each lovely thing.
Do not stand at my grave bereft
I am not there. I have not left.

[Danotron]

Paul,

All my best to you during this very hard time. I'm so sorry for the loss of a loved one.

Dan

[T.A.R.]

Paul, My deepest sympathies, I'm so very sorry to hear this news. My best to you and your family.

[shamustwin]

Condolences, Paul.

[ram]

Paul, I am so saddened by Maddy’s departure from your all’s lives. She was a beautiful little girl. My eyes are welling up as I type this… You all are in my thoughts and prayers – my deepest sympathies and condolences to you and your family.

[admin]

Paul: I am so very sorry to hear of Madeleine's passing. I have just read her tragic story this moment. That she has surely won a favourite place in your heart is reavealed in your touching comments. The brightest little stars are often the most memorable in that they leave us all with the greatest joy and wonder. My prayers are with you and with Madeleine and I know they will keep her safe as she makes her journey to heaven.

[rickenbrother]

Paul, so very sorry to hear about this!
Sincere condolences from Diane and I!
Our thoughts and prayers to you and your family in this difficult time.

[leesh]

I'm so sorry to hear this Paul

[wmthor]

Paul, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

So Small, So Sweet, So Soon

[melibreits]

Paul, I am so sorry and so sad to hear this news.... My thoughts and prayers will continue to be with you and your family.

[cheyenne]

My sincere condolences Paul. I've been a little out of the loop lately, and apologize for just catching this thread.

[jingle_jangle]

Madeleine Grace's funeral was last Wednesday--a week ago today.

There was a memorial service in Madrid last Saturday. This gave Andrea's and Cris' friends time to travel from their homes on every continent (except Antarctica) to celebrate Madeleine's brief life. Andrea made a very touching speech as she said good-bye to Maddy, AKA "the little monkey", as she was called all through Andrea's pregnancy. Although this does put some closure on a sad and difficult time for everyone who loved, Maddy, she will remain in our hearts always.

I'd like to thank all of my friends in the RRF, for their support through the last couple of months. All of your posts in these two threads, and IMs and personal emails, are much appreciated. Andrea and Cris have been following these threads, too.

Perhaps we can all remember Madeleine Grace in our own way, as a reminder of how strong the human spirit can be, even though the physical body may fail.

Andrea's good-bye:

Thank you all for taking the time and effort to be with us today to celebrate the life of our little Madeleine Grace. As Cris said in the presentation, your emails, calls, and visits were more important than you can ever know and are what kept us going these past few difficult months.

Every parent wants their child to be exceptional. Whether its scoring the winning points in the game or coming in at the top of their class, you want the world to see some proof of how special you know your child is. However, when the doctors told us that Madeleine was one of only three known cases in the world with her kind of heart defect, it wasn’t the kind of uniqueness we were dreaming about. The news came as a shock to us since my pregnancy had gone so smoothly with no indications that Madeleine was anything but a perfectly healthy baby.

We set about letting go of our expectations and adapting to our new reality. All the unisex newborn clothes that I had such trouble finding would remain hanging in the closet and the travel crib meant for keeping up with her parents would remain unslept in, both of them to be outgrown by the time the little monkey would come home. The trip back to the US for everyone to meet Madeleine would be postponed. We would instead have to adjust to the artificial light and stale air of hospital waiting rooms, to getting to know doctors so well that we were on a first-name basis, to giving our daughter a kiss every night before we went home and left her behind.

We managed to adjust after those first days, but the adjustment this time around is a harder one to make.


My dearest, darling daughter Madeleine Grace, my little monkey,

These last few days feel like a dream, like I am living someone else’s life. The world is no longer as colourful as it used to be, a fog has descended and everything is just another shade of gray.

You were so brave and so incredibly strong, stronger than a baby should ever have to be. Your spirit was so large and you loomed like such a hero in my mind that it was a shock on Tuesday to see how small your physical body actually was.

I’ll miss the hands that always surprised me with their elegance, the upper lip that hung over a bit and made you look like a bulldog when you got frustrated, the big blue eyes that even the nurses fell in love with, your long feet and monkey toes. I’ll miss coming into your room and saying good morning as I lifted the sleeping mask off your eyes. I’ll miss our evening routine—reading you your bedtime story, leaning over to give you a kiss while I put your sleeping mask on, and then giving your hand and foot a squeeze before I left. And I’ll miss telling you how much I loved you and how proud I was of you. You made me so very, very proud.

Since you’ve gone I’ve been thinking a lot about the meaning of such a brief life. I think primarily you have taught us how to live a life of strength and courage. But you have also taught us how fleeting that life is, how temporary, how things that are here one day can be gone the next. And maybe we can all take these lessons home with us tonight and give our loved ones an extra hug and tell them another time how much we love them.

Goodbye Madeleine Grace. It was a privilege and an honour to be your Mommy.

Rest in peace, little Maddy.