MEET MADDIE and the team
Maddie, Grace and Lucy
SISTER, Daughter, SOCCER PLAYER, GYMNAST, FRIEND, ARTIST AND ENTREPRENEUR
In her eleven years, Madelyn “Maddie” McCoy was many amazing things. Her bright smiling face would always light up a room, cheer up a friend, or inspire her family as she faced rhabdomyosarcoma with grace and courage.
Maddie had rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare and aggressive type of cancerous tumor of the soft tissue. Like many rare pediatric cancers out there, there is no rhabdomyosarcoma-specfic drug to treat it. Yet, while “rhabdo” was a part of her, it never defined her.
Maddie GAVE 100% OF HERSELF. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.
In everything she did, Maddie went all in. If she fell on the mat or the field, she would get right back up. She taught neighbors how to flip on her trampoline and inspired friends and teammates alike with her determined spirit. She loved going to school so much that even chemotherapy and radiation couldn’t stop her. She insisted on before dawn treatments in Boston. That way she could get there and back from the South Shore in time to catch the morning bus, putting her parents’ driving (and the speed limit) to the test.
CHANNELING COURAGE AND KINDNESS INTO CURES
Sidelined by her illness from soccer and gymnastics, Maddie created art. So much art that she wished to sell it in order to support other cancer patients as well as homeless people she saw on drives to Boston for treatment. She even created a book with her promise to do so, complete with specific instructions and tips on how to make it happen. While she was never able to make a sale, her sisters and friends took on her promise, raising thousands of dollars with homemade stands of art and crafts. With Maddie’s Promise, it is our hope that what Maddie started with her art will turn into real and tangible treatments for rare pediatric cancers.
OUR BOARD
Photo: Amy Grace Photography
ANN MCCOY
KIM JOHNSON
Photo: Amy Grace Photography
