Maddie's Story
I want to tell you a story about a girl in Hamilton named Maddie. I read about her in the paper this morning and her story stood out from all the other sad, depressing, angry events that happen in our world.

Maddie is a 15-year old girl who was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma (rare and aggressive bone cancer) when she was 12. She has had months of chemotherapy and radiation treatments over the years and her cancer has come back 3 times. When Maddie was asked what she wanted by the Children's Wish Foundation, she didn't ask for a trip to Disneyworld or to meet her favourite movie star (not that there's anything wrong with either), but she wanted something that would make a difference. So she asked for money to build a school for children less fortunate, and her wish was granted in the form of a school in Africa's Massai Mara.

After she got the school built, she decided that it needed a well. She began selling homemade jewellery from her bed at the hospital. When she returned to highschool she started fund-raising and has managed to raise $10,000 for the well. She is now setting her sights on raising more money to build a village around the school, pay for the teachers' salaries, and school supplies.

And there's more. Maddie's father died of ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) when she was 6. When he was dying, she cared for him and did her best to cheer him up and looked after her little brother.

What an amazing human being this girl is. I had tears in my eyes by the time that I was finished reading the story. And you should see the picture that accompanies the story in the paper - after everything that this girl has been through, she is still smiling. Truly inspiring.