Maggie, 5 years ago today, I had picked up our new car - what we now call the MM mobile. We bought the AudiQ7 to try and make our numerous weekly trips into Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NYC just a bit more bearable and comfortable for you.
February 13, 2017 was the only night of your entire illness that I wasn’t near you, hovering close by, always, in case there was an unexpected emergency, of which there were many. Too many Maggie.
On a cold winters day, February 14th, I drove back to you, your dad, and your brother Steven. I arrived to your room with flowers, a card, and a teddy bear. You were sitting up in bed, putting on makeup so you could have some normalcy and spend some time in MSK’s teen center.
You looked at me so seriously, and said “Mom, don’t ever leave me again.” I promised you I wouldn’t. But just a few short minutes later, your Dad and I were called away by your oncologist. It was bad news. The 4 rounds of chemo and your major surgery did nothing to stop the cancer. The tumors were growing. Your dad and I sat there frantically trying to understand and process what we were just told. Begging the oncologist for some other treatment option. We were gone for over an hour.
When we came back into the room, you were angry. Asking where we were and why I left so soon after being told not to go.
How could we tell you? Our beautiful daughter who had been through so much already that the awful chemo and surgery you endured didn’t work? On Valentine’s Day.
We didn’t tell you. We made up a story for our absence.
It’s impossible to process all you went through. Nothing we tried saved you.
And here we are, almost 5 years later. Missing you more than ever. We’ve held numerous fundraisers and events in your honor. Some of our largest events have had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Yet, children are still being diagnosed with cancer and there is still a huge need for funding to find better treatment options so no parent ever has to say goodbye to their child like we did you.
June 1, 2017 is the day you died and left us, broken, and trying to make sense of a world without you. We miss you beyond measure.
It’s hard to believe we are planning our fifth Anniversary of the Maggie’s Mission Angelversary Gala.
We hope our friends, loyal supporters, and family will join us on Friday, June 3, 2022 at the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport, NY as we raise a glass of champagne - your favorite, to honor you, your pure love of children, and to celebrate your life which was cut way too short by a sudden, rare, and aggressive cancer.
Please visit the link below to learn more about this amazing event held under the stars at the Vanderbilt Museum where you should have had your prom pictures taken.
Maggie’s Mission proudly supports the research being done by Dr. Alex Kentsis at MSK Kids to find cures, and treatment options for MRT (Malignant Rhabdoid Tumors), the disease that affected Maggie suddenly and without warning.
