#best09 December 22 Startup. What’s a business that you found this year that you love? Who thought it up? What makes it special?
The business for me really isn’t a business. Actually, it is a charitable organization. A charity that was born from a tragedy. A tragic loss that no parent should ever, must ever go through. But it was born from these parents own understanding of what others feel and need.
Friends of Maddie was created following the tragic and sudden loss of Mike and Heather Spohr’s daughter, Madeline. It’s misson is to provide support to the families of critically ill babies in an effort to help ease the transition into NICU life and to be an ally until the end of their child’s hospital stay.
The birth of every child is a joyous occasion full of excitement and wonder. For the parents of premature and critically ill babies, however, it is also one filled with fear, worry, and agonizing uncertainty. Will my baby be okay? Will I be able to deal with this? These questions are very real to parents of premature and critically ill babies, but often prove just as mystifying as the beeping machines and complex medical terminology that make up the world of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). It is Friends of Maddie’s mission to change this.
Friends of Maddie support the families of critically ill babies by easing the transition into NICU life and providing an ally until the end of their child’s hospital stay.
A few of the ways we will help:
- Provide NICU Family Support Packs to the nursing staff of Level III NICU’s across the country which will be distributed, at their discretion, to families of children being admitted to the NICU for long term care.
- Assist in finding temporary lodging for families who live beyond commuting distance of the NICU that is treating their child.
- Create a network of former NICU families who are willing to provide counseling and more to families currently in the NICU.
Not every child’s entry into this world is an easy one, but by supporting Friends of Maddie you can ensure that their families don’t have to go it alone.
As a NICU nurse, as the mother of a 24 week NICU survivor, this organization is very important to me. I believe that their mission is truly a vital one as I am and have been in the NICU trrenches for nearly twenty years now. I have seen too well what a NICU stay can do to a family. I know too well what it can do to you when you are torn between the bedside of your critically ill infant and the rest of your family waiting for you at home. I believe in Friends of Maddie, which is why I am one of it’s supporters.








Wearing his glittered, reindeer antler hat that he made in school today he wanted to make it perfectly clear that this hat is NOT cute.
























