Starting middle school can be a nerve-wracking and stressful time for kids. For Maddy, these feelings turned out to be to be the least of her concerns on her first day of sixth grade in 2022. She went to school, but soon felt very sick and went home, where she threw up. At her pediatrician’s recommendation, she went to an emergency room in her hometown of Pueblo West.

There, doctors discovered that Maddy’s appendix had burst. She was rushed by ambulance to Children’s Hospital Colorado, Colorado Springs – thankfully less than an hour away. Over the next several weeks, she would endure almost every complication imaginable.

Maddy had a serious infection in her stomach and needed surgery. She was sent to Children’s Colorado in Aurora, and had a drain placed, received a nasogastric (NG) tube for suction and a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line for IV nutrition and medication. That was just the start. When she finally went home after a week, she still wasn’t feeling better and returned to Children’s Colorado, Colorado Springs. Over the course of a couple weeks, Maddy had two more surgeries.

Finally, after about four months Maddy started to get better – this time for good. Through all of her medical challenges Maddy and her family have stayed positive. Before her appendix burst, Maddy wanted to be a police officer when she grows up, but after spending time at Children’s Colorado, her aspirations have changed. She is now interested in the medical field.