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A Mountain 4 Maddie It’s been over four years since we, a group of unknown individuals, mostly Investors Group Consultants, climbed the 19,349 ft high Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania Africa in aid of ALS Research. You can access a detailed journal of this ‘Climb for a Cure’ at http://bergadventures.com/cyber/kili0304/kili_0304_main.html. You can also preview the Mt. Elbrus itinerary for my next climb, which will be ‘A Mountain for Maddie.’ When we returned from Africa, my fellow climber, Sharon Babineau’s 12 year old daughter, Maddison Babineau, was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer. Sharon and Maddie had lost her husband and father to ALS, respectively. Continue below for a story of Maddie. Who says that one person can't make a difference? She was the little brown-haired girl who sat on her father's lap as he motored around Sandy Hill in his wheelchair. When Maddie was born, her father, Stephen Babineau, who worked in robotics at Nortel, already had ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Friends believe that Maddie kept her father alive much longer than expected because of her loving presence. She helped care for him; feeding, fetching and most importantly making him laugh. When he was voiceless, she made his eyes smile. She also helped with her little brother while bravely managing her own childhood. At age six, her Dad died. At age 12, Maddison was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, Ewings Sarcoma. She underwent 11 months of chemotherapy, surgery and weeks of daily radiation. A highlight in the midst of this extremely difficult time, Maddison was given a wish from the Children’s Wish Foundation. This foundation grants wishes for children with life-threatening diseases. Selflessly, Maddie said no thanks to a Disney cruise for herself, her brother Derek and her mom, Sharon. No thanks to the $5,000 shopping spree. No thanks to the giant plasma screen TV. Instead, Maddie wanted to make a wish that had meaning and that would last. Maddison became aware of the plight of children in Africa who lived in severe poverty when she watched TV during her frequent hospital stays. She then decided to use her wish to make a difference and build a school there. The Children’s Wish Foundation donated $6,500 towards building a school. Through Free The Children, plans were made to build a primary school in Enelerai, a Kipsigis community in the Maasai Mara where there was little infrastructure. Maddie's wish enabled Free The Children to build a school for 45 boys and girls to use and gain a brighter future. When Maddie was 15, her cancer returned. After her first surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments to remove the cancer from her left shoulder and ribs, her cancer returned to the other side. This time, it attacked her right arm, just nine months after the first battle was won. While undergoing chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant at Toronto's Sick Kids and surgery, Maddie decided on another project. This time, she wanted to build a well to provide water to the students at her school. She started selling jewelry out of her hospital bed to raise additional money for a well to go with her school in Africa. This was all done under the most challenging conditions of her illness. Incredibly, during this time, she used her precious energy to help and inspire those others. One hundred percent of the profit from the sales of the jewelry went to Free The Children, the largest network of children helping children through education. Through this organization, Maddie’s wish became a reality. When she began selling jewelry to nurses, friends and others in the community, she created MAD, an acronym for Making a Difference and the first three letters of her name. Since then, MAD has taken on even more projects. It was Maddie's hope that through her fundraising efforts, she could raise money for school supplies, teachers, books and more for the school in Africa. The $6,000 for the well is already on its way to Africa. Devastated with the news that the cancer returned for the third time, Maddie courageously increased her goal to build a whole village in Africa. Support has been incredible around the world and tens of thousands of dollars has now been raised. When Maddie was hospitalized for her prosthetic shoulder surgery, during which a cancerous tumour was removed, her mom delivered uplifting mail: a necklace from the Maasai, Kenyan kids' paintings, one of a school and a boy kicking a soccer ball and a letter from Craig Kielburger, founder of Free The Children, thanking Maddie for making a "lasting difference in the world". Maddie passed at 4:50 p.m., Tuesday, May 15, 2007. How can someone not be inspired by such a great individual? Sharon Babineau went to Africa this year with No Opportunity Wasted (NOW), a new television show on CBC. She was able to see the school that Free The Children built for her daughter. She raised a glass to toast her daughter, Maddie, with fresh water from a schoolyard well. I was inspired by Maddie to do something so my ambition is to continue to help with Maddie’s dream. It will be ‘A Mountain for Maddie.’ From July 18th to August 3rd, 2008, I will be climbing to the top of Europe’s highest mountain, Mt. Elbrus to bring awareness to Maddie’s causes and raise funds to support them. Mt. Elbrus is the highest mountain in Europe at 18,841 feet. It will be a long and cold climb over glaciers that have existed since the ice age. We will be using ice ax, crampons, and ropes to force our way to the summit of this amazing mountain. A cartographer's decision in the 1890s deemed the Caucasus Mountains the north / south dividing line between Europe and Asia. Elbrus, a lovely' glaciated twin summit, lies just north of the Caucasus mountain divide and is therefore in Europe. For more info on Mt. Elbrus go to http://www.elbrus.org/ Although a challenging journey, I anticipate an easier trek knowing that I will be climbing for Maddie. I will be climbing to bring her inspiration to others. I wish to tell her story, and to help make people aware that this little girl did so much in so little time. My message will be that we have a lot of time to make a difference ourselves and we should. I committed to this project soon after Maddie passed away, getting approval from her mom Sharon to dedicate this initiative to her. It has been a struggle for me to get in shape and also recover from a car accident in August of last year. I was in Newfoundland visiting family, and on my return to St. John’s airport, my car was struck by an 18 wheeler tanker on the highway. The car was hit twice, first on the passenger side shearing the front end of, then I was spun around and hit on the rear passenger side. I walked away with torn ligaments in one knee and some other minor issues. I felt someone or something with me during that experience. I want to believe it was Maddie. You can request jewelry for the MAD project or read more about Maddie’s journey @ http://www.maddieswishproject.com/ You can also find information on another project by Sharon Babineau and a great committee who have developed MAD4Maddie, a 5km Fun run/Walk in Hamilton on May 31st. If you would like to donate to Maddie’s projects with Free The Children, please email me at paul.lambe@investorsgroup.com or visit: http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?SID=1689337&HID=2B04C4A36D296C22D58C3D011EE768D8 Thanks Maddie, rest in peace. Paul Lambe, CFP FMA Financial Consultant Investors Group Financial Services Inc. 700-295 The West Mall, Etobicoke, ON M9C 4Z4 (T) 416-695-8600 ext. 261 (F) 416-695-4480 www.investorsgroup.com/consult/paul.lambe
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