BRIGHTON, Tenn. – Six-year-old Madilyn Sides loves blowing kisses.
“Madilyn, Can you blow kisses? (makes kissing sound),” Michelle Sides said.
Her parents, Jerry and Michelle, said it comes naturally for their little girl because she has a huge heart for others.
“She is loving. She loves everything,” Michelle said.
Maddie, as her parents call her, loves acting silly wearing her hat, playing baseball and she loves learning.
“She loves school. During the entire summer break she’s asking is it school today,” Michelle said.
Her parents saidit’s actually Madilyn who’s been teaching them a thing or two about life.
“There is a different relationship when you get older and especially when you have a disabled child,” Jerry said.
The Sides adopted Madilyn in California. Michelle was in the delivery room when Madilyn’s biological mother gave birth. Jerry was away in the military stationed in Saudia Arabia.
“It was just a joyful experience. Your baby is born, dreams for the future,” Michelle said.
Within hours of Madilyn’s birth, the Side’s dreams for their daughter turned in a reality that something might be wrong. She wasn’t able to drink, swallow and had difficulty breathing.
“What started off as a joyous moment within hours quickly turned into fear,” Michelle said.
Tests revealed Madilyn had been drug exposed during her birth mother’s pregnancy and there would be other problems.
“The doctors said she was going to be severely mentally challenged and that she would probably never walk, never talk,” Michelle said.
The Sides lived in Memphis and decided it was best to bring Madilyn home, but within the first weeks of her life she faced major obstacles.
“She held her breath and that stopped her heart. We had to do CPR when was two weeks old,” Michelle said.
Michelle called 9-1-1 and paramedics arrived. Michelle, who is also a nurse, said there was only one hospital where she wanted Madilyn taken.
“Le Bonheur, being the children’s hospital, was my only option,” Michelle said.
The medical staff was able to get Madilyn stabilized. Since her first hospital visit, Madilyn has been diagnosed with Cerebral Palsey, severe acid reflux and has been ‘tube fed up’ until a few months ago, but she has exceeded expectations with being able to walk and talk.
Dana Phillips is a speech and language pathologist at Le Bonheur.
“She is a miracle baby for sure. I am just excited to see how she continues to progress and what her development continues to be,” Phillips said.
Her parents said she was meant to be in their lives and cared for at Le Bonheur.
“We weren’t able to have a child and now we have an adopted child. I don’t think there’s another who could take care of Madilyn the way Michelle does or the way she”s taken care of at Le Bonheur,” Jerry said.
It’s a special place that brings mean tears Madilyn’s eyes when she can’t stop by and visit.
“She loves Le Bonheur. Like I said I don’t know of any other children that cry when they don’t go to the hospital, but my child does,” Michelle said.
It’s why Madilyn, a special little girl, has a big message and a lot of love for Le Bonheur.
“Madilyn, can you sign for them? Can you sign for Le Bonheur? How do you sign it? That’s right, a big heart. Good job,” Michelle said.