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When Jeannie Sprague was 21 years old, she was diagnosed with endometriosis, meaning she would have difficulty bearing her own children. But when she brought it up to her then-boyfriend Colin, he didn’t bat an eye.

A couple years after the two were married, a church service lit the path to their new family.

“It was about adoption and kind of opening your hearts and minds to the idea, and we both looked at each other and knew that was the way we were going to grow our family,” says Jeannie.

And grow it did. The Spragues first welcomed Warren into their home and hearts in 2005, and after a few years they were willing to adopt again. So Colin and Jeannie went to training to become foster parents. That’s where they met Maddie.

“We were actually in a training session and we met this little baby girl. She wasn’t even really supposed to be there, but it just so happened she was so high need that the people that were caring for her needed a break,” says Jeannie.

That’s because that little baby girl would need multiple procedures throughout her life. Maddie was born with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome that required her to have a three-stage open heart surgery.

But that didn’t faze the Spragues.

“How can you not love a little child that has no one and not want to be there to help them through something so traumatic,” says Jeannie.

Just weeks after the Spragues adopted Maddie, she was rushed back to the hospital for another open heart procedure. After they moved to Sammamish, a third operation was needed last April.

Doctors thought Maddie wouldn’t have to go back under the knife for years. But when she started getting sick around the holidays, Colin and Jeannie knew something wasn’t right.

“We went to children’s hospital and got the devastating news she was in heart failure,” says Jeannie.

So the Spragues made the decision to search for a new heart for their 6-year-old daughter.

“Open heart surgery is so incredibly risky,” says Jeannie. “You just walk the edge of the cliff as a parent and you put your child in God’s hand and you say I don’t know what is going to happen but we’ve got to do this.”
That’s when the Spragues received a miracle out of a holiday movie.

“It was Christmas night,” says Jeannie. “My husband and I were – this is embarrassing – we were just playing Wii, playing Super Mario Kart 8, laughing, being ridiculous when it was 10 o’clock at night and my phone rang and the caller ID said Children’s Hospital.”

The next day Maddie went through a successful heart transplant operation and began her road to recovery. But the doctor said she would need multiple costly procedures for the rest of her life.

When Katie McDormand heard Maddie’s story, she had to help. So she rallied the PTSA at Maddie’s school, Discovery Elementary.

“I think we just decided we had to do something, the need was so great,” says McDormand. “The Sprague family, when you get to know them, you just feel compelled to help them. They are amazing, and they’re just the nicest people you’ll ever meet.”

So the PTSA came up with Hearts for Maddie. Students at the school were given a packet with Maddie’s information and a paper heart to write messages of encouragement. Now at Discovery Elementary there is a giant heart made of those messages with Maddie’s picture in the middle right near he front office.

Parents were also asked to make a $10 donation to Maddie through Children’s Organ Transplant Association. So far there’s been an outpouring of support.

“We were overwhelmed,” says McDormand. “The last I checked we were at $21,154.54. To have that money come in in a week’s time, it’s awesome.”

While donations have been steady, Hearts for Maddie is only about half way to their goal of $50,000. One-hundred percent of donations will go directly to costs related to Maddie’s future operations and the funds will be accessible for her entire life.

That is a really good thing, because Maddie’s teacher Elizabeth Scott Winkler says this little fighter is something special.

“Maddie has taught me a lot about life and how to take each moment like it’s precious. You hear that all the time, it’s kind of cliché, but she really has taught me that. When you look at Maddie, she’s just a really special little girl.”

And Jeannie can’t say thank you enough for all of the support for her daughter.

“The school that my kids are attending, I couldn’t ask for a better environment of caring, kind, generous people. From the staff to the parents, the kids, they just want to help.”

If you’d like to donate to Hearts for Maddie, .