Advertisement

Eight year old’s dying wish to make a difference becomes a reality

Laura Wise recieved this card and a random act of kindness at Dunkin' Donuts in Colts Neck, NJ. (Facebook/Maddy The Mighty)

Photo 1

Most eight year olds spend June counting down the days until summer vacation.

Maddy Grayless, a spunky Colorado girl with dreams of being a paleontologist and baker, just wanted to inspire good deeds.

Two weeks ago, Maddy had a nosebleed that would not stop. After spending the night in the hospital and undergoing several tests, the diagnosis was grim: the 8 year old had Osteosarcoma, a deadly form of bone cancer, and was given two months to live.

“She was so sad,” her mother, Jessica Grayless told Fox Denver. “She talked a lot about the things she was going to miss. And she said to me at one point, ‘Mom, I just wanted to be able to make a difference’.”

And make a difference she has. The creation of a Facebook page titled “Maddy The Mighty” calls upon people to perform and post random acts of kindness in Maddy’s name. The site, created by a family friend, has gathered almost 8,500 likes as of Friday.

Users have dubbed themselves “Maddy’s Mighty Minions,” inspired by the film Despicable Me, and are sharing stories of everything from handing out popsicles in community parks to buying coffee for the person next in line.

Photo 2

Maddy did not live to see the good she inspired. She died Tuesday, exactly two weeks after her diagnosis.

“Maddy did something that most people never think of or get a chance to do in their life — she inspired us all to think of kindness first — in big and small ways,” one Facebook user said.


“It’s been helpful and very comforting to us that what made her special, everyone else is taking up the gauntlet for her and spreading the same kind of kindness that she would have had she been able to live longer,” her mother told Fox Denver.