LINTON, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Madi Moore’s heart was always dedicated to serving others, even in the face of her own battles.
The teen battled leukemia and successfully beat the disease before complications from a bone marrow transplant put her back in the hospital with graft vs. host disease; Madi died at the hospital in July 2019.
Through the sickness and the pain, Madi clung to one feeling above all: hope. It’s a feeling and a word now synonymous with Madi for many people in the Linton community, thanks to Madi’s Hope Foundation and the annual “Madi’s Day of Hope” fundraiser.
The event, taking place on June 10, has an extra element of giving for its third year.
“This year we decided that we wanted to adopt a couple of families in the area,” Tera Orman, Madi’s mom, shared. “The essence of Madi’s Hope has always been to give back to kids in need. We prayed about it and the families were sent to us; I feel God sent the families to us that we could help.”
One of those families is the family of Hagen Knepp, a former Barr-Reeve student from Montgomery, Indiana, who was diagnosed with appendix cancer in November.
Leland McCoy’s family is the second being supported by “Madi’s Day of Hope” this year; the three-year-old was diagnosed with a form of kidney cancer over a year ago.
“In December, not this past one but the one before, he had surgery to remove the tumor,” Alicia McCoy, Leland’s mom, explained. “He gets scans every three months to make sure there’s no reoccurrences or the masses on his left side haven’t changed. We don’t see any more surgeries or any more chemo in the near future unless something does pop up on the scans.”
The McCoy family moved to the Linton area from Michigan right before Leland’s diagnosis, and Alicia said at first they felt pretty alone, which was a scary thing for a mother already scared for her child’s health.
It didn’t take long for the support to pour in, though.
“It means so much that the community will all get together and help somebody that’s newer to the area,” McCoy said. “Maybe some other parents that are going through these types of things will realize that there are others out there that will understand and will help.”
For Tera, supporting these families comes easy, because it’s exactly what Madi would do.
“Her words to me in the hospital were ‘Mommy, one day I want to walk these halls of these hospitals, I want to walk into these communities and I want to help children,” Orman said. “And she is helping children. I know she’s smiling; I know she’s happy.”
“Madi’s 3rd Annual Day of Hope” is set for June 10 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Humphrey’s Park.
Orman said organizers are still accepting vendor applications and sponsorships for the event through May 15.
Any donations for the Knepp or McCoy families can be made using Madi’s Hope Foundation Venmo account: @Madis_Hope.
