Magical Madi's visit to the ICU.

“Please put your dirty plates in my bins!”

Madi’s head snapped to the right. There it was, a robotic bussing machine at the Ankeny Pizza Ranch. Looking at our table with its animated face on a tablet. Its name is Buster.

Madi’s face lit up as she looked at us with pure excitement. She started laughing and bouncing in the booth. How exciting to put her own plates in this new robot friend’s bins. This was next-level cool.

If anyone knows Madi, this is one of the most contagious and best things about her. Her unwavering ability to make a simple moment into a special treasured memory.

On November 30th, Madi’s mom brought her in for a check-up as she seemed pretty sick from the flu. The whole family was struggling with it. Once checking her vitals, the nurses called an ambulance and quickly got her to Blank Children’s Hospital. They tried to get an IV in her quickly, but she was so dehydrated that they couldn’t get a strong enough vein. Once in the ER, they were finally able to attach an IV.

Madi was in septic shock. Her stomach and bowels had shut down, and her kidneys were also in the process of shutting down. It wasn’t until they were able to do a CT scan and X-rays that they found out that an infection in her left lung was causing the issue. She was diagnosed with Pneumococcal Pneumonia.

They transferred her to the pediatric intensive care unit.

They gave her blood pressure meds to help bring her blood pressure up, as it was shallow. She has a breathing tube and is sedated to rest; the medicine can work. She still has sepsis, and the Blank Children's Hospital team closely monitors her. Her oxygen level has improved over the last couple of nights, and her blood pressure is rising. They can slowly decrease the meds off and on as her body starts to recover and fight this crap. As of today, her Kidneys are functional again. We are already seeing that she is giving this an excellent fight.

This campaign was created to help Madi’s parents in this time of need. They cannot work their full-time jobs now as they are taking shifts at the hospital. The hospital anticipated a 3-to-4-week hospital stay which would hurt in paying their monthly bills. Not to mention the hospital meals and gas being used everyday. We are hoping to raise enough money to offset the parents' lost wages and expenses during this time.

Madi has an older sister, Kylie Nicklin, and a younger brother, Garrett Boyles. Her parents are Joe Nicklin and Tara Boyles, with bonus parents Josee Nicklin and Eric Boyles. While I know that a child being put in ICU is never a good thing, that time being around the holidays makes it a bit more challenging to wrap your head around.

Thank you so much for reading, and please consider donating to help these families in need. We would very much appreciate a share or two on your Facebook page if you cannot. Prayers always welcome.