madi Taylor

Madison Georgine Taylor fought cancer at Rady Children’s Hospital three different times before she was even in high school. Anyone who knew Madi will tell you that her energy and zest for life was infectious, and that she faced every battle with extraordinary joy, resilience and courage. On October 15, 2017, Madi took her last breath, yet her legacy will truly continue forever. In her short 14 years on Earth, Madi had a deeper impact than most people will have in a lifetime. At her celebration of life, Josh Miranda, a close family friend, beautifully sang “she loved and she fought and she danced until the end.” Madi inspires each member of the Leadership Team and DM at SDSU community to put our whole hearts into loving and serving others.

Madi’s influence on our program can be seen in everything from the colors we use (periwinkle, her favorite), to the attitude with which we approach adversity. She is our “why” and the reason we dance.

“IT’S A ONE”

In 2017, Madi Taylor and her family had the opportunity to attend a San Diego Padres game with some Rady Children’s Hospital staff, including Carly Rickard, former DM at SDSU advisor. As fate would have it, this was one of those days that everything just went wrong. There wasn’t a wheelchair ready for Madi when she arrived at the stadium, the tickets didn’t work, they had to walk around Petco Park multiple times to find their seats. Madi was getting upset and Carly was mortified. She apologized to Georgine and Scott, Madi’s parents, profusely and explained that this was absolutely not the experience she had planned for them and their daughter. Georgine then said 3 words to Carly that she’ll never forget.

Sensing that Carly was confused, Georgine elaborated further. She explained that every day for the past four years, doctors had come into Madi’s hospital room and asked her to rate her pain on a scale of 1-10. For them, all the inconveniences and stress of the Padres game were just a 1. 

Madi’s story puts into perspective all the trivial, day-to-day inconveniences that we consider obstacles in our lives. On the pain scale of life, most things are just a one, especially in comparison to what kids like Madi must go through every day in order to fight for their lives.

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