Brittney loves everything about the Donor Dash. She loves the enthusiasm, the costumes and most of all, the opportunity to honor her daughter Addison.
The Moore family lost Addison days before she would have turned five months old. Faced with a tragedy, Brittney and her family made the gracious decision to donate Addy’s organs. That choice saved three lives.
“There was no hesitation,” Brittney says. “It wasn’t even a second thought. My husband and I are both organ donors so the decision came easily.”
Thousands of miles away, a young girl named Madison, just a few months older than Addy, received a life-saving liver transplant.
Brittney and her family have been Dashing with their team Addison’s Angels since 2018, shortly after Addison passed away. At the 27th Annual Donor Dash in 2024, they added two more members: Madison (pictured below with Addison’s parents) and her mother Jennifer.
It marked the first time the two families met in-person after communicating by letters and phone.
“Instantly, as soon as I saw them, tears and hugs,” Brittney says.
“It was super healing because if I can’t have Addison, having Madison is the closest thing I could have,” Brittney notes. “Madison is a healthy little girl who loves animals, crafts and the outdoors.”
When Jennifer and Brittney first spoke over the phone, Jennifer shared a saying in their household: “There’s no Maddie without Addy.”
It moved Brittney so much that she felt compelled to include that for the Dash, so she made a pink t-shirt with custom vinyl for Madison to wear at the Dash that bore that saying. Along with the saying, it included an image of flowers growing out of a liver, the organ that saved her life. When Jennifer saw the shirt, she started crying.
The two families participated in the 3K walk together and then spent hours after the Dash talking.
“According to Madison’s mom, after the transplant, Madison became a super bubbly girl, outgoing and always smiling and laughing,” Brittney says. “It gave me goosebumps when Jennifer said that because Addy was always smiling and giggling. She almost never cried. She was always cooing.”
It was hard parting ways – Madison and Jennifer live in Georgia – but both families made plans to see each other again. Jennifer and Madison are returning to the Philadelphia area for the 28th Annual Donor Dash on Sunday, April 27.
“My family and I are blessed to know Maddie,” Brittney says. “We are blessed Jennifer allows us to have a relationship with Maddie”
Brittney and her husband miss Addy each day, but knowing she saved lives helps heal their hearts. They know Addy saved others in death. They know her donation helped prevent the grieving of another mother. They know Addy’s legacy and memory lives on in Madison.
“We are big advocates for organ donation,” Brittney says. “This is how me and my husband carry on Addy’s legacy. We still hold onto hope of meeting her other recipients or their families someday! But for now, we will enjoy our relationship with Madison and her family.”
