Stoen is Honorary Chair of Dodge County’s 2019 Relay for Life

Although Madelaine Stoen’s life has been anything but easy, the 14-year-old maintains a calm, positive demeanor towards all the medical procedures and all the events that make up her life. 
Her first memory of the ordeal she’s been through is taking the needle out of the port line herself. Nurses had showed her what to do and her tiny hands grasped the plastic and pulled out the feed.
She was three years old at the time and had been diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare type of cancer in her face.
Radiation treatments followed the diagnosis and the side effects of those treatments are impacting her life 11 years later.
But she doesn’t complain. 
Madelaine is the daughter of Amy and Randy Stoen. Amy said about her; “Madelaine has taught all of us to have strength, keep the faith, and take one day at a time.” 
Amy also talked about the incredible support the family has received after the diagnosis and during the decade since that awful day.
A friend of the family wrote to the Oprah Winfrey show explaining the family’s situation and a representative of the show called during Madelaine’s second surgery.  
The production crew filmed a segment for the show at the family’s Blooming Prairie home and then Amy and Randy went to Chicago to be on the show. During the live show, Simon Cowell, another guest, offered to pay off the couple’s house so they could focus their energies on getting Madelaine through the treatments and care she needed. He then wrote a personal check for about $162,000 and gave it to the couple.
Seven years later, the Oprah show called again to check up on Madelaine.
Amy also talked about the incredible support from the surrounding area including people from the towns of Blooming Prairie, Owatonna, and Claremont. She said she couldn’t thank people enough for all the meals, and rides, and help.
 “We could not have made it this far without all the support and prayers we received,” she said.
Madelaine is still the steadfast person she was then, but now she’s growing into a beautiful, serene woman.
When she was interviewed, she had just come out of a couple of hours in a hyperbaric chamber which doctors have suggested might help her jaw develop more blood vessels so her upper jaw can hold implants for teeth after her permanent ones are pulled. 
That radiation that saved her life in 2008 also caused her upper jaw to develop incorrectly so her permanent teeth won’t stay in. 
Madelaine’s reaction to this news was that she was glad she would be able to have her picture taken with all her teeth before the procedure to pull them. 
She maintains a high grade point average and she plays volleyball, softball, and basketball. She also belongs to the Blooming Prairie school's FFA chapter.
She also started fundraising for cancer research as soon as her hands could make things like key chains, bracelets, dish cloths, and hot pads. She has had her hair cut twice for Locks of Love. She has also spearheaded two book drives to buy books for the 16th floor at the Mayo Clinic. Those drives raised more than $1,300.
During the last 11 years, Madelaine, an extraordinary survivor, has raised over $3,500. 
Please join the community at Relay for Life the evening of Aug. 2 at the Dodge County Fairgrounds in Kasson and hear this inspiring young woman talk about her journey.