Maya was a beautiful girl. She took so much joy out of the everyday things: music, dogs, water, reading, and ipads. She was fun-loving, affectionate, and mischievous. She knew how to love and loved her family and school team deeply and well. People were important to her. She would find an “in” with a person and then just work it. You couldn’t help but love and laugh with Maya. She had challenges. She had significant medical issues, from her heart to her kidneys to her ears and her eyes. She had significant educational issues, still learning to count to 20 and learning how to read. Her being low verbal meant she had significant social issues as well. Being her mother meant coordinating doctor appointments, therapy appointments, and meetings with her educational team. It meant seeking out educational opportunities for me and social experiences for her. She had an amazingly positive attitude. Maya never anticipated disaster. She walked in fresh to each new experience. Maya passed away unexpectedly in April of 2021 ultimately from a complication from a surgery she had on day 2 of her life. She was 15 years old. We started Maya’s Spark fund to keep her legacy alive by supporting access to the programs that gave her (and our whole family) so much! The Maya’s Spark Fund had an incredibly successful campaign last year. We were able to raise over $24,000 last year. This allowed us to support access to so many of the programs that made such a difference in our lives. We made significant contributions to: Adam’s Camp New England Best Buddies Camp Communicate at the Pine Tree Society David’s House Down syndrome - Autism connection NAPA center NH Leadership Zebra Crossings Please help us continue her legacy! We are relaunching our campaign to fundraise for her fund on 3/21 -- World Down Syndrome day! We will gift again on her birthday in November. Be sure to watch the video and learn more about her and our mission.