A heart-warming and hilarious video made for her grandparents, showing a happy and healthy little girl who kept telling her dad that Mum was her favourite, went viral and was watched by almost than 9.5 million people.
But in a cruel twist of fate for a family that brought so much joy, Maddie died suddenly this week at the age of three after being diagnosed with two strands of the common cold.
“Part of me feels that Maddie was meant to change the world and I feel sad that she didn’t get the chance,” her mother, Kerryn Tippett, told The Daily Telegraph.
The toddler developed “cold-like symptoms” which were put down to the sniffles or a virus by her parents and GP.
But as her condition deteriorated they rushed her to John Hunter Hospital where she tragically succumbed to what doctors discovered was not one, but two strands of the common cold, on Tuesday evening.
One of the viruses got into her heart, which her father Mick Tippett said just “conked out” as she lay in her parents’ arms.
“She happened to have these two types of viruses and the way they attacked her system … it was just too much,” Mrs Tippett said.
Rocked by their grief, Mick and Kerryn say that they have been touched by the messages of love and support they have received from strangers and friends alike – people who were made to smile by Maddie’s cute antics.
“In 10 years’ time someone will be having a bad day at the office and sit down and click on that video and it will cheer them up,” Kerryn said. “That will be her legacy.”
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