Madelyn (Madie) Nicpon
Type of Donation: organs, tissue, and corneas
Age and Location: Age 20 – Suffern, NJ
Donation Date: 10/21/2021
Sponsor: Honored by Axogen Corporation
MADELYN’S STORY
Madelyn (Madie) Nicpon is described by those who knew her best as being “unapologetically herself”. She was a loving daughter, sister, and friend; a talented athlete, scholar, dancer, and singer who valued love, compassion, friendship and service of others. Wise beyond her years, she mastered the art of appreciating the little things in life and being in the moment. She also had an unmistakable talent – a true gift for connecting people.
Madie was thrilled to be recruited to the Tufts Women’s Lacrosse team during her senior year of high school. Affectionately known as Scooter, she wholeheartedly became a Jumbo - embracing her teammates, coaches, and school community. Madie was a proud member of The Ivy Sorority, a representative to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, a Green Dot representative, and had recently been accepted into the Tufts Dance collective. She dreamed of becoming a pediatrician and had planned to attend medical school. Her parents hoped she’d work with her father in his practice—where they could continue their father daughter shenanigans – having fun and being in service to their community together.
Madie became a recipient of the gift of life as a sophomore in high school. In 2017, she underwent a routine surgery to have her wisdom teeth removed but noticed that the right side of her tongue remained numb many days after the procedure. Madie and her parents soon learned that the persistent numbness she was experiencing was the result of damage to her lingual nerve, which is the nerve that provides sensation to the tongue.
In May 2017, she underwent surgery to repair her lingual nerve. Thanks to a donor’s gift of nerve tissue, Madie’s nerve was repaired using a processed nerve allograft. The donated nerve tissue ultimately allowed her lingual nerve to regenerate and restored sensation to her tongue.
As a nerve allograft recipient, Madie participated in the 2019 Rose Parade and was honored to ride on the Donate Life float. This event had a profound impact on Madie, leading her to become a registered organ donor and she passionately encouraged others to do the same. Madie’s story has helped educate thousands of people about nerve injuries and the options for nerve repair.
Because Madie was an organ and tissue donor, her kindness lives on in others. Her kidneys have altered the lives of two women, and her tissue, bone and nerves will help countless people. Her lungs, although damaged, will aid research. This is only fitting, as she was quoted in a 2019 newspaper article stating that organ and tissue donation “is not just about saving lives, it is also about improving quality of life.”
In Madie’s memory, her family established the Madie Nicpon 2-Gether Foundation to support the causes she was passionate about: children’s mission work and inspiring others to donate life. Madie was deeply impacted by two mission trips to Jamaica with the Mustard Seed organization. These experiences solidified her passion for helping and working with children. The mission of the Madie Nicpon 2-Gether Foundation is to celebrate Madie’s legacy by continuing her charitable endeavors and honoring her love of connecting people.
Madie continues to be a connector of people. Her sudden passing left her family and community in a state of shock. But the night of her passing, her family was inundated with numerous texts, pictures and social media posts showing rainbows visible to those who knew and loved her. In the ensuing days and months, it became clear that Madie was using rainbows to not only let her family and friends know she was still with them, but to also keep those she loved connected. Her Tufts lacrosse coach said that it was no surprise rainbows would be Madie’s sign, since she believed Madie was the greatest connector of people she had ever known. Madie continues to surprise and amaze those who loved her. Her family remains in awe at the number of rainbows people who loved Madie have sent them. She is clearly on a mission to push her rainbow platform to the limit—which is exactly how she embraced life!