SUPERMOM
Brook SuperMom
D U D DY
BY LIESEL SCHMIDT
A
mother's love for her child is an incredible thing, something that gives her purpose above and beyond any job, something that grows her heart and fills it with a love that is almost indescribable. For Brook Duddy, that love is what inspired her to create the BaxStrong Foundation after she lost her son Baxter to brain cancer in 2019 at the age of eight. “We send Baxter’s Smile Boxes to children fighting cancer throughout the United States, delivering boxes packed full of arts and crafts, sensory toys, and other encouraging activities to make them smile big,” she says.
The stay-at-home mother of four boys, Duddy’s world was rocked when Baxter, her oldest, was diagnosed with cancer at the age of four. “Our family and our community were there for us and helped us through our
darkest days,” she says. “When Bax was fighting cancer and in and out of treatment, he would get packages in the mail and be so excited. Our community really helped make sure he knew he was loved and helped us smile! After Baxter’s passing, we knew we wanted to share his story, his love, and his smile in a way that Bax loved; but it was put on hold by our biggest surprise...our youngest being born just nine months after Baxter’s passing! He was exactly what our hearts needed to let love back in. After a few months and right before Baxter’s second birthday in heaven, our family decided to bring Baxter’s Smile Box to life. We pack these boxes knowing that we are sharing Baxter’s smile and his strength with kids that are going through what he did, and our family did. To know we are putting a smile on their faces, if even for a minute, makes us smile, as well.” APRIL 2022
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