Police Chief Bonnie Bowers had offered to give Madelyn a ride in a police car to help celebrate, then decided that wasn't enough. Bowers said, "I thought we'd stage a parade with a couple of police cars and a couple of fire engines." She explained that Madelyn and her sister Sophia brought cookies at Christmas time to the police station, adding, "They earned a spot in our hearts."
Once the town learned of the parade plans, the parade simply grew exponentially. The parade ended up being several blocks long and edged along Commercial Ave. from the Safeway parking lot to Madelyn's home on Fifth. St.
Madelyn is the daughter of Lisa and Peter Kuhnlein, professional photographers here.
Madelyn was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a good and bone marrow cancer in 2010, when she was just four-and-a-half years old. Since then she underwent daily oral chemotherapy and monthly infusions through a port in her chest at Seattle Children's Hospital.