At seven years old, Madden Humphreys was teased about his face by his classmates at school.
He was born with a cleft lip and palate, and one eye of each color. He had a scar from the surgeries. Until other children pointed it out, he had never felt different. His mother, Christina, watched his joy fade and didn’t know what to do.
One day, a photo appeared on Facebook. It was Moon, a cat rescued in Minnesota. He had one eye of each color. And a cleft lip.
There was only one problem. Moon lived in Owasso… no: he lived far away, at a shelter in Minnesota, and the shelter wanted to meet them before handing him over. The round trip was 22 hours, and the family didn’t have money for gas or a hotel.
“I didn’t think it was possible”, Christina said.
But family friends organized a fundraiser. They raised enough. They got in the car and drove.
When they arrived, Moon went up to Madden without anyone nudging him.
“They bonded instantly”, she said. Today, when the cat gets scared, he looks for the boy.
“I always tell Madden he’s magical, and I think Moon helps him realize how special he is”.
Sometimes the world points out to a child what makes him different. And sometimes, far away, someone just like him is waiting for him.
