Shock and Sorrow

Brittany Lynn Madore loved candles. So, fittingly, hundreds of candles were lit Saturday in the 16-year-old’s memory as her family and virtually an entire community--still grappling with the shock of her death--paid tribute to her life at an emotional funeral service filled with remembrances and tears.

The El Modena High School junior died unexpectedly Wednesday, apparently from extremely rare meningococcal bacteria that caused her to deteriorate in less than two days.

“Words cannot express how much she was loved,” her father, Steven Madore, said after the service. “She was fine the day before. It was very, very sudden. It doesn’t give you time to think.”

The 11th-grader began feeling ill Tuesday morning while in class and went to see the school nurse. She was sent home sick with flu-like symptoms.

“She was at home bundled up on the couch having chills,” her father recalled. “She was up most of the night vomiting.”

Her mother, Susan Madore, had contacted an after-hours health clinic Tuesday night and was told her daughter had the flu.

The teen’s condition began to deteriorate quickly.

“By early Wednesday morning, she became very ill and was unable to see and began getting purple splotches on her skin,” her father said.

She was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, then transferred to nearby Children’s Hospital of Orange County. She died nine hours later, surrounded by her parents, brother and sister, her father said.

“We held her and talked to her and tried to give her strength,” he recalled. “It was a constant struggle to revive her. She was on life support and under tremendous care with the doctors and nurses. . . . They made such an effort to bring her back.”

Last winter, two people died in Orange County after becoming ill with meningococcus, a rare disease that invades the body’s organs and immune system if not treated.

One of the victims was a student at Costa Mesa High School, where another girl was afflicted with the bacterial disease but survived. The other victim was an 8-year-old Garden Grove girl.

Meningococcal infections target the blood and spinal systems and generally occur at a rate of one case per 100,000 people annually. Orange County has an average of 30 meningococcal cases and up to three deaths annually, according to Orange County Health Care Agency officials.

The risk of developing the disease is low, especially if people avoid exchanging saliva and sharing food and beverages, health officials said.

Susan Madore was struggling Saturday to make sense of her daughter’s death, but she said the outpouring of support from the Silverado Canyon community has made it easier for the family to cope.

“Everyone is so, so devastated,” she said before leaving for the funeral Saturday.

The mother, a firefighter with the Orange County Fire Authority, talked about how proud she was of her youngest daughter and said Brittany was different from most other girls her age.

“This girl was just so mature and wise and spiritual,” she said. “She wasn’t just a silly, giddy teenager. I think she was probably an old soul.”

The funeral service drew well over 400 mourners Saturday, filling Calvary Chapel of the Canyon. People jammed the lobby of the church, with the crowd spilling outside.

“A life lost in this manner at such a young age is always so tragic,” said Pastor Tom McClaren, who gave the eulogy. “We experience firsthand the frailty and the brevity of life.”

Several poster boards carrying snapshots of the teenager’s life were on display in the lobby of the church. They ranged from photos showing her smiling with family and friends to pictures from childhood of a little girl skiing and at the beach wearing heart-shaped sunglasses.

One display had photos of her performing ballet and other forms of dance. Also posted were samples of her poetry, drawings and other artwork.

Steve Madore brought many of those in attendance to tears when he read a tribute to his daughter.

“I always loved being your dad,” he said. “I was always proud to say, without a doubt, ‘That’s my daughter.’ ”

“Who could have imagined you would be taken from us so soon?” he asked. “It’s not fair.”

The teenager’s brother, 28-year-old Casey Madore, told the gathering that his youngest sister believed in not being judgmental and thought that people should love one another.

“I’ll miss her, but her memory will be with me,” he said. “I loved her.”

Donations to a fund established in the teenager’s memory can be sent to Morris Trust, c/o Orange County Firefighters Benevolent Assn., 1046 N. Tustin St., Suite H, Orange, CA 92667.

An Internet site has also been established for people to express their memories. The address: https://www.dexis.net/brittany/index.htm