Mackenzie F.
Ohio
Birth Date - February 23, 2001
Main Diagnosis - spinabifida,arnold chiari malformation and bicuspid
aortic valve
THEME: HEARTS...ANYTHING with a Heart in the pattern
Quilt Deadline:8/1/2014
Mackenzie's Story
Mackenzie is a 12 year old little girl with Spina bifida,
Arnold Chiari malformation, and more recently bicuspid aortic valve. As of
now all are stable but treatment testing and hospital visits happen quite
often in our busy house. At birth, Mackenzie was given the prognosis that she
would never walk on her own , would have a neurogenic bowel and bladder and
would need multiple surgeries for her clubbed feet. Little by little we
struggled on and helped her face these challenges; there were some very
scary times but the more intense it became, the closer a family we also
became.
At age 3, after 3 foot correction surgeries and wearing casts to her knees,
consistently, she took her first labored steps with the casts on. She held
onto the couch but it didn't matter! They were still steps that proved a
miracle was happening for her. She used a walker, then crutches, and now knee-
high ground reactive AFO braces.
At age 7, we went to a routine Spina bifida clinic at Children’s Hospital and
the doctor noticed a murmur which had never been heard before. I remember my
heart racing and (them) insisting that we had to be seen by cardiology immediately
because we couldn't believe that something else was going to affect my
precious daughter’s life. It was confirmed that she had a bicuspid aortic
valve and that we would closely follow this in the years to come. We keep
our faith in GOD that he will provide the comfort and resources as she grows
to make her a testament . In 2009 Mackenzie was granted a “Make A Wish” and
she chose to visit Disney World. It wore her out, but she said it was the best week of her life!
CLICK HERE SEE WHAT HAS BEEN STITCHED
"Thank You"
Mackenzie absolutely is in love with her quilt. I surprised her with the package as she got off of the bus and she was shocked . She is using it tonight actually as we speak :) again thank you so so much this is such an awesome personal gift :) and it's great she received this at the start of the school year because it's been stressful switching back to such a fast paced environment after being so laid back all Summer.
