New Update: 08-31-24 [Scroll down] This is a story about our amazing 10-year-old daughter Mackenzie and her journey to beat cancer. If you don’t know Mackenzie, she is a very smart, talented, and hard-working kiddo who loves school, playing volleyball, and hanging out with her friends. My heart breaks for such a sweet and kind kiddo to have to go through something like this, but here is her story... A couple of weeks ago we noticed a large growth on Mackenzie's collarbone area. It was raised and its size was very concerning, so Lindsey and I immediately got her set up to get it checked out. She had some blood work done and then after a CT scan last Wednesday we ended up in the ER where we found out she had multiple large nodes and masses in her neck and chest area and that she had lymphoma, cancer of the lymph nodes. It was concerning enough that they had her take an ambulance from Children's Hospital in Plano down to the Children's Medical Center in Dallas for further tests and scans. Yesterday we got the biopsy results back and the good news was is was Hodgkin's Lymphoma vs Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma so the treatment time is much more manageable and it is very treatable. Her oncologist also told us her prognosis was "excellent" and we have lots of options and resources for treatment. Another plus is we have been able to start treatment with steroids to start knocking down the size of those masses and growths and she started her first round of chemo tonight. On the downside her cancer has spread very extensively from her neck down to her legs and she is being labeled Stage 3 or possibly Stage 4 depending on what the results from her final scan today say. Because of the extensive size and proximity of the growths to her trachea and heart, she is considered "high risk", which means they are gonna do a great job just be very cautious as they go. She has had a great attitude and tried to stay upbeat but the gravity of the situation is starting to sink in for her... Thankfully we had a great team who explained a lot of how this is going to work and look but she is very much mourning the loss of things like not being able to go to summer camp this week, not being able to go to school [*for now], not getting to play sports this year, loosing her hair, and lots of other things... Her treatment will involve 6-8 months of chemo & radiation but thankfully we will be able to do most of that back at the Children's Hospital in Plan, the city where her Mom [Lindsey] and I live. It also looks like we will be at Children's Dallas here until Friday at least before we are released to come home. Our biggest need right now is just a lot of positivity and support. Mackenzie has been getting overwhelmed with all the Facetime, texts, and giving people news but she said she would like videos and or letters/drawings. If you want to send any of those to Lindsey or me, please feel free to message us directly here on this site, via text, email, social media, or physical mail. We are trying to be a shield for her so she doesn't have to manage other people's concerns, feelings, or emotions. She is very sensitive right now so mainly we are just trying to keep her as happy as possible. We will be sharing Mackenzie's cancer journey with our Caring Bridge website, and we also have a "TeamChemoDuck” LFEBridge, Amazon wish list and Instagram page for anyone who wants to follow along, contribute, and send love Kenzie's way. These links are at the bottom of this post but can be also be found on the "How to Help" section on our Caring Bridge site. Honestly, our biggest needs financially center around childcare and finding someone who can help us by being at home with her so she can homeschool and go to treatments so we can both continue to work, as well as a lot of the costs that we are incurring out of pocket. I am sure there are some things I am forgetting but Lindsey [Mom], Amy [My Sister], and I [Dad] will try to keep updating Caring Bridge with updates for those of you who want to follow along this year for Mackenzie. Thank you for all the love, support, and good vibes! TeamChemoDuck Links: Help Mackenzie Beat Cancer!!! Caring Bridge Mackenzie's Cancer Journal & Blog Amazon Wish List Helpful & Fun Items for Mackenzie Team Chemo Duck Instagram Pictures, Reels, & Mini-Updates
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