Makenna's Medical Journey

"Makenna is a vivacious 10 years old little girl, who has gone through more than any child ever should. Here is her courageous story! In December 2013, Makenna passed out at school, and that was our first sign something wasn't right. She was rushed to Kosair Childrens Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. Where they did multiple tests, trying to figure out what was going on. One of the tests was to check her hemoglobin, it came back at a low 9. Normal is 11-13. Kosair told us she was borderline anemic, and sent us home. This was on a Thursday, by Monday she was ghostly white, and exherted. We took her to our family care physician, and they told us to rush her to hospital. Her hemoglobin dropped to a 5, and she was bleeding internally. We rushed her to the University of Kentucky Children's hospital, where they found she had an esophageal varices in her esophagus. Basically, it's like having a varicose vein in your throat, and once they burst it can be fatal. Makenna was then diagnosed with Portal Hypertension. In a nut shell, it is a blockage in the portal vein, causing the portal blood flow to her liver, and back up, and with the pressure, varices form. This is a very rare condition. We researched her condition, and found a doctor in Chicago, named Riccardo Superina. On August 11th, 2014 Makenna underwent a Rex Shunt procedure. This was suppose to correct her condition, and restore the portal blood flow to her liver. She was in surgery for 13 long hours. The Rex Shunt procedure did not go as planned, Makenna's veins were so bad they had to perform a Meso Renal Shunt to drop the pressure in her portal vein.  The 29th of August, we were finally sent home. She was doing great,  and healing very well, until we noticed she was gaining fluid in her belly. We made the decision to take her back to Chicago, and thank goodness we did. The doctors found a slight narrowing of her shunt, and they did a procedure to expand it. Her belly was gaining fluid due to Chylous Ascites. Makenna is now being fed intravenously until the lymphatic system heals itself. Which can take weeks. We are praying that this will heal her, and get her back on her feet! This has been quit the journey for our Family, and has definitely brought us closer Jesus. I am amazed day to day at God's power, and love. Without his grace, we do not know where we would be." This was written by my brother Casey Howard. I wanted to share their story, and try to raise money for their family, also spread awareness about this horrible condition. Due to many nights in Chicago, they have missed weeks of work. At this point, anything will help. We as a Family thank each and every one of you. God Bless.