Mackenzies Third Open Heart Surgery
Donation protected
From our 20 years of friendship, if I was asked to think of an adjective to describe Mackenzie, one of the first words that comes to mind is, strong. Incredibly strong. That may be because she HAD to be. Unfortunately two months after Mackenzie was born, they were told she had the heart defects of Tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia and truncus. This heart defect is very uncommon but is the same as Jimmy Kimmel's child that was born last year.
The lower left and right pumping chambers were not separated which made the red blood cells and blue blood cells mix together. Along with this, her pulmonary vein didn’t extend far enough into the lower pumping chamber due to her lack of a pulmonary valve.
During Easter weekend at 4 months old, She underwent her first heart surgery. This surgery was to put a shunt in to make all of the veins on the right side grow big and strong. During this, her lungs collapsed. Shortly after, at 18 months old, she had her first open heart surgery to repair the pulmonary atresia. Again, her lungs collapsed and she was in recovery again.
When Mackenzie turned 7 years old, she was faced with another open heart surgery. Her Aortic Valve was leaking. All doctors said she either needed a valve from a pig or a mechanical valve. However, with knowing that her heart will grow too large for that, they continued their search for an alternate form of surgery. This is what lead them to Doctor Richard Jonas. This third surgery was a success and she came home on Mothers Day. As this third surgery occurred in the late nineties, Doctors claimed that humans can live a normal and healthy life without a pulmonary valve. However, now in 2018, studies say the opposite.
Mackenzie always lived a healthy and active life. She was always driven and never let her heart condition stand in the way of pursuing her career at Upper Bucks County Vocational Tech School or sports at any age. She now works part time at Hair To Dye For in Easton, Pennsylvania. She loves doing hair and making people feel the true and natural beauty within themselves.
As I am writing with love and support from Co-Workers, Family and Friends, Mackenzie will have to undergo her third open heart surgery on November 27th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This surgery will be to replace her pulmonary valve with the root of a pigs valve. Her aortic valve which has lasted with a repair for 19 years will now be replaced with a mechanical valve. These surgeries will leave Mackenzie on a blood thinner for the rest of her life.
We will be raising money to help Mackenzie out of this difficult time of surgery and being disabled to work. Mackenzie and her boyfriend Alex Noecker have recently bought a house in Williams Township which leaves them with a ton of bills on top of these new skyrocketing medical bills. Any donation you are able to give would be greatly appreciated to help Mackenzie and Alex relieve one aspect of her, now third, open heart surgery.
Thank you all so much!
-Brynne
The lower left and right pumping chambers were not separated which made the red blood cells and blue blood cells mix together. Along with this, her pulmonary vein didn’t extend far enough into the lower pumping chamber due to her lack of a pulmonary valve.
During Easter weekend at 4 months old, She underwent her first heart surgery. This surgery was to put a shunt in to make all of the veins on the right side grow big and strong. During this, her lungs collapsed. Shortly after, at 18 months old, she had her first open heart surgery to repair the pulmonary atresia. Again, her lungs collapsed and she was in recovery again.
When Mackenzie turned 7 years old, she was faced with another open heart surgery. Her Aortic Valve was leaking. All doctors said she either needed a valve from a pig or a mechanical valve. However, with knowing that her heart will grow too large for that, they continued their search for an alternate form of surgery. This is what lead them to Doctor Richard Jonas. This third surgery was a success and she came home on Mothers Day. As this third surgery occurred in the late nineties, Doctors claimed that humans can live a normal and healthy life without a pulmonary valve. However, now in 2018, studies say the opposite.
Mackenzie always lived a healthy and active life. She was always driven and never let her heart condition stand in the way of pursuing her career at Upper Bucks County Vocational Tech School or sports at any age. She now works part time at Hair To Dye For in Easton, Pennsylvania. She loves doing hair and making people feel the true and natural beauty within themselves.
As I am writing with love and support from Co-Workers, Family and Friends, Mackenzie will have to undergo her third open heart surgery on November 27th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This surgery will be to replace her pulmonary valve with the root of a pigs valve. Her aortic valve which has lasted with a repair for 19 years will now be replaced with a mechanical valve. These surgeries will leave Mackenzie on a blood thinner for the rest of her life.
We will be raising money to help Mackenzie out of this difficult time of surgery and being disabled to work. Mackenzie and her boyfriend Alex Noecker have recently bought a house in Williams Township which leaves them with a ton of bills on top of these new skyrocketing medical bills. Any donation you are able to give would be greatly appreciated to help Mackenzie and Alex relieve one aspect of her, now third, open heart surgery.
Thank you all so much!
-Brynne
Fundraising team: Friends & Family (3)
Brynne Camburn
Organizer
Raised $135 from 3 donations
Durham Township, PA
Tina Schaible
Team member
Raised $475 from 8 donations
Tina Schaible
Team member
This team raised $1,820 from 34 other donations.
