Mackenzie's Fight To Walk
Donation protected
On August 23, 2018, Mackenzie, my beautiful 13 year old daughter, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a rare form of Bone cancer. On September 6th, 2018 she began her treatment journey. She would begin with multiple rounds of aggressive chemotherapy, in the hopes that it would kill the tumor before her surgery.
This surgery would take place on November 29th, 2018. Surgery is where her journey became a new kind of Fight. Mackenzie's Fight to Walk! November 29th she underwent what is referred to as a limb salvage surgery or LSS, where they would remove the distal end of her femur, her entire knee joint, and 19 cm of her Tibia and Fibula. They would replace these areas with a Mega Prosthesis( a metal implant) . It was a 12 hour surgery and it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did.
They were able to remove the entire tumor but in the process they damaged her nerves, causing her to be unable to move or feel her foot and ankle, as well as most of her lower leg. They fractured her remaining tibia, and also nicked an artery, which was repaired during surgery. Within an hour of her being in recovery, we knew that something was not right. She had lost the pulses in her foot and was in excruciating pain. Within 24 hours she would have surgery number 2.
During this surgery, they decided to bypass the original vascular repair, shorten the prosthesis to allow for less tension on her vessels and arteries, as well as close with a skin graft to allow for swelling without restricting blood supply. This surgery would last over 6 hours. It seemed as if these changes had solved the pain/vascular issues. Six days later a new issue arose. The skin and tissues on her lower leg incision had begun to die.
She had her third surgery just one week after the first, where they removed all of the dead tissue and re-closed her incision. Things continued to go wrong. She was not able to bend her knee or put any weight on her leg. The skin and tissues began to die again leaving her with a gaping wound on her leg. She was done! She wanted her leg to be amputated! She began to fight and fought for over a month to find someone to listen. The wound eventually began to break down and the metal prosthesis became visible.
This is when the doctors said "okay" and granted her amputation! On April 25th, 2019, after 9 months of chemotherapy, surgeries, hospital stays, and lots of arguing, Mackenzie became a left Above the knee Amputee! This is where we are now! Getting ready to begin her fight to walk again! Her goal is" to be able to walk to the fridge, get a snack and Carry it herself!" I want to be able to provide her with a new leg that is just as awesome and amazing as she is, and we need your help to be able to do that!
This surgery would take place on November 29th, 2018. Surgery is where her journey became a new kind of Fight. Mackenzie's Fight to Walk! November 29th she underwent what is referred to as a limb salvage surgery or LSS, where they would remove the distal end of her femur, her entire knee joint, and 19 cm of her Tibia and Fibula. They would replace these areas with a Mega Prosthesis( a metal implant) . It was a 12 hour surgery and it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did.
They were able to remove the entire tumor but in the process they damaged her nerves, causing her to be unable to move or feel her foot and ankle, as well as most of her lower leg. They fractured her remaining tibia, and also nicked an artery, which was repaired during surgery. Within an hour of her being in recovery, we knew that something was not right. She had lost the pulses in her foot and was in excruciating pain. Within 24 hours she would have surgery number 2.
During this surgery, they decided to bypass the original vascular repair, shorten the prosthesis to allow for less tension on her vessels and arteries, as well as close with a skin graft to allow for swelling without restricting blood supply. This surgery would last over 6 hours. It seemed as if these changes had solved the pain/vascular issues. Six days later a new issue arose. The skin and tissues on her lower leg incision had begun to die.
She had her third surgery just one week after the first, where they removed all of the dead tissue and re-closed her incision. Things continued to go wrong. She was not able to bend her knee or put any weight on her leg. The skin and tissues began to die again leaving her with a gaping wound on her leg. She was done! She wanted her leg to be amputated! She began to fight and fought for over a month to find someone to listen. The wound eventually began to break down and the metal prosthesis became visible.
This is when the doctors said "okay" and granted her amputation! On April 25th, 2019, after 9 months of chemotherapy, surgeries, hospital stays, and lots of arguing, Mackenzie became a left Above the knee Amputee! This is where we are now! Getting ready to begin her fight to walk again! Her goal is" to be able to walk to the fridge, get a snack and Carry it herself!" I want to be able to provide her with a new leg that is just as awesome and amazing as she is, and we need your help to be able to do that!
Organizer
Melissa Hart Taylor
Organizer
Titusville, PA
