McKenzie is a very intelligent and quick witted girl. She is very athletic and loves to laugh. She loves arts and crafts, owls, glow sticks, my little pony… she is very easy to please.
On September 28th 2017 our 8 year old beautiful daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia (ALL). Hearing those words “your daughter has cancer” is not something any parent ever wants to face! I felt like my world came crashing down in front of my family and there wasn’t anything I could do to change it!
Leading up to her diagnoses she was perfectly healthy – active, living the life all children should be – on September 25th 2017 she fell at school on the play ground which lead us to our local hospital. There it was discovered she had fractured her back in two places. That’s when we were sent to UVA Hospital where she got the most amazing care ever! Being admitted to the hospital we figured we get a back brace and come home Tuesday or so. We got the back brace but we didn’t get to come home till 14 days later! She remained with a fever, abnormal blood work, sluggish , and just not herself. Her blood work laid it all out on the table for us.
Almost 4 months after diagnosis we are still figuring things out. We still have 3 long years ahead of us but we are facing them one day at a time. McKenzie has been sick and we’ve spent several times in the hospital. We are currently on a plan of treatment where we spend every other week in the hospital.
The moment we shared what was happening with McKenzie we had amazing family, friend, and community support. Everyone pitched in – nothing went unnoticed. Having a child with cancer has made my family and I stronger. We’ve overcame things we never thought we could. Things have been different but we have turned our faith and trust to God. Our now 9 year old has had to miss out on a lot of things most children her age are doing. She is currently homeschooled. We try to keep her actively involved as much as we can. She has an amazing 3rd grade teacher that has kept her up to par on her education. Cancer is not something I ever thought I’d be facing but I know God doesn’t give us anymore we can handle.
Hope session by Gianna Grace Photography | Facebook | Instagram