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Prayers for Lindsay and Mackenzie 
Mackenzie was diagnosed at 15 months of age with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia on January 16, 2004 after weeks of high fever of unknown origin. Her bone marrow responded well and at two and four weeks into treatment, both aspirations showed remission. Unfortunately, with leukemia, it is a long road, and even when remission occurs, a 2 1/2 - 3 year protocol of chemotherapy must be completed. The first year was rough, as Mackenzie endured many, many complications. In October 2004, she entered the "maintenance" phase of therapy and was doing well until April 18, 2005 when we received news that the leukemia was back. Mackenzie's relapse occured in her central nervous system and she enduring ten more months of intensive chemo and cranial/spinal radiation, followed by another year and a half of maintenance therapy. Her doctors told us they thought she had a 40% chance of beating this thing. It was a crushing, heart wrenching blow to our lives. But we didn't know the storm wasn't over. Five months into maintenance, Mack relapsed again on January 18, 2007. This time the cancer was back in her bone marrow and the doctors thought she had a 10 percent chance of surviving. We uprooted our family and left suddenly for Cincinnati Childrens Hospital where she was inpatient for over six months. Four months of intensive chemotherapy and finally an unrelated umbilical cord blood transplant on May 15, 2007. We continue to remind ourselves that life is not about numbers or statistics... it's not about someone's best guess at whether or not my child will live or how long she may live. Rather, it's all about a plan and a purpose that God has for our lives. And so we continue to place all of our hope in Him, trusting in His constant care. His faithfulness has been evident in the many ways He continues to provide for us on this long and exhausting journey. We praise God for Mack's life everyday and for the miracle of His healing hand. We are so grateful for all the changes that have occured in our own lives through this journey we have been on and have learned to appreciate the suffering. YOU are another example of His outstretched arms and we pray that you will be touched by Mackenzie's life and blessed through your love and support for our family!
Mackenzie's MySpace
DONATIONS MAY BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE BANK WHICH HANDLES MACKENZIE'S MEDICAL FUNDS. THE ADDRESS IS:
WAUCONDA COMMUNITY BANK
HOPE FOR MACKENZIE
ATTN: CYNTHIA TYSLAND
495 WEST LIBERTY STREET
WAUCONDA, IL 60084
Lindsay was born with 5 heart defects (pulmonary atresia, total anamolous venous return, levo-transposition, dextrocardia and a VSD. She has undergone 7 open heart surgeries and will continue to need surgery for the rest of her life. Because of the complex nature of her heart and the rare combination of defects together, doctors did not expect Lindsay to live past age 3. She is a joyful 14 year old who continues to remind us that life is all about God's plan. The "repair" surgery that she had done years ago was the first time that surgery had been done. Doctors suspect she may develop a cardiomyopathy someday and require a heart and lung transplant. For us, we just live in "today", not worrying about tomorrow because we have learned that God's grace is sufficient. We are so grateful for the gift of life and the miracles we have witnessed in both of our girls.
Journal
Monday, June 29, 2009 4:26 PM CDT We continue to ride the roller coaster... the ups, the downs and all the loops! I spoke with Lindsays cardiologist a few times today and finally one of the nurses from Dr. Ilbawi's office (Lindsays surgeon). After much confusion which I won't go into the details because it makes me so frustrated, LINDSAY WILL STILL BE HAVING SURGERY ON JULY 13TH. With that said, no one has actually talked with Dr. Ilbawi who gets the final word on whether or not she'll go to the OR, and he is out of the country. They may not be able to discuss her case with him until July 8th, so there is still a small chance the surgery would be cancelled if he felt she didn't need it. I don't think anyone is anticipating that, but you just never know. No decisions have been made about the pacemaker issue and this is something that will require a lot of thought and contemplation so please pray specifically for God to clear the doctors minds and share His wisdom in this area. It sounds like she will recieve a synthetic conduit, most likely gortex, with a bovine valve. We always knew Lindsays LOVE for cows was deeply seeded in her heart~! Trusting God to work out all the details and remind the doctors of anything they may be overlooking and forgetting. It feels a little "rushed" and chaotic, needless to say... disorganized... and that makes me feel a little uneasy. Praying for God's protection from man's errors and for angels to stand guard all around our sweet Linney Lou. I'll keep you posted as I receive news.
Much love,
Amy
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Hospital Information: CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSPITAL
3333 Burnett Avenue
Cincinnati, OH 45229
513-636-4200
Links: www.caringbridge.org/visit/awesomeali Remembering Awesome Ali
www.jenessabyers.com Remembering Boey
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