10-28-07 - We will receive friends Monday evening from 6-8pm. at Farrar's Funeral Home in Jefferson City, and have a service afterwards from 8-9pm. On Tuesday, we will meet at the funeral home at noon, then drive to Pollard's Cemetery in Kodak for the graveside service at 1:00pm. In lou of flowers, please make donations to the "Mackenzie McMahan Fund" at www.LittleMackenzie.com. A portion of all donations will go to Mackenzie's Rhabdoid cancer research foundation. God bless each of you, and we truely appreciate your inspirational messages.
10-27-07 - Little Mackenzie passed into Jesus's hands peacefully this morning at 11:20am. We thank everyone for every thought and every prayer! I will post a new bulletin about arrangements as soon as we know them. We will continue with our benefit concert this evening to honor our little angel and celebrate her life. God Bless You!
10-26-07 - Mackenzie has been going through good moments, and bad moments since my last update. The night before last, she ran a high fever, but yesterday she seemed to be more alert and responsive. Last night her oxygen level dropped down to 60 a few times, and it has been taking her longer to get her oxygen back up where it belongs. She seems to have more problems during the night. Thank you for your continued prayers!
10-23-07 - Today has been a rough one for Mackenzie, Mom, and Grandmother! Mackenzie's oxygen level and heart rate have dropped very low at times throughout the day. Her doctor also told Megan that the cancer has spread to Mackenzie's bones, but sometimes the doctors can give too much information. Megan can only handle so much, and she is almost to her breaking point. It's hard for her to sleep, or leave her baby to eat. Please remember Megan in your prayers, along with the rest of the family.
10-22-07 - If you, or someone you know are planning to come to Mackenzie's benefit concert this Sat., and would like me to reserve your table, please let me know ASAP. We hope to see you there!!
Cindy - (865) 397-3895
Mackenzie is remaining stable, and is a tough, remarkable little angel!
10-19-07 - Mackenzie is a strong, beautiful angel, and we have been blessed to have her in our lives. She has remained stable since the news of her brain tumors. A new CT-scan was performed yesterday evening, where we learned how quickly these tumors can grow. The doctors have given her an unlimited amount of time. Megan decided she wanted Mackenzie to have a "baby ring", so East Tennessee diamond in Morristown let her choose the ring of her choice at no cost. What a blessing they are! We would also like to thank everyone again for your inspirational messages and prayers.
10-16-07 - Hello everyone. We would like to invite everyone to a Superstar Tribute Concert to benefit little Mackenzie and her family. It will be hosted by Dennis Murphy, who is an exciting Kenny Chesney impersonator! He is the drummer for The Kingdom Heirs at Dollywood, and is an exciting entertainer! The concert will be held at Angelo's at The Point in Dandridge on Oct. 27th at 7:00pm. There will be a silent auction, and donations will be greatly appreicated! If you cannot attend, but would still like to help, please visit www.LittleMackenzie.com, or call me (Cindy) at (865) 397-3895. Please help us spread the word. Thank you and God bless you!
10-14-07 - Good Sunday evening to everyone. My family and I spent a few hours with Mackenzie, Megan, and Pam this evening. I could tell that Megan was so tired from all the stress. I know she feels like she is completely out of energy. Mackenzie was partially sedated when we got there and was wiggling her hands and feet. She loves to be moving something constantly. Her temperature and blood pressure was good, but they thought she might have had a mild sezure yesterday, but couldn't be sure. Since then they have raised her oxygen level, and she has remained comfortable. Unfortunately these horrible Rhabdoid tumors are continuing to grow and her tummy is so swollen. Mackenzie is so strong and so beautiful, it was hard to stop hugging and kissing her this evening. Thank you for your continued prayers for her, her Mom, and her Grandmother.
10-11-07 - Hello. We just got home from spending the evening with Mackenzie, and I have to say she is a very strong little girl. She has remained stable for the last several days, and was able to wake up a few times and show off her beautiful eyes. Megan was also able to hold Mackenzie for several hours yesterday, which was a blessing. Every second we have holding her and kissing her is precious, and we are thankful for what we've been given. We believe that our Lord can heal her, or he can spare her from suffering. We trust in Him and know that He will take care of our angel. We ask for your continued prayers for Mackenzie and her Mother. Thank you.
10-10-07 - Thank you for praying for Mackenzie. There haven't been any changes since my last update. We spent the day at the hospital and it was very sad. They had to put a breathing tube back in, and put in a catheter, because of her kidneys. We had 3 preachers in the room at one time, so they baptised her, along with Alexis, Megan, and Mamaw Bobbie. It was very spiritual and emotional, and Mackenzie made it all happen and brought us all together. We left the room about 9:00pm, then went down to visit Hannah Williams before we headed home. Hannah was so sad to hear about Mackenzie, and so depressed because she felt so bad. It killed me to see her crying in frustration, and I wish I could take it all away! She had a new M.R.I. yesterday, and the last I heard was that there are no new growths, but unsure if her tumor has gotten smaller yet. She is a strong little girl, but needs allot of support right now. I will post new updates if I hear anything new about Mackenzie today. If they can keep her stable enough, they may try to do a little chemo, but they will have to wait and see. If you have time, we invite you to visit www.RhabdoidKids.com and click on the Rhabdoid Kids link to see Mackenzie's profile. You can also click on Rhabdoid Angels to see all the beautiful children who had this terrible cancer, and are now living with Jesus. This is a wonderful website that helps to spread awareness of this cancer, and hopefully one day find a cure. Thank you for taking the time to check this out! I hope you have a wonderful, blessed day.
10-8-07 - First of all, I want to thank you for all your prayers. Because of Mackenzie's seizures yesterday, her doctor scheduled a new CT-scan this morning. A CT-scan was done on her whole body a week ago at Vanderbelt, and it was clear except for her liver. We received bad news when we got the results from the scan this morning, because there are already several tumors in her brain. So many that they cannot do anything for her. All they can do now is keep her comfortable, and they have given her a few days. All the family is being called in today. Please continue to pray for Megan and our family as we try to deal with this terrible news. We know that the Lord has plans for Mackenzie, and she has touched so many people during her short life. God Bless You. Cindy Curington & Family
10-7-07 - It is Sunday evening and we just got home from visiting Mackenzie, Megan, & Pam. I was so thankful to be able to hold Mackenzie on Fri. evening and today! It was mandatory for the hospital to keep her in I.C.U. for 24 hours, however she is still there as of this evening. After removing the breathing tube, Mackenzie still had allot of congestion in her lungs and they have to be suctioned every few hours. As I was holding her today, I noticed her body beginning to jerk. At first I thought she was just dreaming, but it continued for about 2 minutes, so I notified the nurse. About an hour later it happened again while Megan was holding her, so the doctor was able to witness it and said that she is having seizures. He put her on an anti-seizure medication, but he thinks she is just having withdrawl symptoms from all the medications she had to take at Vanderbilt. Mackenzie has been on some very strong medicine, so I'm sure there will be withdrawls. We pray that this medicine helps, and she is able to be moved to a regular room very soon! While at the hospital, we also were able to visit our dear friend, Hannah Williams. She is battling cancer for the second time in her 11 years, and this time has been harder on her little body. Please help us continue to pray for Hannah & Mackenzie.
10-4-07 - MORE GREAT NEWS! Mackenzie should be coming back to East TN Children's Hospital late this evening, or in the morning! Her and Megan will be transported by ambulance, since Mackenzie no longer has the breathing tube. She is leaving Vanderbilt, because they have completed the radiation, so they can continue chemo and physical therapy closer to home. Pam will be riding back home with family members. We are so excited to have them back home, and can't wait for the opportunity to finally hold Mackenzie again!
10-3-07 - Yesterday Mackenzie was moved out of I.C.U. and into a regular room! This morning she had her breathing tube removed and is doing GREAT!! She hasn't been back in her bed since! Thank You, Lord!
10-1-07 - Happy October! On Sat. morning we were told that one of Mackenzie's doctors would remove her breathing tube that evening. We were all excited that she would finally be allowed to wake up. Unfortunately, that excitement was short-lived, because another doctor came in and said, no, we need to keep the breathing tube in until radiation is completed next week. I guess that's how it goes when she has so many doctors making different decisions. On Sun. my family and I made the trip to Nashville to see her and was amazed at how much better she looks. She has her color back, and isn't swollen. Our kids (Alex & Alexis) were also able to see her and were so excited when she opened her eyes and looked at them! God is good and we greatly appreciate all your prayers!
9/25/07 - Friday's ct-scan determined that Mackenzie's cancer has gotten even smaller, and her lungs are almost completely clear! Praise God! A new round of radiation should begin today and focus on the remaining cancer in her liver. Mackenzie wasn't a "happy camper" yesterday, due to a fever of 103.5, and her breathing tube makes her upset when she wakes up. We are praying to have the breathing tube taken out as soon as the radiation is completed.
Our Spagetti Dinner & Auction was a great success! We are so thankful for everyone who attended. We estimate having almost 200 guests and the winning bid for the Hannah Montana tickets was over $900! We would like to thank the I.J. Company in Knoxville for the food, and thank Pizza Plus for cooking and serving. We thank PFG Hale in Morristown for the tea and sugar, and thank all our volunteers for pulling this event together. We were so blessed to hear the "Kermit Easterling Band" play their Christian music, and they were also kind enough to write a special song just for Mackenzie! Their website is www.KermitBand.com if you would like to check them out. Thanks for your prayers!
9/21/07 - Today is the big day for Mackenzie's Spaghetti dinner & auction! We are praying for a big success! Mackenzie is getting ready for a new ct-scan today, so the doctors can determine the coarse of radiation that will begin Tuesday. She has been stable for several days, and has been waking up several times to look around.
9/13/07 - GREAT NEWS! Apparently the radiation is working, because all of Mackenzie's cancer spots have gotten smaller! What a blessing! Her doctors will begin another round of radiation very soon.
9/6/07 - This morning Mackenzie had minor surgery to replace her broviac tube, which is used to insert her chemo into a vein in her chest. The doctors have always had problems and knew they may need to replace it eventually. Mackenzie did just fine, and came back looking for Mommy! Tomorrow will be her last day of radiation, then she will get a break for a week.
9/2/07 - My Husband David & I made the trip to Nashville to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital where we were able to spend the day with Mackenzie & family. Mackenzie was trying to wake up throughout the day and she would open her eyes and listen to me talk to her. The radiation has begun to break up some of the tumor, so she is recieving lots of fluid to flush the cancer cells out. Throughout the night she began to get puffy, but that's normal. She also began to run a low-grade fever, so they are monitoring her very closely. She has finished the intense chemo until she arrives back to Knoxville in 2-3 weeks. She will continue small amounts of radiation while at Vanderbilt.
9/1/07 - Little Mackenzie is holding strong through several radiation treatments and 2 intense chemo treatments! She is holding down her milk, which is given to her through a feeding tube right now. She still has the breathing tube, because she still has trouble getting enough oxygen. We will soon see a new ct-scan and find out if these treatments have made a difference. Thank you for your prayers!!
8/30/07 - We were given the word this morning that Mackenzie needs to be transported to Vanderbilt as soon as possible, and they would be sending a plane by the afternoon. By 5:00pm. an ambulance was there to pick her up and take her to the airport for an hour flight. Megan was able to fly with her, but Grandmother Pam, and Great-Grandmother, Bobbie and Great Grandfather, Chuck immediately began making the 4 hour drive to Nashville. Megan and Mackenzie had a comfortable flight, but when they were moving her from plane to emergency room, her oxygen level dropped dangerously low and had to be sedated while they put in a breathing tube. Afterwards they were planning to start radiation immediately. Radiation is not given to a child under 1 year old unless it's a last resort, so we are praying for a miracle! Please help us pray!!
8/29/07 - We all had our hopes up that Mackenzie, Megan, and Pam might be able to come home for a few days between chemo treatments, but our lives came crashing down this morning when Mackenzie began running a fever. She had to be put back on antibiotics, plus had to have an IV because she can't hold anything down. Her doctor noticed her tummy swelling again, so he wanted to get her in for a CT-scan as soon as possible, which revealed that the cancer has grown into a large tumor on her liver. The doctor gave Megan the option of keeping Mackenzie there and keeping her comfortable, or sending her to Vanderbelt for intense radiation treatments. What a horrible decision to make! After lots of prayer and discussion, they decided to try the radiation and give the baby every chance to make it. It may be early next week before they can be transported by plane or helicoptor, but I will try to keep everyone posted. Please keep praying for our little angel!
8/26/07 - Mackenzie's breathing seems to be getting better since the chemo treatments, and her blood infection seems to be gone! She may get to come home for a few days between treatments. If the cancer spots have continued to grow, then they may have to spend 5 days at Vanderbelt for radiation treatments.
8/21/07 - Little Mackenzie is preparing for her next 5 straight days of chemo. The vomiting is a daily occurance, but she is eating very well. Doctors are keeping a close eye on her breathing and oxygen levels.
8/18/07 - Mackenzie recieved a blood transfusion which made her look and feel so much better! She was able to rest so peacefully through the night!
8/16/07 - Mackenzie had her 2nd chemo treatment. Unfortunately, she had trouble holding her milk down for several hours afterwards, which made her very unhappy. Her doctor came in and said all her tests still look good, but she may need blood in the next few days.
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