Support Mackenzie Barnhart
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Mackenzie was in a bad motorcycle accident June 30th on her way to work. Mackenzie has a long road of recovery and will need to be in the hospital to undergo a number of surgeries. Mackenzie will be out of work for some time. Whatever you can give to help alleviate the worry for Mackenzie is very much appreciated. To know Mackenzie is to love Mackenzie. If you are not able to donate show your support by sharing this for her.
Alright, it’s been a minute.
An update on my friend Mackenzie. 9.16.2023
Mackenzie is still putting the pieces back together after her accident. As Mackenzie has been working on healing mentally & physically from her motorcycle accident Mackenzie’s daily driver and her beloved car decided its had its last roll. Another expense Mackenzie must figure out. Mackenzie will need to get to and from her medical appointments in Portland several times a month for the foreseeable future. Mackenzie is still not back to work at this time. If you know Mackenzie you know that this is a huge struggle for her because she is used to the hustle and bustle of life and working 2 demanding jobs. She has not received word on when she will be able to come back to work for the City which makes it so she cannot work her second job at Darbys restaurant. The extra income was crucial for her. As far as her medical expenses we are still waiting to see how much Mackenzie will have to pay out of pocket. If you can please donate and if you cannot please share ♥️
Mackenzie is one strong human who just wants to get back to a new normal. Anything helps. Even words of encouragement ♥️
Update from Mackenzie 7.15.2023 (even with her eyes sewn partially shut & in extreme pain she is such a fighter):
Happy birthday to my mom. My super, incredible, compassionate, brave mother who has been planted right by my side through this entire experience. Who woke up this morning before 5am just to spend 30 minutes gently trying to clean all the blood off of my puffy balloon face. Who stayed up with me all night and all day these last two days after surgery while I cried and whimpered out of pain and frustration for the first time in my life.
I’ve never in my life cried from pain. Not when I broke 11 bones and lost 4 teeth 13 years ago, not when I crashed. I’ve always been a “rub some dirt in it and walk it off” kind of girl. I hate to admit it, but this part has been really really tough on both her and me. But my mom has been my hero, taking on every role.
For anyone who knows my mom, you won’t be surprised to hear that she’s eagerly and flawlessly assumed every position possible. Administering pain meds, changing my hospital sheets and gowns, spoon feeding me water, washing me in the shower. She even jumped in to assist my oral surgeon last week when the oral surgeon’s assistant had to leave the room, handing the correct tools to the surgeon and working with the surgeon on her own daughter’s face without even so much as a blink. So I’ll keep pushing, even if I don’t want to. Because my mom is pretty amazing.
The surgery on Thursday took 9 hours total. 2 hours prep, 5 hours active surgery, 2 hours recovery. From what I understand, the surgery went well. My moms and “dad” (Norman) stayed in the hospital through the whole surgery. My face has just been so traumatized at this point that it’s impossible to get the pain and swelling under control. I was supposed to have an outpatient surgery and go home after I got out, but I’ve now been here in the hospital for two days trying to get this all under control. We haven’t found the recipe for pain control yet, but we are getting closer.
Right now my face is massively puffy , I have a couple of different nose splints, and my eyes are half sewn shut due to incisions. So I cannot see so well at the moment. I hope to reveal Kenzie 2.0 somewhat soon, but I think we are looking at at least 4-6 weeks before returning into any kind of normalcy.
Thank you again to everyone who continues to reach out and offer their support, prayers, kind words and well wishes. And, of course, thank you to everyone who has donated. The bills are gonna be a doozy but this fund is going to be such a help to me I cant even begin to express my appreciation. And most of all, thank you to Kristi for organizing and implementing this entire thing. She and my mother need an award.
An update from Mackenzie herself 7.07.2023
I cannot believe the amount of incredible support that I have been seeing from this community as a result of this accident. There is no way to possibly express my gratitude. The people that are coming out to stand in support of me fills me with hope, love, strength, and courage to keep chugging on.
I have had quite a few people request an update, thank you all for your investment in my well-being.
My first surgery to stabilize my bottom teeth went very well. At the scene, I had physically reached into my mouth to pop the flattened teeth back into a socket. The result is that my teeth were able to be stabilized in surgery on Wednesday and they are saved.
My next surgery is scheduled for Thursday. It was the earliest that I could be seen in the state of Maine with the demand on Trauma and Plastics surgery. This surgery is scheduled to take at least 3 hours for facial reconstruction and top jaw stabilization.
Currently, my face is flattened out and separated, and my top jaw is essentially floating in a cavity. I cannot open or close my mouth more than a couple centimeters.
This whole experience has been incredible. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who has donated, reached out, offered to help, sent their kind thoughts and prayers.
I do not know what my healing time will look like or what any future procedures will look like. I do know that I will have internal and external sutures.
I am filled with new life and hope. I am thankful to be alive every day to see the incredible power of an invested community. Sometimes some really terrible stuff needs to happen in order to really appreciate how beautiful life is.
Here’s to Kenzie 2.0. Spread the love. I love you all ❤️
Update 7/04 from Mackenzie:
Happy 4th, everyone.
This is very hard for me to share. I’m so thankful for all of the support that I have been given. Any one who knows me, knows that I have probably never asked for help with anything in my life.
On Friday, June 30th, I decided to ride my motorcycle into work. It was gorgeous outside for the first time in a while. I love riding my motorcycle to work. It is one of my greatest and only selfish pleasures. I even have my own little parking spot at Darbys that I share with one of my coworkers who parks her scooter outside also.
I put my gear on like I always do. Helmet, face shield down, armored mesh jacket, grip leather boots.
But you can do everything right and still not be safe. Every time I made the decision to ride that bike, I accepted that something really truly awful could happen. I just thought maybe I was invincible.
On Friday, I made it to the 40 degree S turn on City Point Road between High Street and Oak Hill Road where I was met with a vehicle in my lane. The wrong lane. Going much too fast, with his head turned down towards his lap.
I’ve taken those turns countless times before. I’ve dodged cars partially in my lane, deer, porcupines, birds. But I did the only thing I could think of with a vehicle entirely in my lane in a blind turn, and swerved off the road going 35mph.
My bike and I went airborne and I ate a mailbox. My helmet came off and I found my face and fists deep in mud. My teeth were flattened against my tongue and my nose was flattened against my face.
The person in the vehicle kept driving.
Please please please, I beg you, watch out for others on the road. This person will never know what he’s done to me, my family, the people that are close to me.
I now need plates in both cheeks, a nose job, jaw reconstruction, my jaw wired shut. I’m getting the plastic surgery that every girl jokes about but doesn’t actually want.
I lost so much. But it’s not all bad. I’ve gained something really beautiful from this, too.
I can’t say enough thanks to the incredible people that have stepped out of the wood work to support me. I won’t even attempt to list everyone but I’d like to at least recognize a few.
Kristi Osgood, you are an absolute saint. The world does not deserve people are pure as you. You have been a much better friend to me than I could ever ask for.
Megan Tribuzio responded to me at the scene. While she may not have recognized me right away, she made sure all my bases were covered and treated me with the best that you could ask for from any officer. I’m so glad she just so happened to be staying late enough to take my call.
Belfast Fire and Ambulance crew were incredible. I know I wasn’t pretty or easy to deal with, but that group of folks is easily the best Fire and Ambulance emergency response team in the State of Maine.
Thank you to my “dad” Norman, (he always needs special mention) and the many incredible coworkers I have at the City of Belfast and Darbys who have been busy checking in on me and asking how to help.
Thank you to Michael Shillings, the only man that came to my aid at the scene and called the police. While I stood on the side of the road holding my face and trying to wave down help, two cars passed me by. Micheal heard me crash and immediately came looking for the source of the crash. He took no hesitation in giving me his jacket to stop the bleeding from my face and coordinate calling emergency responders when no one else would stop.
My boyfriend Michael has been more than I could ask for. He very quickly has had to see me in the ugliest state I have ever been in, and he has been the most kind, supportive, and helpful.
Most importantly, thank you to my mom. I couldn’t ask for a better person so go through hell with again. She’s been my rock through this whole experience. Please give her some extra grace if you see her, she’s not been sleeping or eating. She’s too busy being a super mom.
There are too many people to list, but this is a good start. I’m very fortunate for the extraordinary people I have in my life that I can count on to have my back.
Thank you all for considering helping me out. I’m just trying to keep everything above water for now.
Hug your loved ones close. Enjoy them. Enjoy the holiday.
Organizer
Kristi Osgood
Organizer
Belfast, ME