Support MaKenna and her family during cancer recovery

Dear Family, Friends, and Compassionate Strangers,

As some of you know, Parker and MaKenna recently welcomed their baby boy into the world. Sadly, the arrival of their healthy baby coincided with the somber diagnosis of Cancer for MaKenna. Though Colter was born healthy and is thriving, Makenna’s cancer pathology came back to reveal she had Melanoma in her right lung. After a few rounds of Immunotherapy, and a few months to heal from the C-section, MaKenna had a Pneumonectomy (removal) of her right lung. The healing process has been long, difficult both physically and mentally, and is still ongoing.

We apologize if this news is surprising to most. We didn’t share the situation with many people initially since it took so long to finally know what the diagnosis was, or what the treatment plan would be. More on the full story below and link to news article.

As her mom, I have had so many people ask how they can help or support MaKenna during this difficult time, but there is only so much physical help a person can receive in situations like this. I’m using this platform as a way that others can help support her and her family. This funding will help to alleviate them of costly medical bills and recover from lost income due to time needed for recovery. This time should be joyous in welcoming a new baby into their lives! Unfortunately, it has been shrouded by a long and painful recovery, countless doctor appointments, tests, treatment sessions, and the fear of not knowing what quality of life to expect or what life expectancy itself may be.

Full story:

Makenna (27) is a hardworking young woman who enjoys spending time with her animals on her farm. She has been diagnosed with Lupus from a young age and is constantly battling the symptoms, but regardless, tries to live the active outdoor lifestyle she enjoys. Prior to becoming pregnant, MaKenna went through all of the necessary precautions with her doctors. After ensuring that she was healthy, her lupus was stable, and that she was not taking any immunosuppressants, her doctors gave her the “green light” to have a child.

Parker and MaKenna were married in June of 2023 and not long after were pregnant in late July. Being pregnant with Lupus already qualifies the pregnancy as “high risk”. Being aware of this, MaKenna was vigilant with her OB appointments during her gestational period.

Around December 2023, about 25 weeks pregnant, MaKenna started to have a cough. After a visit to the prompt care and a round of antibiotics, the coughing persisted. The cough got worse and lingered for over 3 months. During this time, she had stressed to them at each OB appointment how severe the coughing was, yet time and time again was told “it’s because you are pregnant” or “it could be from your lupus”. She was only advised to try home remedies in hopes that it would resolve itself. Toward the end of those 3 months, the coughing became so severe that she would cough repeatedly until reaching the point of vomiting. She would have to catch her breath from simply walking across a room. At about 34 weeks pregnant, another trip to the prompt care resulted in “your lungs sound clear” and a prescription for Prednisone. At 35 weeks, an appointment with her regular Rheumatologist resulted with “the coughing and vomiting is because you are pregnant.”

About 3 days later, MaKenna went to her OB for a regular 36 week appointment to find she had high blood pressure and was unknowingly contracting every 2 minutes. The OB staff decided it was time to send her to the hospital just in case of an early delivery. Parker and MaKenna went directly to a hospital in Peoria where she was admitted, then monitored for 2 days for Pre-eclampsia. The nurses were talking about doing an induction any day now. Late one evening, the OB on staff that night, rounded on MaKenna and just so happened to walk in during one of her coughing fits. Her exact words were “Oh, I don’t like the sound of that cough. Can we do an X-ray?” After a quick X-Ray, they gave us the news that there was a large mass in MaKenna’s right lung, pushing against her pulmonary artery. At the time it was too soon to know exactly what it was, but the most likely culprit was cancer. Since MaKenna has never smoked, lung cancer was not something she could have ever predicted. This changed everything in terms of the delivery. Natural delivery was no longer an option; she would instead require a high risk c-section.

That hospital didn’t have the necessary staff or equipment to perform the risky c-section, so early the next morning they transferred MaKenna across the street to a more well equipped hospital. This hospital held MaKenna for 14 hours with no food or fluids in the “possibility they would rush her into surgery” before they ultimately decided to refuse to do the c-section. Even though they had the equipment, staff, and qualifications to do so, they stated they “aren’t comfortable doing the surgery”. They arranged for her to be airlifted to a hospital in Chicago, but this is when the situation worsened further.

For the helicopter flight, she was told a catheter is mandatory protocol. Unfortunately, it was placed incorrectly, sending MaKenna into severe, unrelenting contractions that persisted through the 1 hour flight, followed by a 30 minute ambulance ride from the landing pad to the hospital. After being told “a natural birth will put both you and your baby’s lives in danger”, one could understand the fear and distress this put on her. This turned an already high-risk delivery into an emergency delivery. MaKenna was rushed to the surgery room where a c-section was performed. MaKenna had to be put fully under anesthesia due to the stress of situation, and the traumatic events that led up to it.

Colter was born at 2:22am Easter morning. He was sent to the NICU (due to being born just shy of 37 weeks) as MaKenna was sent to recover in the ICU. Two days later, they performed a biopsy of the mass in MaKenna’s lung. After four days, she was discharged from the hospital, as all they had to do wait for the pathology results. Since Colter was still in the NICU, Parker and Makenna stayed in the Ronald McDonald house for several nights, until Colter was finally cleared to go home.

Finally, the Pathology results came back showing the mass to be a rare form of Melanoma. The tumor was quite large, being over 12cm, and was pressing up against the main Bronchus and Pulmonary artery in her right lung. This meant it was not only obstructing her air supply, but was also cutting off blood flow. The Doctors decided the best plan of action was to do 3 rounds of immunotherapy, over the course of 3 months, before proceeding with the Pneumonectomy. This would allow some time for MaKenna to heal from her C-section and to hopefully shrink the tumor. In late June, the Pneumonectomy was performed as a sternotomy (where they open the rib cage by cutting the sternum down the center). What was supposed to be a 4 hour surgery, ended up being 10, as the surgeon decided to do a triple bypass in order to scope her heart. He did this to ensure the cancer hadn’t spread beyond the right lung. MaKenna was in the hospital for about a week before being discharged. She was so thankful to be back home with her baby, but the healing process was about to be long and painful.

The pain during recovery was so intense that MaKenna was barely able to lift her son Colter, who was only 12lbs then. Unable to bath herself, dress herself, let alone take care of a baby, MaKenna relied greatly on her loving husband Parker, and other members of her family. Throughout everything, she has been to countless doctor appointments and had dozens of CT scans. She is to continue Immunotherapy, every 3 weeks, for a year (ending in May 2025). The whole experience has been as tough on her mentally as it has physically. Her breathing is slowly improving, as she’s finding her “new normal”. These days she’s trying her best to take care of her beautiful baby boy and to take care of herself as well.

As her Mom, her story breaks my heart. I am asking for your help. Any amount you could donate would be appreciated and if you could please, share her story. Your generosity and love are more than we could ever ask for. Thank you so very much for any help and prayers you can offer!

News links:

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6366413083112

https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/living/video/miracle-birth-amid-metastatic-melanoma-117078306