Support for Mackenzie on her Journey to recovery

In late January, Mackenzie, over the space of 2 hours, lost her ability to walk, talk or control any movements. This happened very suddenly as she went from being a normal 6 yr old girl, running around with her little brother and sister, and enjoying time at the beach to being unable to move or communicate.

She had an MRI in Whangarei hospital which showed swelling of/around her spinal cord - she didn't recover well from the general anaesthetic so she earnt herself a midnight chopper ride to Starship intensive care, after 3 days in PICU where she progressively got worse, unable to move voluntarily and having painful spasms.

All the results from her lumbar puncture, bloods and CT are completely normal.

There is still no clear diagnosis for her yet- but it looks like an autoimmune condition. Potentially a mixture of Guillain-Barré syndrome, Miller Fisher syndrome, Bickerstaff brainstem encephalitis and Transverse Myelitis. Doctors are still running further tests in the hope to make a diagnosis

Mackenzie has had all the treatments for the above conditions (IVIG and IV Prednisone) and is on loads of meds to keep her comfy.

Mackenzie is now on the neurology ward at Starship and will be there for a few more weeks by the sounds. So far the suggested plan is when she is medically stable enough, she will be discharged to the Wilson rehab facility in Auckland, for a few months, if not more.

For now its about keeping her comfortable and starting her rehab journey (Physio, Occupational therapy and Speech Language therapy). She needs to learn how to talk, eat, move and walk again once she has the strength.

Mackenzie is an absolute trooper and is able to smile, laugh and cry and she understands 100% but she cannot communicate back to us.

It’s going to be a long journey to recovery for our Mackenzie, and we appreciate all the love and support for this brave little lady!

Mackenzie is the much loved daughter of Rochelle and Chance, and a great big sister to Finn (4) and Marlow (2). They are all being super strong for Mackenzie. She is super loved, but there are going to be ongoing costs with Mackenzie's recovery when she eventually gets home, and I hope to raise some money to put towards this, and to help their beautiful family of five.