Her friends call her “Mack” and she recently turned the exciting age of 17, is almost an adult but still a kid at heart. She believes having the mindset like that is what’s keeping her grounded through the objects she has had to overcome through her life. 

Like her brother, she too, doesn’t have what a person would consider a “normal” life an says she didn’t want one. Around the age of seven, she was also diagnosed with “CVID” and had to endure plasma infusions to basically stay alive. She states, “Confusing, right? It was, but I had such an amazing support system to help me through it and I still do.” 

CVID is summed up as simple as this: the human immune system is composed of parts A B C and D and both her brother and her (sharing the same disorder) only have parts A and B so they have just half of their immune system as opposed to the whole thing, which tends to cause sickness more often and is much worse than a person without the disease 

Along with CVID, she has managed to consume other health issues that interrupt the everyday experiences of a 17-year-old, stating her second home has become the halls and small rooms of hospitals and doctors’ offices. 

That being said, Mackenzie and her bother are the Founders of the “Ricky Mack Giving Back” fundraiser benefitting Make-A-Wish in our community. They both had their wishes granted through Make-A-Wish and when they returned, they wanted to give back what was given to them – the feeling of HOPE. They created “Ricky Mack Giving Back” in 2009 and are heading into their 10th year of the fundraiser. Along with the support of community, they have raised over $75,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation and sponsored nine children from our area with their wish. 

They also found and created the “Mats of Love Project” in our area, making sleeping mats for the homeless out of plastic bags that would otherwise be thrown in landfills, distributing them to the homeless in the winter months so they have some shielding from the harsh elements outside. 

She says we are all unique in our own way and that’s what’s pushes her to keep going and everything that has been thrown at her has only made her much stronger while opening many more doors she never knew existed. She adds that of the experiences she has been through, her illness does not define her as a person and is only a detour in her destination for happiness, a detour that is hard and grueling, but every bump and stumble only makes the journey more beautiful.