#MightyMack: Eight-month-old Mackenzie Friedman is showing cancer who's boss
Mighty Mack keeps proving that dynamite comes in small packages.
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Mackenzie Friedman's parents received the shock of their life when their four-month-old was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).
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Megan Harrington-Johnson and her husband Bronson welcomed their firstborn into this world only to be met with the devastating news that they could be saying goodbye to her too soon.
Luckily, Mackenzie earned every bit of her Mighty nickname as she has been battling this disease for the past few months.
From diagnosis to treatment, everything happened so fast. Megan and Bronson are still trying to process it all and while this might be the hardest battle they have ever had to face, things are looking up.
It all started when Mackenzie was having a bad night's sleep but seeing as she hadn't been sick before, they didn't think much of it. She woke up with a fever and being a first-time mom, Megan's mind was running at 100km/h, so they took little Mack to their GP, Dr Colin Kahanowitz.
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After a second trip to the doctor, he recommended they see a paediatrician and that's when they heard the news.
My husband Bronson and I were in complete shock when we were told our little girl had acute myeloid leukaemia - cancer of the white blood cells. We received the news from Dr Nadia Beringer, our oncologist, five days after the onset of her symptoms. We'd heard about other people's parents being diagnosed with cancer, but never someone's child. You kind of go from completely normal - Mackenzie having a fever and a possible bacterial infection - to total disbelief at the fact that she has been diagnosed with cancer.
And so their cancer treatment journey began.
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Her parents followed along as Mackenzie was transferred to the Donald Gordon Paediatric Oncology Unit and constantly stayed by her side. But there are many unknowns and different types of childhood cancer so the uncertainty of what could happen next was affecting them in a major way.
Mack almost instantly started with chemotherapy and it was clear that her cancer was extremely aggressive. It was confirmed that because of her diagnoses she would have to go through two rounds of chemo before she receives a bone marrow transplant, which could be her only solution. But this family was not close to giving up. They've taken big risks and have been fighting this disease with everything they have.
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Since her initial treatment, Mackenzie's picked up infection after infection, because of her immune system being compromised as a result of the chemotherapy. On Bronson's first Father's Day, his little girl was put into an induced coma and put on a ventilator.
It was so difficult not being able to hold her, hear her or even see her eyes - a real low for us both.
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As various other issues, like a lung mass and seizures, kept popping up, it would seem like it would have been easy for this family to lose hope, but no matter what obstacle has been put in their path, they have found a way to focus on fighting, staying positive, and reaching the other side.
In a massive turn of events, the mass in Mack's lungs was not cancer, she was able to wake up from her induced coma and she had somehow managed to kill some of her cancer cells with her latest bone marrow biopsy with a blast cell count that went from 0.6% to 0.1%.
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Technically, Might Mack is now in remission!
This means the much-needed bone marrow transplant can happen a lot earlier than her parents and even the doctors had expected.
You can follow Mighty Mack's incredible journey on Instagram and Facebook.
Find out how you can help Might Mack and other patients just like her below:
Want to register as a bone marrow donor?
Just like donating blood, there are many patients in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant who are hoping to find a match as it could be their only chance at survival.
Applicants between the ages of 16 and 45 who are in relatively good health may apply or contact SABMR for more information.
Main image courtesy of Mighty Mack Facebook