The healthcare workers that have become like family, lined up to sing and clap as Mackenzie “Mighty Mack” Friedman finally made her way home with mom and dad.
Johannesburg, South Africa (04 February 2022) – We can’t remember a time when Mackenzie “Mighty Mack” Friedman wasn’t a part of our hearts. Even though we only started sharing her story in May 2021, she has become so much a part of our lives, like she has for many who have followed her journey. Well, with tears in our eyes we are happy to report the Mighty Mack has finally been sent home!
January has been a huge month for the Friedman family. Firstly, Mighty Mack celebrated her 1st birthday on the 5th of January 2022. She then went on to celebrate her bone marrow transplant on the 14th of January 2022 from which she has quickly recovered.
The family was expecting Mack to spend the month of February in hospital but after a few rough starts, her recovery was really fast and she has been released from the hospital. The family last shared an update when she was 17 days post-transplant and her white blood cell count was on the rise.
“What we are really chuffed with, is that her neutrophils have reached over 1- this was one of the transplant physicians “goals” and is a great milestone as it means that she actually now has some form of an immune system, and as such, her risk of infection is lower”
“Neutrophils are essentially the “baby white blood cells” which will develop into white blood cells, so with an increase in neutrophils, we know that her white blood cell count will continue to steadily increase and she will get stronger by the day.
Platelets are also usually the last to graft, so the fact that these are already increasing on their own is a fantastic sign!
She is now off all IV medication and antibiotics, and is on oral meds only which is a huge step towards going home, hopefully in the not too distant future”
A few days later, the news broke that Mackenzie is finally home!
“Our hearts are just so full, and we are so so grateful. Thank you for being so invested in her journey, and for your constant support, prayers and love. Every comment, every kind word of support, every thought, every blood donation, every bone marrow registration, every message of encouragement…
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It got her home, right where she belongs, and we will be forever grateful”
Months of fighting off her cancer led up to this week. If you are new to her journey, you can read all about her cancer battle and how she has won over the hearts of thousands of South Africans here.
Take a look at the heartwarming farewell the hospital gave her as she left. We properly sobbed!
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