'Her laugh was beautiful': 7-year-old Delco girl's sudden, tragic death saves 2 other lives
NETHER PROVIDENCE, Pa. - A young girl from Delaware County is saving lives, even after she lost her own and her sudden death is immediately helping to save the lives of two people.
"Mackenzie was the biggest personality in the room," mom Liz Raiburn described her daughter.
Liz has been posting a picture of her 7-year-old daughter Mackenzie Rose every week since she’s been born.
Those proud mom posts continued through the summer, even after the Wallingford family got devastating news from her doctors.
"We spent about six days in the hospital and that’s when we got the diagnosis of Severe Aplastic Anemia," Liz said.
Mackenzie had a rare bone marrow disorder and desperately needed a transplant to stay alive. Thanks to a bone marrow donor, over the weekend, Mackenzie was sent to Nemours Children’s Hospital in Wilmington for the procedure.
But, the surgery didn’t go as planned.
"During her transplant, she complained of a severe headache and her blood pressure got high," Liz explained. "They were not able to intervene in time."
The soon-to-be second grader was declared brain dead Saturday afternoon after a brain bleed.
"She had a smile that was contagious. And, her laugh was beautiful. She was so smart," Liz described.
Mackenzie Rose
Mackenzie’s parents are turning their grief into a gift of life. "We wanted her to give back and she wanted that."
Mackenzie became a recipient to donor and donated two of her kidney’s so others can live.
"I said, ‘Listen to me. When God speaks, I listen. You need to pack a bag,’" Martino Cartier stated. He runs a non-profit called Wigs and Wishes and donated a wig to Mackenzie she never.
The hair salon owner philanthropist also has a friend who just happened to need a kidney and was scheduled to start dialysis Monday.
"When she told me that Mackenzie’s blood type was A positive, I started freaking out," Cartier said.
The wheels were in motion to have a 7-year-old’s kidney transplanted into 52-year-old Brooklyn, New York resident Anthony Soriano.
"She ended up being a perfect match," Liz said.
"Perfect match. I just lost it. Lost it," Martino said.
The very next morning, Anthony was in Philadelphia at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania getting his new kidney. "I never met Mackenzie in real life, but she now lives inside of me."
Soriano posted a video in the recovery room. He says there is no sign of rejection, so far and he is expected to make a full recovery.
"Everybody needs to be a donor. Your organs do you no good in the ground or the crematory, so why not be the gift that keeps on giving living?" Martino questioned.
"It’s just amazing to see what she was able to do for people. She did so much alive and now she’s more doing even after she has passed. For a 7-yearold, that’s amazing," Liz remarked.