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Six-Year-Old Saved by March of Dimes Research Breakthroughs Takes on Year 2000 National Ambassador Role
NEW YORK - JAN. 13, 2000 - She may be only six years old, but the fact that she even survived her birth has made her someone that hundreds want to meet. And this coming year they will, as Mackenzie Brooks of Ridgewood, New Jersey, takes on her new role as the March of Dimes Year 2000 National Ambassador.
Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes, whose work is to fight birth defects, prematurity, and other causes of infant disease and death, made the announcement today, which also marks January as Birth Defects Prevention Month.
"Mackenzie’s health and survival were not a certainty," Dr. Howse said. "At a time when parents usually take their newborns home to cherish, Mackenzie had to stay in the hospital fighting for her life. Her spirit and strength are an inspiration to all of us."
Mackenzie was born June 5, 1993 -- eight weeks premature and weighing only 3 pounds, 8 ounces, following an emergency cesarean section at Hackensack University Medical Center after her mother Gail began hemorrhaging. Mackenzie was immediately taken to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
"They told me I might lose them both," remembered her father, Richard Brooks. "Our doctor told us that the first 18 hours of life would be a honeymoon, so to speak, and that afterward, her condition would likely take a turn for the worse."
As predicted, Mackenzie went into severe respiratory distress and her right lung collapsed. She was put on a respirator in an effort to prevent her left lung from collapsing, but to no avail. Doctors told her parents that the last hope was three doses of surfactant therapy. Surfactant is an oily substance the body produces to help re-inflate the lungs after each breath, but which premature babies are often not yet able to produce. This treatment was developed in part by research funded by the March of Dimes.
"We cried a lot then," her father said. "We hadn’t even held her yet."
After two doses, Mackenzie did not respond, but shortly before the final dose her condition improved. She was not yet out of the woods, but doctors were more optimistic.
Her parents held around-the-clock shifts in the NICU, watching and waiting for her to pass the critical stage. They would do this for the entire month Mackenzie spent in the NICU before she was permitted to go home.
Today, Mackenzie is an athletic, outgoing, and articulate first-grader who is fully aware of the role that the NICU and the March of Dimes played in her life.
"I like the March of Dimes and how they helped save me when I was little," said Mackenzie, who is always on the go.
Mackenzie and her parents will spend the year traveling nationwide, sharing their story and raising awareness of the March of Dimes mission. They also will participate in the March of Dimes WalkAmerica, the annual fund-raising event held nationwide, usually the last weekend in April.
"We live the mission every day," says Gail, who met Rich in the 1980s when both were volunteers for the March of Dimes, a role they continue to fulfill. "We get Macky out of bed, ready for school, and out the door. She is a constant reminder of the foundation’s good work."
March of Dimes Takes Action
In the 1970s, the March of Dimes became concerned that not all babies born sick or premature had access to the specialized care they needed. In response, the organization spearheaded the creations of regional system of NICUs throughout the United States.
"There are many different causes of premature birth," said Dr. Donald Mattison, medical director of the March of Dimes. "So the March of Dimes is working to learn more about the major risk factors and to raise awareness that good preconception and anti-partum care are important in improving a woman’s chance of delivering a healthy, full-term baby."
The March of Dimes recommends that women thinking of having a baby adopt a healthy lifestyle and get a pre-pregnancy medical checkup. All women of childbearing age are urged to consume 400 micrograms daily of the B vitamin folic acid to help prevent serious birth defects of the brain and spinal cord.
Continental Airlines will also be involved this year, becoming the first national sponsor of the National Ambassador program by providing transportation for Mackenzie and her family.
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