Brave Like Mackenzie

We want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who participated in our Chipping Away at Childhood Cancer event two weeks ago. We were able to give several thousand dollars out to families with children in the fight.

We are also working on finishing up Liam’s gift package. Pat, even with his Cub’s loving heart, picked out a nice Churrio jersey along with some awesome Wisconsin teams’ themed gear.

The week after our golf event, we learned about a patient who was diagnosed with the same cancer as Kenz at a young age. Thanks to the amazing fundraisers that , , and Shelby’s hosted, we were able to immediately jump into action and are working on gathering good shoes, PT and OT themed games and activities and more. All of this right before Mackenzie’s angelversary. We like to think this was her sign of how proud she is of us all for honoring her.

February 15th… International Childhood Cancer Day.

I had an awareness post planned. Statistics. Facts. Progress.

But this morning I logged on and saw that a little girl named Charlie died yesterday. Charlie had the same cancer as Mackenzie. She had relapsed multiple times. I watched her journey from afar, like I do so many relapsed medulloblastoma warriors, holding hope in my heart: Will this be the one who survives?

Today I am saying Charlie’s name. And Mackenzie’s.

Instead of statistics, I’m giving you a picture of Mackenzie from her last week of life. She had just told me how lucky she was to have me as her mom. My beautiful girl knew she was dying and wanted to give me one last piece of love.

These are the children we are losing.

We celebrate progress. We share survival rates. But it is not enough.

It will never be enough until every child who rings the bell does so with the promise of a healthy future.
It will never be enough until parents aren’t memorizing smiles because they know they are running out.
It will never be enough until no parent has to bury their child.

Awareness is not enough. Action is.

For Charlie. For Mackenzie. For all of them.

World Cancer Day 2026

Tonight held so much of what this day represents.

💛 We sang Happy Birthday to a newly 10-year-old who has known the world of childhood cancer for seven years of her life.
💛 We cheered the end of chemo for a fighter who has battled for more than 800 days at Children’s.
💛 We said Mackenzie’s name out loud—honoring her journey and acknowledging the heartbreaking reality that far too many children are still dying from pediatric cancer.
💛 Together, we raised $3,000 for Wisconsin families walking this road.

Deep gratitude to Liz, Caleb, and Jason for being incredible bartenders, to Joan and Lisa for your unbeatable 50/50 skills, and to John at Natty Oaks for extraordinary generosity—opening up the bar for the evening and matching funds.

And to everyone who showed up, donated, shared, or simply held space—thank you.

It may be a little cheesy, but one of my favorite lyrics I sing up to Kenz comes from Pink Skies by Zach Bryan:

“If you could see ’em now, you’d be proud…
Your funeral was beautiful…
I bet God heard you comin’.”

I know God heard her coming—because my cry here announced her arrival there. I have no doubt she sees us now. And while her funeral was beautiful, the work we continue to do in her absence makes her even more proud. 💛

Neuroblastoma fighters inspire us every day. 💛 We have had the privilege to know multiple of these brave fighters: some who are celebrating remission and praying for healthy futures, some who are heartbreakingly no longer here with us.

We are so thankful for the researchers who are dedicated to finding a cure for this cancer that accounts for about 10% of all childhood cancers and roughly 15% of pediatric cancer deaths.

We continue to remain hopeful for a day when no child suffers from this horrible disease.