MACKENZIE'S STORY
Life can change in the blink of an eye; it’s funny that way…
This story begins with the opening meet of the East Coast C-Cerpants swim season. The air was filled with excitement, the pool filled with triumph and hope for the season to come. At six years old, Mackenzie was already an incredible competitive swimmer. She won the Middle Atlantic Championships at Lasalle University, dominating 8 out of 10 events and earning her the opportunity to train with Michael Phelps’ coach in Baltimore, MD. She loved to compete and routinely told everyone she was going to be the next Michael Phelps. Her drive and determination were impressive for such a young child. She already had the Olympics in her sights.
Little did anyone know, leaving that meet would lead to a series of life changing events. Like all her teammates, Mackenzie was looking forward to a great meet, but she barely finished her last event. She had what appeared to be a stroke in the pool and was rushed to the ER. That day marked the beginning of a new path and journey for the Blizzard Family.
Mackenzie was a brave soldier during her diagnostic process. Enduring testing, weekly visits to the hospital and ER, and withstanding more questions than answers for months. All she wanted to know was why her body was doing all these strange things to her. Jack and Renee Blizzard did what parents do…hiding the fear and keeping faith and love at the forefront of their family. After months of pain, intermittent paralysis, weakness, numbness, and countless medical interventions; the family received news that made life for just one moment stand completely still…frozen in time. Mackenzie was suffering the effects of an inoperable brain tumor and mitochondrial disease.
What does a 7-year-old do with this news? She looks at her parents and doctors and asks, when can she get back in the pool…when can she get back to being herself. The bravery and resilience that only a child’s mind can find and simplify in such a complicated situation. As a young child, Mackenzie understood something was growing in her brain that shouldn’t be. She saw that as an individual, she was perfectly imperfect; so she turned up the drive, turned on the giggles and grew the courage she needed each day to face her new “normal”.
Mackenzie suffered these strokes weekly. She would be rushed to the ER where a neurology team would be on standby waiting. She would stay in the hospital until the paralysis resolved, then she would suffer through days of pain only for another stroke to strike. This went on for months with no relief. These strokes would happen in school, where she would drag herself down the hall to the nurse’s office. This was another devastating experience for a child who had already lost the sport she loved.
Dealing with this situation was hard enough for adults, let alone a child. Mackenzie was involved in all doctors’ appointments and discussions. Her parents never allowed her condition to be a disability, just a new way of life. Mackenzie got a service dog named Simba, who could alert to an oncoming stroke. Rather than being the “sick kid” in school, she got to be the “cool kid” with an amazing dog by her side. Physical activity was replaced with things she could do. She began taking pictures, doing crafts, and shooting targets. On bad days, she would build blanket forts in the house and watch movies. On good days, she would go outside and do everything possible.
This will probably be the greatest challenge that Mackenzie will face in life, and she has done it with the same grit and tenacity that she displayed competing in the pool years ago. She is open about her medical issues. At school, she did presentations on her conditions and her service dog. As she has grown and with medication, her strokes have become less frequent. At ten years old, she was allowed to begin some physical activity with restrictions.
Although she has never been able to resume swimming competitively, she began to love all sports. She was allowed to ride her bike, participate in school gym class, and play on the school basketball and soccer teams – things most kids take for granted. She didn’t mind the restrictions; she was just so excited to participate. Rather than focusing on the things she couldn’t do, she celebrated the things she could do. Losing what she loved to do taught her this appreciation for what she could do.
COVID-19 and remote learning opened new doors and opportunities for Mackenzie, allowing the family to stay at Mt. Snow in Vermont for a whole ski season. Mackenzie had learned to ski at four years old. Once a year, she would go ski for a weekend. That was it: one weekend a year was the extent of her skiing. Despite the brevity, she loved her time skiing. Even after Mackenzie got sick, she still went for her weekend skiing. On good days, she would ski and on bad days she would rest. Some days when her coordination was off, she would come home saying how good she had gotten at getting up after falls. But this was going to be her first full season of skiing and Mackenzie was excited. She was enrolled in ski lessons three days a week and would do her schoolwork in the evenings. Her ski instructor was Sally White, a World Cup Alpine Racer. Mackenzie excelled under her teaching.
As the season continued, Sally began talking about Mackenzie’s natural ability to ski. She added elements of racing to Mackenzie’s instruction and suggested Mackenzie ski race. With Mackenzie’s medical conditions, her parents immediately dismissed the idea. Sally continued to push the issue of racing, citing Mackenzie’s natural ability and her natural coach-ability.
As the season was coming to an end, Mackenzie continued to ask her parents if she could ski race. They again dismissed the idea, but Mackenzie’s response made them rethink their decision. She said, “Mom, I think I’m really good, and you should at least let me try.” To that response, her parents scheduled an appointment with her neurologist. Much to their dismay, the neurologist agreed with Mackenzie that they should let her try.
Sally suggested they go to Burke Mountain Academy (BMA) and meet Diann Roffe, the Junior Program Director and gold medal Olympian. Mackenzie went to BMA for a weekend and loved it. With only four weeks left in the season, Diann suggested Mackenzie do the last two races of the year with the Mt. Snow Academy. Her parents made this happen, and Mackenzie competed in her first GS race at Stratton Mountain with a tenth-place finish.
With a taste of success again in a second sport she now loved, Mackenzie was determined to proceed. She applied to the BMA U14 winter term program and was accepted as a first year U14. Mackenzie excelled in the BMA program. She worked hard, bringing that same grit and tenacity from the pool to the hill. After finishing in the 50s her first U14 race, Mackenzie ended her first ever race season with a silver medal at Eastern Finals.
Mackenzie is now a freshman at Proctor Academy, looking forward to her U16 Alpine Season. She continues to exceed all expectations. She uses her appreciation of being able to compete to show compassion and encouragement to others. She excels at her schoolwork. She wants all kids to have the opportunity to receive an education and compete in snow-sports. She has used her experiences to develop an amazing strength of character and desire to help others.
Physical activity still causes Mackenzie a lot of pain. She has constant headaches and her muscles do not recover. To be competitive, she must work harder than everyone else and push through the pain. Her drive and determination have shown her true grit. From the time she was 5 years old competing in the pool, to battling her medical conditions, to becoming an alpine ski racer; Mackenzie has learned how to ATTACK FROM THE BACK and her brand was born. A brand born to help others.