NONPROFIT
By Aprille Spivey and Becky McCauley | Photos by Katie Childs | Rendering courtesy of Arkansas Children’s
Meet MacKenzie Maddry: 2025 Will Golf 4 Kids and Gala of Hope Champion Child
MacKenzie Maddry has faced more challenges in her 18 years than most do in an entire lifetime.
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At 14 years old, MacKenzie was an active, happy teenager. She played soccer, ran track and cross country, and excelled in playing the viola. In spite of her young age, MacKenzie displayed a remarkable quiet strength, positive attitude and head-down perseverance.
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These qualities would serve her well in the difficult years ahead.
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In October 2020, a painful bump appeared near MacKenzie’s knee. Thinking it was a sports injury, her parents, Mark and Dori, consulted her primary care physician. After a few visits and no answers, the family was referred to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock for testing. Turns out, MacKenzie had a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma.
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“It was hard when I found out I had cancer, but I had family who had gone through cancer, so I kind of looked up to them, and they kind of mentored me through,” MacKenzie said.
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“It was a shock for all of us,” Dori added. “No one thought our family would be affected by childhood cancer.”
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Thankfully, the cancer was isolated to MacKenzie’s left femur, and two days before Christmas, she began chemotherapy treatments at ACH. Four months later, she had surgery to replace part of her femur with a cadaver bone.
After surgery, MacKenzie still had five months of chemo ahead, but the Bella Vista family was grateful when she was able to receive the treatments closer to home at Arkansas Children’s Northwest in Springdale.
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“Being able to be here saved a lot of time,” Dori said. “Mark would be able to come in and bring us food and hang out. It was really good to have someone close in case we needed anything.”
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Five more surgeries on MacKenzie’s leg followed. The cadaver bone was ultimately replaced with a metal rod, and MacKenzie is working toward full mobility.
Then, as a result of rare chemo side effects, MacKenzie became a heart patient at ACH.
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MacKenzie had been feeling run down, but she thought it was probably due to “chemo fatigue.” When the tiredness didn’t subside, she began to suspect something was wrong. In October 2022, MacKenzie was flown on an Arkansas Children’s Angel One helicopter to ACH and admitted to the cardiovascular intensive care unit, or CVICU, where Dori and Mark were shocked to learn their daughter’s heart was no longer able to produce enough blood flow, leading to end-stage heart failure.
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MacKenzie needed a new heart.
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Cancer patients must wait two years after finishing treatment before they can receive a heart transplant. A month after her heart diagnosis, MacKenzie’s care team made a decision that was life-changing not just for MacKenzie but also for children awaiting heart transplants all across Arkansas.
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MacKenzie became the first pediatric heart patient in the state to go home with a surgically implanted left ventricular assist device. The LVAD would help MacKenzie’s damaged left ventricle pump oxygenated blood throughout her body, making it possible for her to leave the hospital and wait for her new heart at home.
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Indeed, it would take a team of people, both inside and outside Arkansas Children’s, to make this possible.
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Allowing MacKenzie to leave the hospital required special training for local medical staff and emergency rooms. ACH and ACNW worked together and with community providers to ensure MacKenzie could resume her life safely until a new heart became available. The team even connected with medical personnel in Kansas City so MacKenzie could safely travel to watch her brother play soccer.
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In June 2024, MacKenzie and her family were excited — and nervous — to learn a heart was available.
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As Dori watched her daughter being wheeled into surgery at ACH, she felt a lot of different emotions. “I was nervous because it’s a big procedure,” Dori said, “but I felt at peace. We had previously been in the CVICU for 114 days with her LVAD stay, and we had a good relationship with all the doctors and nurses, her LVAD team as well as her transplant team. So, I felt comfortable knowing she had the best care.”
In recovery, MacKenzie woke up and immediately began looking for her LVAD. Dori broke the wonderful news to her daughter: She had her new heart.
MacKenzie remembers not just the exceptional care but also the moments that make Arkansas Children’s special.
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MacKenzie learned to play the ukulele during chemo treatments through the ACH music therapy program. During a particularly rough day of chemo at ACNW, the nurses decorated her entire room and held a dance party to cheer her up. After about two months in the ACH CVICU, MacKenzie’s care team coordinated a field trip for her to visit the state Capitol in December. When she got hooked watching a film version of the hit Broadway play Hamilton, “the nurses sang along with me, and they made me feel at home,” she said.
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Beyond the expert medical care, the unprecedented compassion of the staff sets Arkansas Children’s apart for the Maddry family.
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“I would recommend Arkansas Children’s to any families, and I do often, just because of the love and care of the doctors and nurses,” Dori said. “They all go above and beyond. What is devastating news for a parent to hear, ‘Your child has cancer’ or ‘Your child has end-stage heart failure,’ they are right there for you.”
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MacKenzie is still followed closely by her care teams at Arkansas Children’s and will continue to see the heart team. She graduated high school in May and is looking forward to college and plans to become a cancer or cardiology nurse — she hasn’t decided which one yet. But she does know she wants to work for Arkansas Children’s someday.
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In fiscal year 2024 — July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 — Arkansas Children’s served 180,000 children, more children than ever before, and the need for services continues to grow. The $318 million expansion across Arkansas Children’s focuses on delivering better access, exceptional outcomes and improved on-campus experiences.
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Arkansas Children’s is growing to improve child health for children like MacKenzie, the 2025 Will Golf 4 Kids and Gala of Hope Champion Child. Thanks to the generous Northwest Arkansas community, these volunteer-led events have raised more than $24.5 million for children. This year’s event marks the 31st annual Will Golf 4 Kids Tournament and 17th annual Gala of Hope, both benefiting the ACNW expansion project. The four-person scramble golf tournament will be held July 31 and Aug. 1 at the Dogwood Golf Course and Kingswood Golf Course in Bella Vista. The gala will take place Aug. 1 at the Fayetteville Public Library.
