DANVILLE — Jan. 29 marked the beginning of a year that forever changed the world for one Danville family.

It was the day Doug and Carrie Hummer found out their 8-year-old daughter Mackenzie was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of cancer.

Months of tests, intense chemotherapy and radiation have followed, but the little girl shows she’s a fighter.

Despite her slight frame, Mackenzie’s brilliant smile now radiates hope.

Following her latest round of chemotherapy last week, her ANC count, which indicates her white blood cell count, was low, leaving her susceptible to germs. She curled up next to her mom when guests, who have to use sanitizer before entering their home, came over for a visit.

She’s a little shy about talking about her battle during the last year.

But now cancer-free, she grins when she describes how much she’s looking forward to a Make-A-Wish family trip to Hawaii next year — and maybe going back to school.

The diagnosis

Mackenzie, now a home-bound fourth-grader at Garfield Elementary School, began showing symptoms of illness last November.

She would randomly throw up, and then seem to recover without incident.

A pediatrician suggested that she might have had a bout of the flu.

But the incidents continued to occur.

Finally, she was referred to a gastro-intestinal specialist in St. Louis, who did mention that a brain tumor could be the cause of her illness. At one point, the doctor held up a number of his fingers and asked Mackenzie how many there were. She saw twice the number he held up.

Immediately, he scheduled an MRI, which revealed a tumor near her brain stem. The next day, Jan. 30, she went to St. Louis for the surgery that successfully removed the entire tumor.

Carrie says she doesn’t remember panicking about the news when they first heard the word “tumor.”

“It’s something you always hear about,” she said. “But you never think it’s going to happen to you.”

She and Doug were more concerned about letting Mackenzie know what was going on.

“Our biggest concern was how we were going to tell her,” Doug said. “She was only eight.”

Although they knew they had to break the news, they knew she wouldn’t be too shocked.

“She knew something was going on,” Doug said.

At one point, she asked, “Do I have cancer?” they said. Doug told her she had some yucky cells that the doctors were going to take out.

Mackenzie admitted she was pretty scared at first. Fortunately, the tumor was only on the wall of her brain stem.

“Had it been more attached, they would only have been able to remove part of it,” Carrie explained.

But the surgery had side effects, despite its success.

Like a stroke patient, Mackenzie lost all use of the right side of her body.

“She’s gone through so much,” said Carol Hummer, Mackenzie’s grandmother. “She’s has had to relearn the whole side of her body and learn to walk and talk again.”

Just after surgery, Mackenzie tried to speak. She knew what words she wanted to say, but couldn’t articulate them at first.

“It’s hard to see them coming out of surgery,” Carol said.

“It’s very heart-wrenching, but they do have a lot of ways to help the children cope with these things.”

Even though the chemotherapy and radiation were intense, five-day sessions, Mackenzie found some things at the hospital enjoyable, like the children’s occupational therapy dogs or even chats with psychologists who help the kids cope with their treatments.

She and other kids at St. Louis Children’s Hospital loved the “sleepy doctor” who would put them under when they were undergoing radiation. Mackenzie proudly shows off the mask she wore during the treatments, which marks where the radiation went.

In all, she underwent 30 radiation treatments in her brain and spine, where additional cancer cells where doctors initially found more cancer cells.

She’s a part of a study through Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which will track her progress for the rest of her life.

Every three months, she’ll have a spinal tap and MRI done.

The study involves some 200 of the top pediatric oncologists in the country.



MILES FOR MACKENZIE

Those who wish to contribute to Mackenzie Hummer’s trust can make checks payable to Miles for Mackenzie Trust and mail to Miles for Mackenzie, P.O. Box 656, Danville, IL 61834. At the bottom of your check, write, “Credit to Brian Hummer’s Chicago Marathon run.”

Doug Hummer, Mackenzie’s father, and a local team will run in the Chicago Marathon Oct. 12 to raise money for the American Brain Tumor Association. To contribute to the ABTA, please mail checks to ABTA, 2720 River Road, DesPlaines, IL 60018. At the bottom of your check, write “Credit to Doug Hummer’s Chicago Marathon run.”