Mackenzie Updates: Diary-like quick entries, and more.
My daughter, Mackenzie Grace McFate, suffered an ischemic stroke, a stroke caused by a blood clot, on the afternoon of October 31, 2024. She spent a few days in the ER and neurology units at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) in Iowa City and was discharged on the afternoon of November 4. By Tuesday, November 13 she had nearly fully recovered with very few visible signs of minor impairment. Unfortunately, at about 1:30 PM on Wednesday, November 13, while resting at home she suffered a second ischemic stroke impacting the same parts of the brain. I’m thankful that very quick action on the part of many saved her life, but she has a longer road to recovery now and many friends are asking what happened and what they can do to help. So…
I began sharing daily updates with a group of friends and family on November 14, and I think it helped us all cope with the situation, perhaps me most of all. In order to catch folks up, and remember myself, I’ve elected to open a new blog section here that begins with those “Mackenzie Update” posts.
I’m sorry to share bad news, but I hope you find it enlightening and uplifting as I did, at least some parts of it. There have certainly been moments in this journey that made us laugh and smile as the old Mackenzie finds her way back into our lives.
-Mark M.
The therapists and nurses at Mercy IRU are WONDERFUL. They know we want to help and learn, but they also know when it’s best to push us away and disengage, so those are the times I like to connect and get some work done if I can. They also remind us that we will be responsible for continued therapy when she leaves (and that could be as soon as tomorrow or more likely Friday) and they are committed to teaching us all we need to know.
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We’ve had a pretty good day here in Mercy CR inpatient therapy. To be honest, Mackenzie has been asleep for about the last hour because they have worn both of us out.
Her day started with occupational therapy and doing the things we all take for granted like brushing your teeth and eating breakfast. All of that went exceptionally well. Next up was speech therapy and that went well, but clearly it’s the biggest obstacle that she still has to overcome. It’s clear that she understands what she hears and even what she reads, but she has trouble verbally communicating some things back to us. We’re finding that she can write and draw even better than she can speak at this point.
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This is mostly a way-finding update for anyone who might be coming this way to visit. From memory…
Two things to keep in mind, in Cedar Rapids avenues run east and west while streets run north and south. It’s entirely possible to end up at the corner of eighth and eighth, which is very near the hospital. The intersection of Eighth Avenue and 10th St., which is very close to, the parking ramp at the hospital, is closed. Do not go there. You have to approach the hospital from the north on 10th St. in order to get into the ramp.
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Just moved into room 71-19 (7th floor) of the Inpatient Rehab Unit (IRU) at Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids.
For anyone coming to visit be advised that you enter the parking ramp on 10th Street but the intersection at 10th Street and 8th Ave. SE south of the hospital, is closed, you must come in on 10th Street from the north.
-Mark M
So I went home last night and got some rest. When I returned this morning about 30 minutes ago Chris was on the phone talking with a representative from Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids and we believe Mackenzie is checking out of here today and we will be transporting her to the rehab facility at Mercy CR.
She is currently out running laps with her mother around the neuro ward. I took her for a lap and a half before this update and she is moving even better and faster than yesterday. She did have some headaches overnight but they’ve got those under control here. I think she’s feeling pretty good this morning, still struggling with some speech as the words are on the tip of her tongue but she can’t always get them out as quickly as she would like.
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Sorry for the late update today but it’s a pretty good one. Mackenzie has been up in her chair all day and every time she visits the bathroom we make her take a lap around the ward. We walked three or four laps today and her coarse physical abilities are back to normal. I think her fine motor skills are also back to normal or nearly so.
Finally the feeding tube came out today at about 11 AM or maybe noon. She feels so much better and she’s so much more talkative now that it is gone. She’s had a couple of showers and for the most part she’s able to take care of herself now that the f-ing tube is gone. Her words not mine.
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Sorry for the late update, been a busy morning here. Mackenzie continues to rest comfortably for the most part although her feeding tube is still in and that thing is driving her up the wall. She needs to get one more meal in her today before they will feel safe enough to remove that.
She’s getting up to use the bathroom, brush her teeth, comb her hair, took a shower, all the things we take for granted. She’s still struggling with her speech and processing numbers, but you can tell the information is all there. It’s just getting it out, and communicating that is tricky.
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We are out of ICU and back in neurology, moved to 6JC room 6337… and no roommate this time!
Not much has changed with Mackenzie since the last update a couple of hours ago, but we did receive word that she will be admitted to rehabilitative care at a Mercy intensive therapy facility in Cedar Rapids, probably early next week.
Mackenzie’s uncle had therapy there after his stroke 4 years ago and that went well. The facility is probably the most convenient for family members given the other choices we had as well.
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Mackenzie is still resting comfortably in the ICU and they are looking for a bed for her so we hope to be out of there in the next few hours. She still has her feeding tube but she’s eating a little better so they think that might come out today.
She continues to make slow progress and has been up and walking a little, but still has some difficulty with her right hand and speech.
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