McDonald House to the rescue

When Heather Persinger found out she was pregnant, she knew she had a difficult road ahead of her, but nothing would stop her from fighting to make sure her daughter would survive.

She went into labor over and over again – at 18 weeks, 20 weeks and 22 weeks. Each time, the doctor would work hard to stop the labor, hoping to keep little MaKenzi Trombley safe inside her mother to grow for just a little while longer. But eventually there was nothing anyone could do.

“There was no stopping it at 24,” Persinger said.

She was transported to Florida Hospital for Children in Orlando for care because her local hospital couldn’t support a baby born that early. Once she got there, the doctor asked if she wanted her daughter resuscitated when she was born. It’s a question no mother imagines being asked. She didn’t fight for her for 24 weeks to let her go then, and Persinger’s answer was a powerful, “Of course.”

“They don’t really have much hope for 24 weeks and earlier,” she said. “The night I went into labor, they told me her survival rate was less than 25 percent, and being normal was less than 15 percent.”

When MaKenzi was born, she didn’t breathe for 10 minutes, she weighed only 1 pound, 9 ounces and was just 12.5 inches long. She was put on a machine that simulated the womb and pumped her tiny lungs and body with oxygen, more than 200 breaths per minute, before she could do it herself. It was a month before Persinger could even hold her daughter.

MaKenzi turned 1 year old on March 26. Of her then 365 days alive, she’d spent 197 of them in the hospital. Persinger, her husband and son all live in Sanford, which is quite a drive to Orlando. They’ve needed to be by MaKenzi’s bedside, working with doctors and bonding with their baby. To be able to do that, staying in Orlando was key, but they needed help. The Ronald McDonald House (RMH), which offers a free place for families to stay while their children are in the hospital, came to the rescue. Linda Mayfield, who is a longtime volunteer for the House, said it’s easy to see why the RMH means so much to the families it helps.

The Ronald McDonald House is having its annual Ice Cream Social to raise funds to support its program, giving families a place to stay while their children are in the hospital. The social takes place April 14 from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Winter Park Civic Center. Tickets are $5 in advance and $7 at the door and can be purchased at rmhccf.org. The event features many types of ice cream to try and lots of entertainment.

“All you have to see is how much pressure the illness of a child can place on a family,” she said.

The RMH Charity has two houses in Orlando, serving a total of 59 families a night. It costs the charity $60 per family a night. For the third year in a row, Mayfield is chairing an Ice Cream Social event to raise funds to support that cause. They hope to raise $20,000, which could give more than 300 families a place to rest their heads at night, as close to their children as they can be sometimes.

“I don’t know what they would’ve done without this place,” said Carol Leland, MaKenzi’s grandmother. “It was a lifesaver for them.”

“They go above and beyond to make you feel at home,” Persinger said. “They’re like a second family.”

It allowed Persinger and her husband to be in touch with the doctors, in-person, every step of the way during their daughter’s care. Persinger felt like she had some control over what would happen by being there. Otherwise, she would’ve just been a mom on a phone, not the strong presence she was.

“It meant that if I didn’t agree with what they were doing, my voice was heard,” she said.

And that’s important, because the odds were against MaKenzi. Doctors didn’t have the hope for her that her mother did.

“We’ve proven them wrong in every way possible,” Persinger said.

MaKenzi, with her bright blue eyes, a wide smile and little baby babbles, hops on her moms lap. She’s alert, happy and working toward being a normal little girl. She knows how to tell you what she wants, Persinger said with a laugh. Before, they didn’t know if she’d experience life – love, going to prom, her first day of school. Now, with her great developments, Persinger knows her daughter will have those things.

“I know she’s going to get it now,” she said. “I think that she will get anything that you and me can have and more … I know she’s stronger than me.”