Dear Friends!
As many of you know my daughter, MacKenzie was diagnosed with brain cancer in the fall of 2010. She had just passed the California BAR and was ready to begin her adult life when she suffered a massive seizure which revealed a  cancerous tumor on the right front hemisphere of her brain. We were told that it may have taken years for this to form and it finally became a realtiy. Fortunately it was diagonosed as a stage two tumor not something even worse.

As soon as she was diagnosed I called a friend whose son had suffered from a brain tumor several years earlier. She became my go- to person. Her advice? "BREATHE." Her other advice was, "Get over to UCSF"

Four days later, MacKenzie was extremely fortunate to have her tumor removed at one of the top neuro-oncology centers in the country. Suffice it to say it was the longest 4 days a mother could go through. The resection caused an extreme paralysis of MacKenzie’s left side and she had to spend the next six weeks in the hospital in Berkeley recieving physical therapy. She had to  learn how to walk, tie her shoes and everything else that requires two sides of your body. Re-wiring the brain is an intense process, but she powered through it and began moving on with her life with her life partner, MIke.

Of course cancer is not that simple and there are no easy solutions. In 2013 a “routine” MRI revealed there was a reoccurrence of the cancer in the same area of the brain. It was caught early but necessitated a frightful five week regimen of radiation. It was a reminder to all of us that cancer will always be a part of our new reality. Imagine having radiation on your brain. It was an ugly experience. This process took a much longer recuperative time. 

 In 2016, MacKenzie and Mike were fortunate enough to have a little red-headed Felix . He is a joy to all of us!! He is now four years old and it is exciting to see him grow into a little boy. As for Bill and myself having this ball of energy in our lives is beyond thrilling, but exhausing. We take every opportunity we can to head south!

This past year MacKenzie spent 12 months on a chemo therapy regimen spending 5 days a month on an oral tablet that released a dose of chemo into her system. Some days she was exhausted from the dose, some days she was ill. It was not an easy time. All the while MacKenzie continued to work for the Mental Health Advocacy organization in LA. Thank goodness she and Mike have had an incredible support during these trying times. Mike's mom and dad live close and are a phone call away. They come every week to help out with Felix, giving MacKenzie the opportunity to rest and regroup. 

It is now time for us to call on you to help support the National Brain Tumor Society which tirelessly advocates on behalf of brain cancer patients and survivors and provides much needed funding for research. To donate to the walk, go to:http://events.braintumor.org/bay-area-brain-tumor-walk/ You can donate to  me Penny Rix and it will be rolled over to team MacChallenge. If you wish to join our team, we would love it! Just sign up on the site: http://events.braintumor.org/bay-area-brain-tumor-walk/

We will be walking at San Francisco Zoo in San Francisco at 10:30 on June 14th. We would love to have you join us!

And THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of your love and support!