Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Farmington Star Home, Expected To Return
FARMINGTON STAR HOME, EXPECTED TO RETURN
FARMINGTON — Monica Vanzant, a third-grade teacher at Bob Folsom Elementary School in Farmington, has had her faith challenged and rewarded in the last three weeks.
“If you ever wondered if God is real just ask (my daughter) Makenna Vanzant or any doctor who knows how awful HUS is,” Monica Vanzant wrote in a recent Facebook post.
Crash Course
Many people have no idea what Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome or HUS is. The Vanzant household underwent a crash course. According to the Mayo Clinic, HUS usually develops in children after five to 10 days of diarrhea — often bloody — caused by infection with certain strains of Escherichia coli (E. coli) bacteria. Adults also can develop HUS due to E. coli or other types of infection, certain medications, or pregnancy.
The crisis began during what Farmington head girls basketball coach Brad Johnson describes as a typical effort by his sophomore star guard, Makenna, who appeared normal during an afternoon practice.
“She had a phenomenal practice,” Johnson said.
After the practice, Makenna began experiencing symptoms. Her parents, Ryan and Monica Vanzant, initially thought she had a stomach bug, but as her condition worsened they sought medical treatment.
Searching
Makenna was admitted to Arkansas Children’s Hospital at Little Rock Oct. 19. Doctors at first thought she had inflammatory bowel disease and treated her for that the first week. A specialist in gastroenterology was examining her, but there was no progress.
“She wouldn’t eat, she wouldn’t get better, there wasn’t any improvement,” Monica said.
Lab work was done with blood drawn twice a day. On Thursday, Oct. 26, as doctors tried to determine the cause they noticed Makenna’s kidneys were shutting down and a light came on. Doctors realized they were dealing with HUS and she was transferred to the Intensive Care Unit. The family was referred to a nephrologist, who specializes in treating kidneys.
According to the Mayo Clinic, HUS is a condition caused by the abnormal destruction of red blood cells. The damaged red blood cells clog the filtering system in the kidneys, which can lead to life-threatening kidney failure.
Grim Diagnosis
Makenna’s diagnosis was originally grim. Doctors questioned whether Makenna would come out of ICU alive, yet they worked feverishly to save her life. Within a six-hour period, Makenna’s body was ravaged. She had no platelets, the virus was destroying her blood and her kidneys were shutting down. Doctors were aware that HUS could potentially damage the heart and the brain. At 3:30 in the afternoon four or five doctors walked into Makenna’s room and informed Monica to prepare for the worst.
“They told me I needed to call my family,” Monica recalls. “I wasn’t very coherent at the time and a doctor walked me down to a room and offered to call people for me.”
Fight Of Faith
Doctors expected negative impact, but a prayer chain had been activated. Prayer intercessors were bombarding the heavens as the family dared to believe for a miracle. Ryan and the couple’s 12-year-old son, Cameron, arrived. Johnson brought Makenna’s Farmington jersey No. 22 to Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the game uniform stayed with her on her bed. Farmington boys basketball coach Beau Thompson arrived.
At 1 a.m. Friday, Oct. 27, a catheter was inserted in Makenna’s neck. That afternoon Johnson was in Little Rock visiting her again. Makenna underwent a blood transfusion and five hours of dialysis. Makenna fought hard as doctors waited to see how she would respond to treatments. That night her condition was life-threatening.
“We didn’t know if she was going to make it through the night,” Johnson said.
When the Cardinal football team arrived in Morrilton for an Oct. 27 varsity contest, they were greeted by posters declaring, “Devil Dogs are praying for Makenna.” Word had gotten out among the 5A West and schools across Arkansas regarding prayer requests for Makenna, who led the league in scoring as a freshmen, averaging 15.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals-per-game.
The ebb and flow of the battle continued. Mckenna seemed fine when Johnson visited her on Sunday, Oct. 29. Twenty minutes after Johnson left the hospital his phone rang. Mckenna’s blood pressure went through the roof as he described it. The top number was at 180, which can put a person at risk for a stroke or other complications.
According to Johnson, doctors know what to do, but treatment can’t be implemented until each symptom occurs.
“You can’t get ahead of it,” Johnson said. “Doctors know what to do, but they have to wait until it happens before they can treat it.”
Prayer Vigil
The virus wasn’t letting up, but the prayer chain remained active. One of the first responses came from the faith-based community of Farmington and a prayer vigil was organized and held three hours after a frantic request went out..
“We needed it then,” Ryan and Monica emphasized in unison.
“There were times when I would just lose it,” Monica said. “There were times when I would just have peace about the whole situation. We had different people stopping by to see Makenna. A lot of different preachers from this area came. Makenna was never scared. Makenna was never mad. Makenna never questioned, ‘Why me?’ She just went through it.”
Basketball Community
“We got support from the basketball community all over the state,” Monica said.
Harding Academy coach Rusty Garner and four players traveled from Searcy. They prayed with Makenna. Cabot head coach Carla Crowder visited and many others contacted Johnson. Makenna showed improvement. She was moved out of ICU on Oct. 30. Her blood pressure was being controlled with medicines and her kidneys began to function. Monica recalls doctors were amazed at her and her lab numbers. Still the battle raged. Makenna appeared weak and pale and was given one more blood transfusion.
On Nov. 1, Makenna’s kidney function was up again. To the Vanzants there was no other explanation besides prayers for Makenna’s daily improvement. Makenna even shot baskets at a small hoop from her hospital bed.
Celebrating Sweet 16
Thursday, Nov. 2, Makenna turned 16 years of age in the hospital. She received video messages, cards, texts, gifts and phone calls all day as family, friends, teammates, opponents, basketball fans and coaches reached out via social media. The day began with her favorite cupcake pancakes. Arkansas Children’s Hospital threw her a surprise birthday party with her doctors and nurses, who were puzzled by Makenna’s steady improvement.
“Every day they were amazed,” Monica said. “They said, ‘You keep improving. It doesn’t happen like this. You’re supposed to get worse before it gets better.’”
Doctors told Ryan and Monica, “There’s nothing else we need to do that you can’t do for her at home.”
“She got to go home on her birthday,” Monica said.
That day Makenna made the journey back to Farmington to be reunited with teammates, classmates and friends. On Friday, she went to school. Saturday evening Makenna participated, but did not scrimmage in Farmington’s annual Tip Off. She was introduced along with the rest of the team.
Road To Wellness
On Nov. 10, Makenna returned to class. School Nurse Tiffany Rogers monitors Makenna’s blood pressure throughout the day.
“It’s been almost the same every time,” Monica said. “Going up the stairs at school is not affecting that. I was worried about that.”
Makenna is doing physical therapy in a pool trying to get her strength back after losing 15 pounds. She is doing light workouts with limited movement and shooting baskets and the outlook is now promising.
“The day we left the hospital the doctors told us they think her kidneys will be full functioning again,” Monica said. “Once her kidneys are full functioning her blood pressure should be fine without medication.”
“She’s just your normal teenager now. She’s a miracle. She’s our Christmas gift. We have the best coaches here. We have the best trainers here. They are working hard to help her get back to 100 percent.”
When she does, look out 5A basketball, Makenna has some very specific goals this season.