20 year old MacKenzi McQuide is a Linguistics and Anthropology dual major at the University of Nevada Reno. On October 11th she went home sick from school with what she thought was a cold caused by exhaustion from lack of sleep. A few days later her condition worsened and the undiagnosable disease affected her nervous system. As her illness progressed, she was checked in to Renown Hospital, where she took a number of different medications just to make the levels of pain somewhat manageable. As her illness continued to worsen, she could not keep any food down and was given a feeding tube. Each day was unpredictable with some days worse than others, but slowly, she began to heal.After 34 days in the hospital with no diagnosis, MacKenzi was released and sent home to recover on her own. She still had a difficult time moving and was mainly wheelchair bound, but gradually she began to regain her ability to walk, and progressed to using a walker.A few more months into her recovery, MacKenzi felt strong enough to continue her rehabilitation and began walking on a treadmill. Every day she walks a little farther. At the end of one of her workouts she said, “I just want my life back.”She still needs to use a wheelchair when sitting for long periods of time, but she is able to spend more time with her family members outside of her room.Now she walks using only a cane, which is a significant step in her continued recovery.After sitting in the living room for a while, MacKenzi returns to her bedroom for a rest.A hospital bed was installed for her when she first returned home. It makes it easier for her to get in and out of bed and feel as comfortable as possible.Throughout this grueling recovery process MacKenzi has managed to stay positive and is working on getting back to school. She completing the classes she missed at the end of last semester online, and re-applying for a number of scholarships. MacKenzi was preparing to study abroad during the spring of 2016, but her illness put those plans on hold. Her goal now is to recover enough to study abroad in Chile next spring.
samanthavanhoozer 