Marion girl celebrates milestone birthday with gifts for other patients
Kinslee Mack’s fifth birthday was an especially big one for the Marion, Iowa girl.
Kinslee was born with two rare congenital disorders, including TBCD, an ultra-rare genetic disorder that affects the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the body. There are fewer than 50 cases in the world. Patients diagnosed with TBCD – tubulin folding cofactor D – typically have a lifespan of three to five years.
Kinslee’s mom, Jessica Mack, says her daughter has spent more than 60% of the past year at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children’s Hospital. They thought she would spend her birthday in the hospital but she was discharged to go home two days before her big day.
“[Kinslee’s birthday] is a really big milestone for us, so we thought what a better way to celebrate it than with a donation,” Kinslee’s mom, Jessica Mack, told Iowa’s News Now. “With how diligent they are, her doctors are expecting her to have a much longer life expectancy than five years.”
Kinslee’s birthday wish was for her presents to go to other pediatric patients. So on March 10, the day she turned 5, she came with her mom and grandmother to the hospital to drop off a carload of new toys and books.
“After spending so much time there last year and seeing how much of a difference they made in our lives, we just really wanted to do something for them to show them how much we appreciate them,” Jessica told the news station.
