Losing a child is the worst thing that can happen to a parent and for Rachael and Jonny Casella it was both devastating and a turning point. Their beautiful daughter, Mackenzie, was seven months and 11 days old when she left this world on October 22, 2017. But even though her body failed her, baby Mackenzie’s legacy is proving to be immortal.
Rachael believes that Mackenzie chose them to be the guardians of her soul. And despite everything, she says baby “Kenzie” has taught her to be a better person, to choose love over conflict, gratitude over struggle and most of all, to have a perspective that serves her every single day.
Rachael couldn’t protect her baby girl from her fate, but she wants to protect future babies and parents from going through what her family endured. She can foresee a future that is better and fired by profound and precious memories of Kenzie, she has spearheaded a crucial change to the genetic testing protocol, while personally never giving up on her dream of being a mother again. Rachael’s battle for a new genetic test available to all is called Mackenzie’s Mission, which is also the name of the courageous memoir she has poured her heart into.
“I wasn’t really sure how to process everything that was happening with us, and I found myself writing,” Rachael tells me. “It was a cathartic way of getting things out. It evolved into writing Instagram pieces and a blog and the book happened from there. I found I had so much that I wanted to say.”
This story is from the June 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the June 2020 edition of The Australian Women's Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Where to go in 2024
Who doesn't love fantasising about their next trip? We've gone for lesser-known locations, and whether you're seeking bright lights, striking natural scenery, serenity or excitement, here's where you're sure to find it.
Money matters with Effie
Didn’t reach your financial goals in 2023? While a new year won’t wipe away pressures like rising costs, there are a few things you can do now to refresh your money mojo in 2024.
Bright stars in a rugged land
The hot, dusty opal fields around Lightning Ridge in outback NSW have traditionally been a man's world. Now The Weekly meets the women who have been struck by opal fever.
The gift of life
Maureen Elliott had just months to live when she went on St Vincent's Hospital's transplant list. Thirty years on she's one of the longest living heart-lung transplant recipients in the world.
An uncaged heart
After more than two years in Iranian jails, Kylie Moore-Gilbert has forged a new life that's brimming with love, and a determination to help others who have been wrongfully imprisoned.
The woman behind The King
As Sofia Coppola's biopic Priscilla readies to hit screens, we look back at the early life and great love of Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.
Say hello to the Cockatoo cake
When we put a call-out to our readers for their best children's cakes we were inundated with recipes, and this clever cockatoo was ahead of the flock.
The French revolution
Dawn French quit her sketch show because she felt so ugly. Now the \"roly-poly comedian\" wants us all to stop fretting about our faults. She talks body image, surviving the 1980s and owning her mistakes.
Trump's women
Will it be the jailhouse or the White House for Donald Trump this year? The women in his life could make all the difference.
Can you buy a good night's sleep?
Forty per cent of Australians have trouble sleeping, and the market has responded with a mind-boggling array of sleep aids. But do any of them actually work? The Weekly goes in search of slumber.
