Back-to-School BINGO Sunday to help fund Royse City girl’s medical expenses

(ROYSE CITY, TX – Aug. 19, 2016) After a terrible accident on July 3 that turned one Royse City family’s world upside down, community members are banding together to support one of their own.

While setting off fireworks to celebrate with her family, 8-year-old Makenna Brown sustained a critical eye injury. According to a post by her family on Facebook, a firework fell over and shot out at everyone, and she did not duck in time.

Makenna’s mother and Royse City Community Development Board Secretary Tonya Brown said since her daughter’s eye socket was fractured, it had to be repaired within two weeks of the initial injury to prevent infection from spreading. Doctors later determined that Makenna’s eyeball would have to be removed through enucleation surgery and replaced with a prosthetic.

Tonya said despite the severity of the injury, her daughter has tried to resume her typical joyful attitude.

“Makenna has always been pretty tough,” Tonya said. “The hardest part for her at this point is waiting to get back to the things she loves to do. She had a rough couple of days following the enucleation surgery on Monday, July 11. She was in a lot of pain and slept for the next two days, not wanting to eat or drink. We removed the eye patch on Wednesday, July 13, and within a half hour or so she was ready to wake up and be a kid.”

Going forward, Tonya said a specialist will create a prosthetic eye for Makenna over the course of about one month. The prosthetic eye will need to be replaced every five years as Makenna grows.

“It will be a new way of life that we will all have to adjust to, but we are blessed to do so, because we still have our sweet little girl,” Tonya said.

Tonya said her heart has been touched by the way her Royse City community has rallied around Makenna and the whole family.

Almost immediately after the accident, Royse City Chamber of Commerce President Julia Bryant and Royse City resident Kelley Robertson set up a GoFundMe account and an account at Guaranty bank for donations to Makenna, as well as a meal chain to help feed her family. Sweet Face Sugar Shoppe & Bakery hosted “Cupcakes For Makenna” and 100% from each Vanilla Vanilla cupcake sold was donated to the “Makenna Brown Love Fund.”

Bryant also organized a “Back to School BINGO For Makenna Fundraiser & Silent Auction” at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 at Big Sky Event Hall to help with Makenna’s medical expenses. Community members are donating food, drinks, prizes and silent auction items for the event.

“God has shown up big through his people who are giving of their time, money and prayers and resources,” Tonya said. “We feel truly blessed amidst the tragedy. We have prayed and prayed for a miracle and we have been blessed by more miracles than we could have imagined asking for. They might not be the miracles our simple minds can think to ask for, but they are miracles nonetheless.

By Julie Anne White, Blue Ribbon News reporter. Photos submitted by family.

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