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.”
Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de The Australian Women's Weekly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición June 2020 de The Australian Women's Weekly.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Maggie's kitchen
Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.
Reclaim your brain
Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.
The girls from Oz
Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.
One kid can change the world
In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.
AFTER THE WAVE
Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.
Ripe for the picking
Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.
Your stars for 2025
The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.
Nothing like this Dame Judi
A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.
