7-year-old battling cancer, facing amputation to get big surprise at school

BELLEVILLE, Mich. – They call her “Mighty Makaela” for a reason.

Makaela Mongo, 7, from Belleville has been battling cancer ever since kindergarten and her road to recovery is about to take a drastic turn.

“The doctors thought they removed the cancer that was discovered in her left leg,” said Amy Williams, Makaela’s second-grade teacher at Keystone Academy. “She was starting to grow her hair back but then this summer the cancer came back and she had to go through chemo therapy all over again.”

Makaela’s mom, Carmen, was forced to make the difficult decision of amputating part of her daughters leg. Carmen wrote on a Facebook page dedicated to her daughter’s recovery:

“Just removing the tumor and trying to save her leg this time cannot guarantee keeping the cancer away and saving her life and THAT is what is most important! It is the most hardest decision as a parent I think I've ever had to make in my entire life but my baby girl is my entire world and if that's what's going to keep her here and keep her life full and happy then that's what needs to be done. With this surgery there's only a 4% chance it could come back as where if they do another limb salvaging surgery like before it's like s 65% chance. And with the way they have come with prosthetics these days, Makaela will be walking, running and dancing better than ever!”

For the next eight weeks, Makaela will have to learn to live life with a prosthetic leg. Her surgery is scheduled for Oct. 13, but little does Makaela, know her friends in class have a big surprise planned.

“Mrs. Williams emailed me saying the kids wanted to do something special so we brainstormed ideas,” said Kuterah Godfrey. “I think we come up with something really special and all of the second grade classes are getting in on it.”

Without ruining the surprise, an extra special doll, that will look like her -- prosthetic leg and all -- will be arriving because at Keystone Academy, Makaela is a hero. 

Donations can be made by sending checks/giftcards to:
Keystone Academy
ATTN: Makaela the Mighty
47925 Bemis Rd.
Belleville, MI 47925

A GoFundMe account was created to help pay for medical expenses.