CANTON, Mich. – For Makenzie Carpenter to compete, or even practice the sport she loves, she needs the obvious equipment: cleats and soccer ball.
She also needs something that others do not: a special backpack.
"This is the food, this is the water and this is the device that spins it," Carpenter said.
That is how Carpenter survives -- through a feeding tube -- the nutrients stored in her backpack that goes with her everywhere.
Last year, doctors diagnosed her with Dysautonomia.
"Dysautonomia is a malfunction of the autonomic nervous system," Carpenter said. "It’s everything you can’t control, blinking and breathing. It messes it up."
On top of that, Carpenter also has something called Gastroparesis.
"In September I couldn’t keep anything down,” she said. “Food and water were all coming up."
The feeding tube completely bypasses her stomach.
"Any moment throughout the day can be different than the moment before," said Makenzie’s mom, Lori Carpenter. "She can be fine right now, but give her an hour, she could be white as a ghost."
Despite having two rare disorders, Makenzie was not going to sit on the sidelines.
"She talked four different doctors into allowing her to play soccer," Lori Carpenter said. "She promised them that she will listen to her body and when she needs to, she will sit out."
When it’s time to play, Makenzie unhooks her feeding tube and goes about defending on her high school team. When she is done, she uses a syringe to re-hydrate herself and then hooks the feeding tube back into place.
For now, this is the reality for this Canton High School sophomore, but she’s not getting down. In fact, quite the opposite.
"God gives you something for a reason," she said, "to show people what the positive side of life is."
Makenzie’s short-term goal is to make the travel soccer team this weekend. Her long-term goal is to hopefully get the feeding tube out soon and hopefully, go on to play college soccer.
August is Gastroparesis awareness month. Makenzie wants to spread the word about the "pie in the face challenge."
She says, "put whip cream on a plate and pie yourself or someone else. Nominate a friend and donate $1 to www.g-pact.org"