McKenzie Carey is a 12-year-old from Georgia who loves performing in pageants. Sadly though, when McKenzie was 8 months old she was diagnosed with Mitochondrial disease.
The life-threatening illness didn't paralyze her, but it damages her brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscles, among other parts of her body, leaving her unable to walk or speak.
So, McKenzie needs a little help on stage from her dad, Mike Carey. And oh man, does he bring it.
McKenzie and her big back-up dancer are pretty fierce performers up there.
According to McKenzie's mom Tammy Carey, McKenzie and her dad have been doing these dances at pageants since she was five years old.
The little girl's won a ton of titles and doesn't have plans of stopping any time soon. The family uses the pageants as way to spread awareness about her illness.
Right now McKenzie is trying out alternative therapies, which are expensive, but she's been responding very well to them. About 1 in 4,000 children in the United States develop Mitochondrial disease by the time they're 10-years-old.
