When your heart is in your dream, no request is too extreme. - Jiminy Cricket

Abandoned by her mother, taken in by her poverty-stricken grandparents who died while she was still a child, enduring the painful accidental death of her 9-year-old brother and needing a liver transplant to save her life were all difficult realities for Jody Mackling, MSN, RN, CPNP, as she grew up.

Before she started the second grade, the school nurse noticed Mackling was completely sallow. The whites of her eyes had turned yellow, so she tried Visine. That wasn't enough. Within days, she was sent to Children's Medical Center Dallas. The tests showed she was dying from a rare liver disease, which would require a liver transplant.

A Gift of Generosity

Mackling went into the hospital in February of 1986 and left the hospital in April, not only with a new liver, but with the gift of generosity - more than she could have ever dreamed possible. She earned a $16,000 scholarship from the Bowie Education Foundation in her hometown of Bowie, TX, to go to Texas Woman's University in Denton.

"I became a nurse because as a child I suffered from liver failure and required a liver transplant," Mackling said. "I was immediately drawn to the nurses. They were all very caring and compassionate. They loved their jobs and had fun doing it. I was also fascinated by the things they did like putting in IVs, drawing labs and NG tubes. Even after going home from the hospital. I would play nurse on my dolls for fun."

A Feeling of Home

She also had a dream of working at Children's Medical Center Dallas.

"I chose Children's Medical Center Dallas because it was my home away from home ever since I was [young]," she said. "It was a comfortable environment for me and I really felt that, without Children's, I wouldn't be alive. They always gave excellent, cutting-edge care and I wanted to be a part of that.

As a child, she had a dream of getting well and helping other children just like her.

"I chose pediatrics because I just love kids," Mackling said. "Nothing brightens my day like seeing one of my patients smiling and giving a hug. Kids today need good caring role models, so if I can influence them even for a minute, I am glad to do it. I am an example of what a positive influence one can have on a child." n

Amy McGuire is regional editor at ADVANCE.