GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The living room of Mackenzie Paul’s first apartment is filled with books.
But among those stories, is none better than her own. You've likely heard it before.
“We were like acquaintances all the way through high school," said Mackenzie. “We were homecoming king and queen, and then went off to college to play basketball.”
She fell in love with the boy next door.
“COVID hit came back, gyms were closed. I needed someone to work out with. So we started working out together. And then the rest is history," she smiled.
They got married in June 2023.
“My husband, he's been amazing." said Mackenzie.
She started working towards her dream job, in school to become a doctor.
“I was feeling really good about where I was at," she said.
But every story has a plot twist. And Mackenzie's was coming.
“I was in a clinical rotation following a nurse around and we ended up in a patient's room and I was just standing in one spot for like, a couple of minutes, and I got really dizzy and I ended up passing out," she said.
“I thought that was weird. So, I got some bloodwork done.”
The new wife and medical student would get the news from a doctor of her own.
“I got a call that I have leukemia," Mackenzie said. “You're just coming off the high of being excited to start your lives together. And we're both sad. We're both scared.”
Like many young people before her, Mackenzie turned to TikTok for a bit of connection.
“I got it during COVID to watch videos," she laughed.
But watching quickly turned to sharing. There, she shared one of the biggest moments of her life so far — shaving her head amid her cancer battle.
"I had hair my whole entire life and it's gonna fall out. So I might as well take control over that," she said.
Her sharing turned into more sharing until suddenly, she had over 3 million views.
“That one blew up," she laughed.
“I'm an introvert, so it was really strange for me but it was also very very comforting knowing so many people were like supporting me and praying for me."
A support that pushed her to hold out hope — hope that someday, the only future doctor visits are by Dr. Paul herself.
“As a student, that was kind of a push to keep moving forward," she said.
Hope that their first trial as a married couple will be the hardest.
“We want to be able to be 20 year olds and explore together and do all these things," she said. “I don't think there's anything that could come between us after going through all this.”
Hope that a story like Mackenzie Paul’s will touch more hearts than her own.
“It made me still feel beautiful," Mackenzie smiled. “I'm just hopeful. And I have faith that I'm going to get there.”
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