The Airdrie-Cochrane (AC) Avalanche may have lost their Alberta Minor Midget AAA Hockey League (AMMHL) game on Feb. 10 to the NWCAA Bruins by a score of 7-3, but the team made up of 15-year-olds had something special to celebrate off the ice.
The Avalanche presented MacKenna Bader, 17, with a jersey dubbing her their No. 1 fan to thank Bader for her dedication to the team. She has been attending all Avalanche home games for more than three years. MacKenna deals with a rare genetic disorder called DDX3X, which is a gene mutation that affects the body globally … DDX3X syndrome is a recently discovered disorder in females and causes developmental delay and/or intellectual disability. MacKenna also deals with scoliosis, requiring her to have rods implanted on both sides of her spine.
While MacKenna is unable to physically speak, her father, Ryan said, they have been going to hockey games of all kinds for many years.
“Her receptive language is very high where she understands what people are telling her, she just can’t express it … so you just have to ask her the right questions in the right pattern. She’ll choose the answer she wants but you have to give her time to process,” Bader said.
“We give her a choice and we have certain hand signals that we use and MacKenna communicates with her hands. She’s been going to Avalanche games for at least three years now and before that it was the (Bow Valley AA) Timberwolves. Ever since Mack has been little, she’s always loved hockey … even though she’s been confined to a wheelchair, we’ve always played hockey in the garage with her.”
“She just loves hockey. There’s no other way to put it. She watched both of her brothers growing up and has taken to the Avalanche likely due to the speed and hard-hitting action. MacKenna is a need for speed kind of gal and overall just a good old Canadian girl that loves her hockey.”
MacKenna’s father said his daughter being recognized for her love of the game was really special for the entire family.
“(Cochrane Minor Hockey Association Operations Coordinator) Shelly Javorsky actually told us at my youngest son’s (Cooper) game that one of the Avalanche players had recognized MacKenna. They didn’t know who she was but they all recognized her and wanted to do something special for her, present her with a jersey and make her an honorary team member,” said Bader.
“From a family with a child with special needs, that says something right there. Our reaction was really? These 15-year-old kids recognized her and want to do this? That just blew us away and it speaks volumes about those boys to acknowledge that. It really touched our heart and brought a few tears to our eyes to know that they would want to do that for MacKenna.”
“I know if Mack could speak she would definitely let them know that they’re a special group of young men … it was a pretty special time for all of us and it was truly amazing.”
“Those boys are an example of what our community is all about. It’s about accepting and making a little girl feel so special … I think they’re a great example for the community to follow,” added MacKenna’s mom, Debra.
“She’s just like anyone else and those kids threw those words out there and decided that they were going to recognize that she was just like anyone else and they appreciated her support and energy … that’s what our community should strive for and those boys are an incredible group of young men.”
