52: Diabetes in Haiti

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Mackenson Bonnell was born in Haiti and lost his parents as a teenager. He became the caretaker of his younger siblings, and eventually developed Type I Diabetes when he was living at an orphanage. He was adopted by US parents and together they formed Kay Mackenson which is a clinic in Haiti that provides treatment and education to Haitians regarding diabetes. Mackenson just finished his collegiate career in soccer and is hoping to attend physical therapy school in the near future. In this episode:

  • Growing up in Haiti
  • Losing his parents at a young age and becoming the caretaker of his siblings at 13 years old
  • Having faith and trusting God throughout his loss
  • Learning English at the orphanage
  • Waiting 3 years to get adopted and live in the United States
  • Diagnosed with Type I Diabetes at 17
  • Forming the Kay Mackenson Clinic – Providing healthcare and diabetes education to Haitians
  • Overcoming the culture shock of transitioning to small town Texas
  • Earning a position on a collegiate soccer team without playing high school soccer

You can find out more information about Mackenson’s clinic at https://www.kaymackenson.org/ and you can follow him on Instagram @mpbonnell

You can grab a copy of my book, Underdog – True Stories of Overcoming Adversity, which features 10 stories from the first 40 episodes of the podcast at www.underdogpc.com/book, or on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.