MacKenna Atkinson, a freshman at Souderton Area High School, has had a passion for wrestling since she was 5, and that love for the sport helped her persevere through a mysterious illness, writes Melissa Hanejko for Bucks County Courier Times.

It all started when Atkinson who was in grade school at the time was staying in a hotel room with her parents, and they heard her snoring and struggling to breathe.

Concerned they took her to the doctors. They were expecting that she might have sleep apnea, but her symptoms ended up being much more concerning.

It turned out that her airway was almost completely closed, and she would need a tracheotomy to keep it open if treatment with high-dose steroids didn’t work.

Luckily they did work, but she was hospitalized for three weeks and had to deal with side effects like weight gain, facial swelling and bone density loss.

After extensive testing, the doctors determined she had an autoimmune disorder.

She had to go through multiple surgeries to remove her tonsils, adenoids, and a portion of her tongue. Through it all though, she never gave up on returning to wrestling.

Now a freshman in high school, MacKenna Atkinson is back at the top of her wrestling game.

Read more of MacKenna’s journey at PhillyBurbs.

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