Local

Man donates van after viral video of father, daughter pageant dance

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — A Paulding County girl dealing with a debilitating disease now has some help to make her life a little more comfortable.

Millions of people saw Mackenzie Carey’s heartwarming story online.

Twelve-year-old Mackenzie suffers from mitochondrial disease. She’s confined to a wheelchair so he father uses his legs to help her dance.

The video of Mackenzie's father, Mike Carey, holding her in his arms and dancing around at a pageant in Tennessee has nearly four million views on Youtube. Channel 2 Action News first spoke to the family about the video last month.

Now, one of the people who saw the moving video is reaching out to help.

After seeing the video, the owner of a Toyota dealership in New York decided to donate a minivan to family, with all the bells and whistles needed to help Mackenzie get around.

“We have waited so long for this and this is just a huge blessing,” said Mackenzie’s mom Tammy Carey. “I just want to thank Empire Toyota, Jeffrey Harris and his wonderful staff."

Channel 2 Action News was at the family’s Dallas, Georgia, home Friday when the van arrived.

"I'm almost speechless,” said Mike Carey. “I mean it's crazy how things have transpired. I mean just the van and all the other things that have been going on all the people that have been inspired by that one video."

Mackenzie’s parents say the handicap-accessible van is just what they need to drive Mackenzie to her many doctors’ appointments and to the pageants she loves.

"When my husband dances with her and she hears the music, I mean she loves doing pageants,” said Tammy. “She loves all this and I think that she really understands the blessing that this, that today has."

The Carey family says they are extremely thankful to the dealership and the public in general for all the support. They told us they never thought their Youtube video would spread like it did.

The family has a website where you can learn more about helping McKenzie.

See the full pageant performance below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txTdcqDTL9E