SPRINTING for Little Hearts!

Hard to believe it's almost May again, especially when we awoke to find fresh fallen snow on our lawn this morning.  But lo and behold, May is coming, and we're celebrating May Day this year at the American Heart Association's annual Heart Walk.  Some of you may remember our walk from last year, and several commented about Zachary's sprint to the finish line...

All year long he has talked about the "Heart Walk" and how much fun he had.  When we drive over the river past downtown he even points out "Oh, THAT's where we had our Heart Walk!  When we gonna do that again, Mommy?"  And he is so excited to know it's just one short week away!  On May 1 our family will once again be in attendance, raising money to fund research for pediatric heart disease.  Did you know...  In the United States, twice as many children die from congenital heart defects every year than from all forms of childhood cancer combined, yet funding for pediatric cancer research is five times higher than funding for CHDs.  So please visit our Team Zachary website and consider walking with us or supporting us financially to help make the lives of these children brighter!

Fortunately, Zachary has little on the health front to update.  He had a couple nasty colds over the winter, but bounced back like any healthy child.  He continues to take daily aspirin and antibiotics before dental cleanings to prevent endocarditis.  But we did have a scare a few weeks ago which landed him a hospital room for the night.  On April 1, the day after Easter, Zachy started complaining of a tummy ache.  I told him to go potty and it would be all better, which is generally the case :-)  But this time pooping didn't make it better, and before long my usually happy and energetic little guy was lethargic, clutching his abdomen and crying in pain.  By now he was running a low-grade fever and said his lower right abdomen hurt and he felt nauseous.  After an hour or so of this, I called his doctor, who asked to see him right away.  Zachy wouldn't walk or even stand up, so I carried him into the clinic.  On physical examination, the doctor was unsure what was wrong and sent us for testing.  His x-ray came back inconclusive, but revealed an enormous amount of abdominal gas.  Hmmm.... clue #1.  His white blood count was high but not extremely alarming.  "But I can't just send him home," his doctor told us.  "Not with his history.  Not with the pain so bad that he can't even walk."  So after nearly three years of evading the hospital, he was admitted.

All was well, though.  Zachy started feeling a little better once he was settled into his room.  The hospital tests came back mostly normal, and Zachy started passing gas.  LOTS of gas.  He figured out how to work the TV remote, ordered and wolfed down a big bowl of macaroni and cheese, and fell asleep.   And he slept right through his IV insertion.  The next day, the best explanation doctors could give us was gas.  And we told Zachary to enjoy the Fruit Loops he ordered for breakfast, because it was one doggone expensive bowl!

This spring Zachary is playing soccer!  He plays with his older brother Sammy on a kindergarten team, so as you can imagine, he's a bit clueless.  But he runs, he kicks the ball, and last weekend he even laid down on the field to dodge the kick-in from the sideline!  He thinks it's fun that his daddy is the assistant coach, but it's even better that he gets snacks and drinks after every game!

School is going really well for him, too!  He loves his teachers and all the fun things they do and learn.  I tell you, this boy has an incredible memory!  He comes home every day with a new story, lesson, or song, and can recount the details of his day quite vividly.  During Holy Week, his class talked about how Jesus suffered and died for us, and though he's no gospel evangelist, we think Zachy tells a fine story:


Many Easter blessings to you!