ZACHARY D

LONG TERM SURVIVOR!


Zachary Robert Doctor was born Nov 3, 1999. Through Zachary's infancy he had frequent respiratory and ear infections. On his 12 month well visit, it was noted that his spleen was enlarged. He had blood work drawn for EBV and a CBC. His EBV came back negative and his WBC was a bit elevated and he was anemic. A few days after receiving the blood results, on Thanksgiving morning 2000, Zachary was rushed to the hospital because of a red rash(petechaie) and large black bruises. His platelets count was critically low so he was sent to a hospital with a pediatric oncologist. After a few days in the hospital and 2 bone marrow tests, Zachary was sent home with the diagnosis of a viral infection.

Over the next few months, Zachary grew weaker. He continued to have low platelets, anemia, a slightly elevated blood count, a rash, and enlarged spleen, liver and nodes. The doctors remained insistent it was viral and chose to watch and wait. Luckily, a second opinion brought forth a diagnosis of JMML at 18 months of age. From there it was though we went from idling to a high speed rollercoaster. Zachary had 2 doses of chemotherapy, a partial splenectomy, and finally a matched sibling bone marrow transplant using an all chemo protocol.

Today, thanks to his brother Kyle, Zachary's strength and courage, and God's will...Zachary is now a healthy and happy boy. He has no GVHD or known late term effects. It is amazing to see how far he has come.


Dana, Zachary's mom,
november 2005

Check Zachary's web page.

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