Zack

Two Years Today: The Day Everything Changed Two years ago today, our world shattered. It was the kind of moment you never think will happen to you. You hear stories, you feel sympathy, but nothing prepares you for the moment a doctor looks you in the eyes and says the words: “It’s a brain tumour.” That was the day Zack’s diagnosis changed everything. The questions came rushing in before we could even catch our breath—What does this mean? What’s going to happen? Will he be okay? What does the road ahead look like? The truth was, no one had a clear answer. We were suddenly thrust into a whirlwind of appointments, scans, surgeries, treatment plans, and uncertainty. Life became about surviving the next hour, the next day, the next MRI. The road ahead was long. And it was hard. There were moments that knocked us flat—unexpected complications, sleepless nights, pain we couldn’t take away, and so many tears we lost count. We watched someone we love most face battles that no one sh...

    Two-Year Rollercoaster: My Son’s Last Chemo Appointment and What Comes Next As I sit here, watching him in that sterile hospital room for the last time for chemo,  I’m overwhelmed with emotions. Tears are falling faster than I can wipe them away, and I’m struggling to grasp what this means.  It’s been a wild ride. For the last two years, my life has been a mix of appointments, blood tests, hospital gowns, and far too many nights spent in a hospital room with the rhythmic beeping of machines as my soundtrack. The day I’ve been waiting for—my son’s last chemotherapy session—has finally arrived. It feels like both the end of a chapter and the start of a whole new book. But what comes next? What does life look like after this wild, medical rollercoaster of a ride? And, perhaps more importantly, what will our new “normal” be?  I’ve learned how to smile through exhaustion, how to comfort my son when he’s scared, and how to hide my own fear from him. I’ve held...

  The Gift of Platelets and Blood — How It Feels to Receive a Lifesaving Donation When you hear about blood or platelet donations, it’s easy to think of it as something abstract — a noble act that helps “someone out there.” But for people like Zack, those donations are far more than a good deed. They are a lifeline. Yom tov this pesach was spent in hospital receiving platelets and blood. Zack is 2 years old and has been receiving both platelet and blood transfusions as part of his treatment.  Zack has had 14 blood transfusions and 22 platelet transfusions since August 2023  It’s hard to put into words what it’s like watching your child go through this — the fatigue, the pale skin, the shortness of breath when his red blood cells are low, or the bruising and bleeding that comes when his platelet levels drop. But even more powerful is the feeling you get when, after a transfusion, life comes back into him. Color returns to his face. His energy lifts. He smiles again. Zack k...

  As a parent of a little one who’s immunocompromised, you spend your days being extra cautious, keeping germs at bay, and wondering just where those sneaky viruses are lurking. So when my son, who barely leaves the house, came down with shingles, you can imagine my confusion and frustration. I mean, how on earth did we end up here? We don’t exactly host wild playdates or take trips to crowded theme parks! It turns out, despite our best efforts, viruses have their own sneaky ways of finding their targets — and this one was on a mission. For those unfamiliar, shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, the varicella-zoster virus. After you’ve had chickenpox, the virus can stay dormant in your system for years and reactivate later as shingles, especially if your immune system is weakened. Now, considering my son’s immunocompromised state, I shouldn’t have been too surprised. But that didn’t make it any easier when the rash appeared We don’t go out much, so where coul...

 A Full Circle Moment: Meeting the Doctor Who Saved Zacks life. It’s funny how life works. Sometimes it’s not about the big, grand moments, but the small, intimate connections that leave an imprint on your heart. I’ve been in and out of hospitals for nearly two years now, all while watching Zack fight a health battle that none of us could have predicted. The doctors, nurses, and staff became familiar faces, but there was one person we’d never met — the doctor who diagnosed my son and saved his life. Today, I found myself sitting in a hospital room, waiting once again, when something unexpected happened: she walked in. Almost two years ago, in a sterile, white-walled office, this doctor had delivered the news that no parent ever wants to hear. But in the same breath, she also gave us hope. She was the one who identified his tumour when countless others had missed it. She was the one who told us there was a way forward, that with treatment, there was a chance for him to thrive again....

  If you’ve ever faced a medical appointment for your child, you’ll know it’s a unique cocktail of stress, hope, and an overwhelming need for everything to go smoothly. For those of us with little ones who need regular scans, this anxiety can become to familiar.  Recently, I experienced a prime example of “scan anxiety” with my two-year-old, a day that perfectly encapsulated the emotional rollercoaster of parenting a child with health challenges. Spoiler alert: it didn’t go as planned. From the moment the date was penciled into the calendar, the countdown began. It wasn’t just a matter of logistics, though there were plenty of those to handle—fasting instructions, packing distractions for the waiting room, and of course, bracing for potential meltdowns. It was also the emotional weight. What would the scan show? Was everything progressing as it should? These questions hovered like storm clouds over the day, accompanied by the usual nerves about whether my two-year-old would co...