In October of 2002, when Zachary was four years old, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancerous tumor of the soft tissue. His mom, Cherrie, noticed a lump in his jaw that in just one hour protruded to look like a ball in his jaw. When Zach arrived at St. Louis Children's Hospital, doctors did several tests and found that the primary tumor was in his left jaw, but he also had multiple tumors wrapped around his aorta and abdomen.

Zach had a long journey ahead of him with intense chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery during his treatment. In March, 2003, all tests showed that Zach was in remission and they would prepare him for his Bone Marrow Transplant. Doctors had done a Stem Cell Resue on Zach and he would receive his own stem cells for the transplant. He underwent another round of intense chemotherapy to wipe out his immune system. Zach's road to recovery was slow and steady and in May 2003, he was able to walk himself out of the hospital. Thankfully, Zach is now in remission and only visits the hospital for checkups. He also loves
country music, baseball, soccer and playing with his two older sisters.

This past fall, Zach's cancer returned and he is fighting it again. We are all sending out our support to Zach as he continues his treatment.