Judith Ragland
Sponsor: Ragland Family

New Hampshire
Zack (Age 14)
Leukemia

Zachary was a perfectly healthy 13-year-old. Every year he went for his annual checkup, which his mother jokingly referred to as his “well baby” appointment because there was never a problem.

When Zach started coming home with bruises on his arms, his parents wrote it off as him being an active seventh grader, but made a mental note to keep an eye on it. A few days later he started complaining about new symptoms – runny nose, fever, body aches, and a strange rash. When he lost his appetite, his mom knew something was wrong and took him to their family doctor.

After some blood work, Zach and his mother were sent directly to Children’s Hospital Boston for more testing. A mere 12 hours after the initial doctor’s appointment, Zach and his mother were given the diagnosis: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

That night the doctors gave Zach a positive message that would stay with him through all his treatments: “Through a lot of research there are really good drugs out now and [your] chances are good for remission.” Zach continues to courageously battle leukemia with outpatient treatments and is hopeful that after two years of chemotherapy the cancer will be gone for good.