Zach M. - Quilt Finished in 2006

Born: April 5, 1993

Illness: Combined Immune Deficiency

Zach M.'s Story

written by dad Kevin

Zachary is a twin.  They were born 4 weeks premature, but healthy at the time.  Approximately two weeks after birth he started having stomach issues.  Doctors thought it was due to his formula and started making changes.  The stomach problems did not get better.  Along with the stomach issues he then started having problems with Asthma, ear and skin infections.  These infections would have been thought to be normal for everyday life but we quickly learned that was not true for him.  Zachary and his brother spent most of the first year of their lives in the hospital.  The doctors in our area finally decided after nine months there had to be other issues they were missing.  They then made the decision to transfer them to Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

Upon arrive at Arkansas Children’s we were assigned a Pediatric Immunologist.  They started the long job of trying to figure out why the boys had been so ill.  They learned that the major problem was in their "B" and "T" cells.  In the body you have a large amount of "T" cells and a smaller amount of "B" cells the boys are the exact opposite.  With this combination they have an immune system that is unable to fight off the normal every day germs.  They quickly started the boys on IVIG.  This medication is used to replace some of the missing components needed to fight off infections.  It does not cover everything but helps them lead a some what normal life.  Also, since there is no recorded text books cases of this we were referred to Dr. Mary Ellen Conley at St. Jude Research Hospital in Memphis, TN.

We started seeing Dr. Conley in April of 1994.  She continued to run lab testing on not only the boys but also Missy and myself.  She not only continued the IVIG therapy but also added a twice daily antibiotics.  The IVIG and antibiotics have done a good job in keeping illness down but the boys have had to go thru a lot.  There has been much illness and a few very life threatening.  After 12 years of studying the boys she still has not come up with a reason or cure for the boy’s condition. 

Missy and I have had many scary and sleepless nights since the birth of Zachary.  We have learned he can go to bed healthy but just a in a few hours he can become very ill.  We know thru prayer and all the doctors help that one day they will find a cure for him and his brother.