How the Chests started

Zachary and his twin brother Kyle were born in July 2003. Shortly after their birth we discovered that Zachary had a skin rash. "This was nothing to be concerned about" as the doctors told us. This soon began to get worse and each doctor that Zac seen did not know what the problem was. After changing formulas and dozens of creams; a skin biopsy was done. The results were Histiocytosis. It is a rare blood disorder that attacks the body like a cancer. You can find out more about this disease at www.Histio.org . At 9 weeks old Zac started chemotherapy and high doses of steriods. This seemed to help. Months later he would have more eating problems and we discovered the disease had spread to the stomach. At diagnosis it had already been found in his lungs and skin. He had many different chemos and many central lines due to infections. Most of his care was at Albany Medical Center although he did have several trips to Boston's Children's Hospital. Due to complications he spent alot of time inpatient. HE loved the outdoors, hunting, 4 wheelers, and helping his dad with real tools. He was mature beyond his years. During our journey we met many families trying to deal with their children being very sick. In  April of 2007 Zac became an angel. My husband started Zac's chest the night of his passing. This project gave my husband comfort and we all loved having it to put Zac's special things in. Soon after another family also lost their son and we offered to make them one. We have done this several times for other families. Some in our area, others in other states. While there is little comfort you can give to a parent who has lost their precious child. We hope that this helps with their grieving. God has placed us on this path for a reason.  We would like to continue this project and help other families dealing with this unbearable loss. You can learn more about Zachary's story at www.caringbridge.org/visit/zacharyhunter