Medical treatment for Zach to keep him walking.

Hi, my name is Donna and my husband is called Steve, and we are fundraising for our 9-year-old son, Zach so we can give him the medical care that he needs to keep him walking.

Zach was born with an incredibly rare condition (at least one in a million) called Congenital Insensitivity to pain. Whilst being completely pain-free might sound like a dream, for Zach and others with this condition, it is far from it. Pain is an important signal. It lets us know when our bodies need extra care. When we sense pain, we pay attention to our bodies and can take steps to fix what hurts. Pain also may prevent us from injuring a body part even more.

Zach has sustained many injuries, including burns, hip dislocations, head injuries, several leg fractures and bone infections. He has been in and out of hospital throughout the whole of his life. Currently, Zach has Charcot's ankles and very recently his knee is now changing. A Charcot's joint is a progressive and serious complication and if not treated early it can lead to infection, deformity and eventually amputation. Both Zach's ankles and now one knee are at different stages of Charcot and very recently the team of rheumatologists and orthopaedic doctors are now saying there is nothing more they can do.

After much research, we have found an Orthopaedic Surgeon in the U.S. Dr Feldman, who can help save Zach's joints and give him a chance to remain mobile. Our reality is that if we do nothing, Zach is likely to be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. The treatment and surgeries that Zach will need are going to be incredibly expensive so all money raised will help to pay for the medical expenses.

In July we saw Dr Feldman and he has said that Zach will need rods put in his lower and upper legs which could straighten his leg, distribute the load on the knee and prevent further fractures. This will cost around 30k.  We don’t have much time, possibly months, to save Zach’s knee and keep him mobile. 

Please donate if you can and share. 

We thank you for reading Zach's story.

Donna and Steve

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