Zachary seems to like the hospital this year. On Jan we made our way back to the Uof M for a week visit. Zachary had server diarrhea for about two weeks. So his Doctors thought that it would be best to see what was going on. After they did an x’ray of his tummy they just about fell over. He had a blockage and his colon was the size of his pelvic bones. The extra fluid was going around the blockage causing the diarrhea. So one painful fleet enema he was able to pass it. The Doctors think that part of his colon might be dying off. So they sent him home on two new meds to help keep his Bowels moving . It was camp week at the hospital {Camp Get A wella} Zachary had his Hair cut, Grandma Gina had her nails done. face painting, tie dyed shirts, como zoo brought some animals,puppy dog show,and crafts everyday. The funnest stay ever at the hospital, it was almost hard for us to leave. NOT!! But we did have a lot of fun. Then In March Zachary had surgery to repair the tip of his penis,they also scoped his bladder and urethra, all went well. APRIL Zachary started speech and OT down at the U of M twice a week and also started having problems with his Creatinine levels{kidney function} going high. So labs 3 times a week things did settle down His cretinine settled at 0.9 higher then they like but we will take. MAY came and Zachary was driving his Lighting McQueen car and passed out, we think from a high fever {103.8} so back in the hospital for a three day stay, some labs IV fluids, EEG that showed he is having some sort of tick syndrome going on. Zachary has been blinking his eyes lot for about a year now. He had a ERG on his eyes in Feb. that showed that his retina looks a little thin . Not to concerning just a eye check up with Dr Sommer’s every 6 months.We are all home for now ,with colds so Please pray we are all healthy for Zachary’s {Make A Wish} trip to Disney World on June 25.
Thank you for all your support and prayers
The Elsenpeters

• New Years Day Morning we woke up to Zachary having a fever of 105.2, so we packed our bags and drove to the Hospital. Great way to start off the New year!!!! Well a 3 day stay and lots of test and lab draws. Zachary had some sort of viral infection that really knocked him down. They sent us home Wednesday night we had them leave his IV in his arm. Zachary had a eye surgery we had previously scheduled for the next morning. After settling into our third room we really wouldn’t have minded staying over night to avoid the hassle of packing up and going home only to return at 7:00a.m the next morning. Zachary did very well with his eye surgery. While he was out they did a exam and performed a ERG (Electroretinogram) this is an eye test that evaluates the function of the film (retina). Their intial thought is his retina looks a little thin. We will not have the results back for a couple of weeks. We are all home and well. Hopefully, this year will be a healthy year for all of us. Zachary had a doctors appointment today at the U of M with Dr. Najara, (his kidney specialist) for his 6 month check. She didn’t like that he hadn’t made any significant weight gain. His speech is delayed and he is still being feed through his g-tube. I have tried everything, two years later and still struggling. We meet with a new speech and feeding specialist on Jan 25 hopefully we have progress. However, she was impressed with how he has matured. He was very cooperative and eager to be looked over. Not at all how he acted a year ago.

  The rest of the family is doing great. Wade has an appointment next Friday to have a physical and to check his one good kidney. {Which is long over do, 2yrs}.
  Kiley is doing great in school and gymnastics. Kiley will turn 7 on Jan 25, the day we meet with the speech specialist.
  Austin is getting so big and sharing clothes with Zach. He is walking all over and trying hard to talk.
  Stacey is busy making Doctor appointments, going to doctor appointments , taking kiley to gymnastic and lots of laundry. Just all that fun stuff.

  God bless you all and Happy New year

  Thank you for all your continued thoughts and prayers

  The Elsenpeters

Hey all!!, Zachary’s two year anniversary is December 1st. Wow that went fast. Zachary had labs today and his creatinine was down to 0.6, Yippy. That is the lowest it has been in about 3 months. Well the rest of Zach is doing alright, his EBV( related to cancer) has gone up and down like a rollercoaster from 4600-17,000. I’ll take the 4,600 anyday. Zach had a EEG done today for the blinking of his eyes which we should get the results back by Monday. They think he might have a little tick. He has a couple of procedures coming up in the next month, an MRI on Monday for his chest and a EER for his eyes. They think that his retina might be detaching. Since they are not sure, it’s better to be safe then sorry. Some more good news! Zachary loves CHEESE, Not the smile – the food! He will eat and swallow a whole piece.

Now the rest of the family: Kiley is doing great in school, She has gotten 100% on every spelling test but one. Way to go Kiley!! Austin is getting so big 26lbs and growing, not walking on his own yet but all around the house with his push walker. Wade is working so hard just to support his family what a guy, you can’t ask for anything more, and me, just doing research everyday on the diagnoses they keep coming up with.

The baby featured in the photos is Zacharys baby doll and he has been taking such good care of him. The doll has also been equipted with a mickey-button(feeding tube) just like Zachary!

God bless you all and Happy start to your Holidays.

-Stacey-

I know it’s been a long time since we have updated. A lot has been going on. Zachary has had high blood pressure and his lab levels have been higher then the doctors would like to see. Zachary had a kidney biopsy about two weeks ago. The results were not good. It showed that he is in chronic kidney failure. Forty percent of the kidney has already died off. The positive!! Is that he still has 60 percent left. They started him on a new drug that will hopefully slow down the process of the kidney failure and give him a little more time before another Transplant. I asked the doctors when they think this might happen and they said sooner then later. So talk about stress. I can’t imagine Zachary going through another Transplant. Three of our good friends, And my mom Gina are willing to get tested to see if they might be a match. Zachary has school every Tuesday and loves it. He is talking so much. Only I can understand him but, that is how it starts. The rest of our family is doing good, Wade is back working days. Kiley is loving school and is doing great in gymnastics. Austin is getting so big he is 24lb and crawling all over. As for myself I am doing great just happy to see my family growing bigger and stronger each day. Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. GOD BLESS YOU ALL

Love Stacey

Zachary, underwent surgery again this past Tuesday. The procedure went pretty well. They first attempted to do it laproscopically. The surgeon felt it was not safe, because of all the scar tissue from transplant and following procedures. Zachary was re-opened and I pray this will be it for a very long time! He’s recovery was painful, but is going very well now. His J-feeding tube that bypasses the stomach was removed. ( not necessary anymore) Two meds were removed from his list : Previcid, and Pepcid. He still has G-feeding tube for meds and feeds. We are anxious to see if now he will begin attemping to swallow food. He is also going to be attending a feeding clinic at Childrens Hospital. This procedure is supposed to last 10-15yrs and will also help to prevent cancer of the esophagus. Zachary’s only upcoming procedure is a eye study, which he will need to be put under for. We are looking forward to a super fun summer.

Check out the last uploads for the most current photo’s

-Wade-