I didn’t think I could do it last year. I was in pain for the last 5km but there was no way I was going to quit…Zack never had. The accomplishment of challenging myself and pushing through was such an important experience for me. Having Zack in my mind for all 20km, he remained my inspiration.
The day of the walk, I saw his face at every turn. In the faces of Ty and Jayden. In the faces of the other kids we met along the journey. I saw the way he used to look at me when he accomplished one of his own goals and I felt him cheering me on.
We met families who knew about Zack and we shared the stories of our incredibly brave kids, nurses and doctors we loved and what life was like with a sick child. We remembered those first days after our kids were born and rushed to SickKids for treatment to keep them alive, feeling thankful for the time it gave us with our child. We saw kids who had conquered cancer, survived open heart and brain surgery and even other families who had lost children within the walls of SickKids. We remembered those painful last days together, but also marveled at the way in which our sweet children and our families were treated with dignity and respect. We remembered making molds of our child’s feet and hands and celebrated how each and every nurse and doctor fought to keep them alive until the very end. We shared the story of how the nurses and doctors took turns doing CPR for over 40 minutes for our Zackie and they never gave up. That act gave us three more days to be with him, tell him all that we needed to say and ultimately allow him to give up the fight, in our arms.
The morning of the walk we raised the “Courageous” flag to kick off the opening ceremonies and shared our story about Zack with the participants who were just about to start their day. We celebrated our fundraising efforts and walked with pride as Zack’s family and as SickKids Ambassadors.
We can’t wait to do it again this year and walk 20km for SickKids in honour of our Zackie. Again this year, our boys were able to participate in the YTV tv spots to promote the walk and they felt so proud to be a part of this initiative as SickKids ambassadors.
Along side other incredible families who we have met along the way, Paul, Ty, Jayden and I will be walking for Zackie and working towards our fundraising goal of $1500!
Check out Ty’s scene on YTV!
Jayden’s SickKids Ambassador Debut on YTV!
There are no words to express how SickKids has impacted our lives and how, even though Zack is gone, they continue to embrace us as family.
Please donate here to Zack’s Dream Team! Every dollar will help us reach our goal!
Thank you,
Heather, Paul, Ty and Jayden xo
Thank you,
Heather, Paul, Ty and Jayden xo