COTA for Zachary's Fight

Our Story

Meet Zach. He is 10 years old and full of life. Zach loves to play with Legos, ride his bike, and play with his brothers & sisters. Zach, unfortunately, was born with very weak kidneys. In his 10 years, he has been life flighted 12 times and spent nearly a fifth of his life in the hospital.

We are not here to make you sad, because Zach is not sad. In fact, Zach is one of the happiest, brave and strong young men you will ever meet! While Zach’s 10 years have been difficult- it is our hope that Zach has a full & rich life.

Here’s a brief summary of Zach’s life so far:

Mar 2016- Zach’s first life flight to Phoenix Children’s hospital (PCH), where they place a tube in his kidney at 2 & 1/2 years old
Apr, Jun, Dec 2016- Zach’s 2nd, 3rd & 4th life flight to PCH for infections
Mar 2017- Zach has surgery to close up the wounds
Apr, Jun, Oct 2017- Zach returns to the ER with an infection
Jan 2018- Zach returns to the ER with yet another infection
Jul 2018- Zach graduates from preschool
Nov 2019- Zach has been doing good for a while, but his fever spikes & he’s back to the ER
Jul 2020- Zach has another life flight to Phoenix
May 2021- Zach’s kidney is removed and the peritoneal dialysis starts. Every night, he is hooked up for 12 hours. Mom has been driving him back and forth to Phoenix and back for appointments.
May 2021- Zach gets to dance at a community event
Jun 2021- Zach is back in the ER with peritonitis. The Short Creek Dream Center throws him a party for his 8th birthday (Happy Birthday Zach!)
Sep 2021- Zach has two infections, has yet another life flight to Phx & starts hemodialysis
Oct 2021- Zach gets bladder reconstruction surgery.
Nov 2021- Zach gets one of the two catheters removed.
Mar 2022- Make a Wish takes Zach and his family out for LEGO day!
April 2022– Zach gets a new kidney and is released from the hospital. Although he is still in Phoenix

August 2022 – Zach is life flighted again with an infection in his blood. He is currently at PCH

The Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA) helps children and young adults who need a life-saving transplant by providing fundraising assistance and family support. COTA is the nation’s only fundraising organization solely dedicated to raising life-saving dollars in honor of transplant-needy children and young adults. 100% of each contribution made to COTA in honor of our patients helps meet transplant-related expenses. COTA’s services are free to our families, and gifts to COTA are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.