Zachary Ryan Smith

Welcome to our webpage for Zack. Our son was diagnosed in November 2003 with a rare and aggressive childhood leukemia - JMML (Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia)and in October 2004 he was diagnosed with Noonan Syndrome. This webpage has been created to keep Family and Friends updated about our little one. Thank you for visiting Zack's web page...please sign his guestbook (and sign it often), we love hearing from you.

Zachary

Born: August 25, 2003

Journal

Wednesday, January 21, 2009 9:14 PM CST

Hi,

Zack had his Endocrinologist appointment today. He grew 3/4 of an inch and gained 2 pounds since July. The results of Friday's tests came in. His cortisol levels are perfect. As for the growth hormone...the cutoff for growth hormone deficiency is 8 and Zack tested at an 8.1, so the doctor said that she would not consider him to be growth hormone deficient, but he is borderline. She walked us through the growth hormone shot and IGF-1 shot procedures. Nathan and I decided that growth hormone shots are not for Zack based on his history of JMML. The doctor said that she goes along with our decision. She wants to see Zack again in 2 years to check on his growth and give us an updated adult height prediction. At this point, based on his current growth curve, the prediction is that Zack is not going to be the average Noonans 5 foot, 5 inches...he will be shorter.

The next CHOP appointment is with Hematology/Oncology in mid-February. Labs for GI will also be drawn at that time. This should be the last draw to check on the elevated liver enzymes as the GI doc feels that the problem has been resolved.

On a different note...Ethan has passed his red belt test in karate!!! He has been testing since October. He is so excited. Belt ceremony is Monday night after Core class. I will post pictures. We are very proud of him for working so hard and not giving up. There is only one belt color between red and black! His goal is to become a Sensei.

I will post again soon.

Love,
Beth, Nathan, Ethan and Zack

Hospital Information:

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Links:

E-mail Author: beth.smith@talk2smiths.com

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