Priming the Pump

A precocious six-year-old, Zack was born with a special heart. And while he continues to grow and thrive, it is time to fix his ticker. On July 9, he will undergo open heart surgery where they will do a few repairs to make him better than ever.

Here's a few things about Zack you probably didn't know. He's an avid swimmer, an amateur entomologist and a camo belt in taekwondo. While he has an ever-growing collection of stuffies (aka stuffed animals), it is rivaled by his collection of bottle caps taken from the various flavors of specialty soda pops his dad enjoys. He recently became interested in cacti and has a growing collection including Mr. Prickles, the Pacmen, Fuzzy and Hibotran.

His favorite foods are steak, broccoli, strawberries, peanut butter and Nutella sandwiches, and generally any kind of candy that is sour, sweet or chewy. Oh, he has a discerning palette, enjoys sushi, and will send back a steak that is overcooked.

He loves playing with Legos and Bionicles, drawing, listening to kids music, and creating a tent and camping out in his room when he isn't running around or riding his new blue and yellow bike he got for kindergarten graduation. (Note: Sadly the new bike has to be put in the garage for 12-16 weeks while his sternum heals from surgery.) He has recently started learning to play basketball and loves it almost as much as he loves pretending to know how to play golf.

Zack is loving, kind, charitable and caring while being loud, noisy, messy and generally your typical six year old.