BACK HOME: Will, Karen, Dean, Shannon and (front) Zac Robinson. Karen and Zac have returned to Orange following Zac's bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy. Photo: STEVE GOSCH 0304sgzac3
THE battle little Zac Robinson has fought over the past two years is bigger than many will face in a lifetime, and last Friday he triumphantly returned home to Orange.
At just two years of age, Zac has already undergone a bone marrow transplant and chemotherapy in Sydney.
“We’re getting close to being out of the woods,” Zac’s mother Karen Robinson said.
Zac has a rare immune deficiency, Hyper IgM Syndrome, which does not allow his little body to fight infections.
Prior to the transplant and chemotherapy he was often sick and in need of hospitalisation.
Zac suffered from mouth ulcers that were so painful he was unable to eat and had to be fed through a tube.
“As good as it was down there at Ronald McDonald, and they were great, it’s good to be home,” Mrs Robinson said.
“It’s nice being home as a family, it’s just a little daunting being so far away from the doctors.”
When the Central Western Daily visited the Robinson household this week it was fun and games in the family’s backyard as Zac played with his brother Will, 5, and sister Shannon, 9.
Mrs Robinson said life was beginning to return to normal.
While Zac is getting better he still has a weak immune system and must be kept in isolation for the next seven months.
“I still think to myself the worst part is over ... he has a good chance of a normal life,” Mrs Robinson said.
During his treatment Zac received blood transfusions and still receives plasma donations every three weeks.
Mrs Robinson encourages others to think about donating blood.
She said their family would not be where they are today if it had not been for the support from family, friends and the community.