Zack’s Cancer Diagnosis & a Christmas Wish

My name is Gaizly, and I am Zack’s mom.

Just a few weeks ago, life felt normal. After a lovely weekend at his uncle’s house at the end of November, Zack knocked himself against the pool ladder while swimming, just above his right knee. At the time, it seemed like a small knock — nothing unusual for a 10-year-old boy.

That Monday morning, while getting him ready for school, I noticed he was limping. When I checked his leg, there was swelling around his knee. I took him to Fish Hoek Hospital that same day, and again the following morning. After X-rays, the doctor looked at me and said words that changed our lives forever:
“Mom, it looks like a bad infection… or cancer.”

By that evening, we were at Red Cross Children’s Hospital. Everything moved so quickly — MRIs, bone scans, chest X-rays, endless tests. Zack was admitted from the 2nd to the 9th of December in the orthopaedic ward. On the 11th of December, after a biopsy, we received the diagnosis:

Zack has Osteosarcoma.

Cancer.

Zack is only 10 years old — full of life, love, and courage far bey...