A New Twist in Zane's Story and Fate

November 4, 2021

Hi. This is going to be a deep, kinda heavy post. I welcome all thoughts on this topic. It's a real twist in the life and fate of the Zaner.

OK, here goes...

Last April, Zane left a sample of "reproductive tissue" with a fertility clinic in Memphis. This was something St. Jude would do for their patients beyond puberty in the event their treatment causes sterility. They would pay for the storage of the specimen until the patient uses it -or- up until they are 35 years old. Zane wanted to have children, so he participated in this opportunity.

Some time ago, after Zane's passing, I checked in with my bereavement counselor at St. Jude to find out what would happen with Zane's sample now that he's passed. I learned that the contract St. Jude has with the fertility clinic/storage facility is that the sample would be destroyed in the event of a patient's passing. I was bummed out to learn this, but was told IF Zane had filled out a form that would allow a 3rd party to make these decisions in the untimely event of his passing, there might still be a chance the sample still exists. I asked the counselor to chase this down and see what Zane did as I was not allowed to this appointment so I had no idea what forms he filled out.

Fast forward to now. I've just had a series of calls over the last couple of days. And here's the deal. Zane didn't fill out a complete section of his forms. Just an error really, but it meant that the clinic could not send the sample on to the storage facility. They contacted St. Jude and learned Zane had his series of cardiac arrests and was headed to Florida to be with me in hospice care. So out of respect, they chose not to contact the family (me).

Bottom line...they are still sitting on the sample and I've asked for it not to be destroyed until we can visit all options. This has to have happened for a reason, right? Could be a long shot...but Zane's lineage could possibly carry on. AND...medulloblastoma is NOT genetic, so that should not deter anyone from considering using Zane's reproductive tissue.

So, yeah....I'm kinda in a whirlwind right now. But it does mane me smile and think of my beautiful little Baby Zaner Butt.

Thanks Zaner! I'm glad you messed up the forms!!! Love you!