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Liam Tyler Zajdlik
August 3, 2001 - October 29, 2002
Ontario
Liam was born on August 3, 2001, the first child of
Janet and Dave. He was a beautiful baby and seemingly healthy in every
way. Over the next couple of months things were as normal as they could
be with a first child. The only visits to the doctor were for regular
immunizations, and there was no indication from anyone what might be
coming. Everything changed early in January, 2002 when Liam was
diagnosed with SMA. It soon became apparent that Liam had the most
severe type of SMA, and was not likely to see his second birthday.
With help from family and friends, we tried our best to make Liam's life
as happy and comfortable as possible. In spite of his condition, Liam
was a vibrant little boy with the most beautiful smile. He loved going
for walks in his jogger, listening to his music, having books read to
him, and just lying in his pool, sucking his thumb. Most of the time,
Liam didn't seem to understand he was sick. Whenever he was at the
hospital or at the doctor's, he spent most of the time cheering other
people with his infectious smile.
At the 2002 Rebecca's Angel Run for SMA,
Liam was pushed in his jogger by his mom. By the fall, however, the
disease was proving to be too much for him. Sleeping was always a
problem for Liam, with his difficulty breathing and the inability to
shift his body position. (Imagine lying in bed unable to move your arms
or legs!) Then he lost the ability to swallow his food, and needed an
operation to receive a feeding tube. Finally, weakened by pneumonia, he
died in the arms of his mommy and daddy on October, 29, 2002. He was
only 15 months old.
Liam did not die because of a lack of love or caring medical
professionals. He died because there is no effective treatment or cure
of SMA. Liam was not a statistic to those who loved and cared for him.
He was an angelic little boy of beautiful character and is missed every
waking moment by his mommy and daddy. We love you Liam and hope you are
at peace. 
The 2003 Rebecca Angel Run for SMA honoree
was Liam Zadjlik
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