OBOZ Program

Arizona Medical Center NICU in memory of Zane John Kirkendall

Our family was blessed with the long-awaited arrived of Zane John, our first grandchild, on August 25, 2007. He arrived on his Grandpa's birthday, but unfortunately, came 14 weeks too early.

Zane was a perfect little boy and we shared two weeks with him before he went to be with the Lord. At the first Christmas after we lost Zane several family members wanted to do something special for the NICU at the University of Arizona Medical Center, where Zane had spent his brief life. We joined together and instead of buying gifts for each other we sent a gift to the NICU. The next year the nursing staff asked for the Zaky Hands and we were able to send them 8 sets. In 2009 the nurses again requested Zaky Hands and we realized these must be very special for the babies. I contacted Zakeez.com to see if we could purchase the hands directly from them to help save on shipping. I was amazed when I heard from Yamile Jackson that same day and she told me about the OBOZ Program. Our family was so excited about this, and more and more family members kept calling to say they wanted to participate. For Christmas 2009 we were able to purchase 24 hands, with Yamile and Zakeez matching our gift with another 24 hands! What a thrill it was to be able to send the NICU 24 sets of hands! As a visual reminder of our Christmas gift, my cousin created a string of 24 hands so that we could celebrate together the gift for Zane and the incredible staff at the UMC-NICU.

Thank you, Yamile and Family, for making this possible!
The Family of Zane John Kirkendall

Fundacion Canguro,
Bogota, Colombia