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HISTORY & INSPIRATION

Parents, players and coaches of local youth hockey teams came together in 2018 to create a series of youth health awareness games specifically aimed to assist with pediatric epilepsy and cancer in honor of the personal challenges some of their coaches have faced over the years with their own kids. The Binghamton Pond Festival was proud to host one of these games with Team Gabby played against Zach's Attack. Starting in 2019, we will now host an annual youth travel tournament to support this cause.

Below you can read about Gabriella Laubisch and Zachary Dattoria, the inspirations for the past games and future tournaments.

ZACH'S ATTACK

Zachary Dattoria is an energetic and fun loving six year old that has battled Epilepsy since he was 18 months old. Zach had an illness that caused him to have a fever for over nine months daily. During this period, he began to develop Febrile Seizures and they grew in intensity over the nine month period. 

Zachary's fever issues were treated by visiting different doctors from Syracuse, Philadelphia, Binghamton and NYU Langone, but unfortunately seizures became part of his life. Changes in medicine caused the seizures to change, and Zach shifted to 30-40 myclonic absence seizures a day and on average 1-3 Grandmal Seizures a week from 2014-2016. His care then transferred to NYU Langone and more specifically Dr. Orrin Devinsky, where real progress was made to get Zachary’s Seizures under control. Here it was discovered through genetic testing that Zach and his two siblings have a genetic mutation that makes them prone to Epilepsy.

In April 2016, Zachary experienced an illness that led him to have multiple Grandmal Seizures daily, and a near death experience while being treated in the hospital that ironically led to a break through in his care. Doctors made a change in his medications and this led to an almost immediate improvement in the status of his seizures. This change along with a routine medical procedure has kept Zach seizure free since May 2016. 

While his seizures are now controlled, Zach still has side effects from both medication and Epilepsy. He attacks all of this with his positive attitude and humor, and is in Kindergarten at Chenango Valley. He receives many services that are working to get him caught up physically and developmentally from the time stolen from him, but continues to improve with the help of many.

​#GoZachAttack #PediatricCausesGame #EpilepsyAwareness

TEAM GABBY

​Gabriella Laubisch is a sweet and strong five year old who was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in August 2014, just weeks after turning two years old. She returned home in remission after a successful but intense five months of chemotherapy treatment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Throughout 2015 she was closely monitored and was doing really well.


In December 2015, Gabby was very lethargic and appeared off, signs that were concerning to her parents. She went to the hospital for testing and discovered her cancer was back, but this time in her brain and spine. She quickly started chemo in January 2016, suffering many complications and spending weeks at a time in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.


Gabby was in-patient at CHOP for several more months of treatment, followed by radiation and a bone marrow transplant from an amazing, anonymous, unrelated donor in June 2016.


Gabby celebrated her first "re-birthday" (one year anniversary of her transplant) in June. She continues to do well and is in Kindergarten at Tioga Hills Elementary.


Gabby’s older brother and biggest supporter, Lucas, plays on Team Gabby.

​
​#gogabbygo #teamgabby