At first glance, 12-year-old Zach McGregor looks like any other 12-year-old boy and his party Saturday afternoon at the Moose Lodge in Ashland looked like any other 12-year-old's birthday party.
There was cake and food, cornhole boards, kids running around playing and pictures of Zach through the years.
But a recurring theme of hearts and the color green served as subtle reminders that Zach's family, friends and other special guests were gathered for a far different reason.
Saturday, April 14 was not a birthday but rather the 10th anniversary of Zach's heart transplant -- a day he and his family refer to as his "heart day" and a day that changed his life forever.
"He's come so far. He's so brave," Zach's grandmother, Diane Brown, said of him Saturday. "Even when he has bad days where he's not feeling good, he's still upbeat."
Brown said her grandson has taught her to look at life one day at a time and inspired her by being so caring that he worries about everyone else, despite his own condition.
In honor of Zach, his heart and the donor who made his transplant possible, information about the human heart, heart health and organ donation was available for guests to peruse. Zach wore a green ribbon pin, symbolizing April as Donate Life month, which is, coincidentally, the month in which he received the good news 10 years ago that he would be the recipient of a heart and a second chance at life.
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