2022 Winner
Zac Gunn
Seriously ill transplant patient and ‘wee warrior’ who inspires everyone with his zest for life.
In summer 2019, Zac’s parents were given the news that their son had pulmonary hypertension – a rare, life-limiting condition that affects the heart and lungs – and needed an urgent lung transplant.
The four-year-old’s blood vessels are too small, making it hard for his heart to pump blood around his body. Any donor will have to be under nine years old so it is proving more difficult than usual to find a suitable match.
When he was first diagnosed, Zac, from Motherwell, was so poorly, his family were told he might not be with them by Christmas. But this remarkable little boy has surprised everyone with his resilience and attitude to life and his condition.
Now Zac, who carries a pump on his back which administers the IV medicine he needs around the clock, is astounding doctors and specialists with his energy and zest for life.
He’s impressed some famous faces too – he’s had a hospital kickabout with former England star David Beckham, and become friends with Scotland captain Andy Robertson.
Mum Ashley says: “When we first went down to Great Ormond Street, doctors said it was the worst case of Pulmonary Hypertension they had ever seen. They could not believe the child who was trying to climb out of his crib was the same child whose results were in front of them. Zac seems to have a special effect on everyone he meets and he deserves to keep on living. He’s a wee warrior.”