"We are living in a world that we never expected to be living in," say Robin and Kevin Portnoy, as they tell the story of their little boy Zachary, who died this past Feb. 22, after bravely fighting a battle with cancer for over five years. His nine-year-old twin brother Benji, and their two younger brothers Jacob and Matthew, tell how much they loved Zachy, how much they miss him, and how they continue to write to him each day in a journal.

As they keep Zachy in their hearts and in their lives, the Portnoy family now asks their friends and neighbors to please remember not just Zachy, but the world of very ill children today fighting their own courageous battles. The Portnoys ask everyone to please support the 2007 Walk for St. Mary's Kids and Family Fun Day at Flushing Meadows Corona Park this Sunday, June 10, with the walk beginning at 10 a.m., registration at 8:30 a.m. The Family Fun Day starts at 11 a.m.

"He lit up our lives with love and joy; he was so pure, so good," the Portnoys tell one and all, as they speak of their "incredible child" with such an "amazing spirit" and how they all believe that it was a "blessing and a privilege" to care for little Zachy since he became ill at only four-years-old.

Helping the entire Portnoy family (including two sets of grandparents) care for Zachy was St. Mary's Hospital for Children. Robin tells how the hospital was a "lifesaver" for the family, offering hope and help, following the little boy's brain tumor surgery and subsequent two strokes, which had left him in a coma. Only St. Mary's offered hope. Neither the Portnoys nor St. Mary's would give up hope and Zachy, with his family constantly at his bedside, did wake up after two months.

St. Mary's Healthcare System for Children in Bayside is the largest provider of complex medical care and rehabilitation for children with serious and/or life threatening illness in New York State. They are the only certified traumatic brain injury/coma recovery program in New York City specifically for infants, children and adolescents who have sustained a brain injury.

According to Robin, Zachy, with St. Mary's incredible care, eventually left the hospital walking and talking. And the care continued for all the following four-and-a-half years, through joys and through setbacks.

"We were lucky to have found St. Mary's at a time we needed them most," Robin told the Great Neck Record. "They went above and beyond the call of duty," she said, and that is why the family so ardently supports St. Mary's, and always will. The entire family has been involved in fundraising for St. Mary's Foundation, and in 2005 they all, including Zachy, Benji, Jacob and Matthew and over 100 of their family and friends, participated in a walk and raised over $33,000 for St. Mary's, the highest individual walk donations.

"We hope to meet and beat that goal this year," says dad, Kevin.

All of the Portnoys will once again "walk" for St. Mary's and for the brave, beloved little boy they lost. "We're lucky for the time we had with him," said Robin, with a full heart, but with joy and with life as she spoke of Zachy while she "managed" her other three beautiful, exuberant little boys. "Everyday with Zachy was a miracle ... he was always happy and smiling," she said.

The boys echoed their mother's words. Said Matt, "He was a great boy, we loved him very much ... he'll always be in heaven and he'll always be in my heart; he had a big, brave heart." And then the adorable six-year-old wrote on the bulletin board in the Record office these words: "I love Zachy." Then Matthew added, "Please tell everyone Zachy loved dolphins and tell them we miss him very much."

Matthew, Benji and Jacob all attend the Saddle Rock Elementary School, as did Zachy. Last week, at Spring Walk Through at the school, Benji had prepared a special slideshow about his twin. "Zachy is my twin and my best friend; he was a fighter and he loved fire trucks and the Yankees and the color pink," Benji told us.

Robin told the Record that most of the school district is supporting the St. Mary's Walk and have distributed fliers in the schools. She also said that this year's Saddle Rock yearbook will have a page dedicated to Zachy.

Many others have helped all along the way, in a succession of incredible support. When the family visited the Record office they were accompanied by Benji's good friend, Aaron Ratner. Aaron bought supplies and made dolphin bracelets, which he sold to raise $1500 for St. Mary's. A quiet, modest, delightful child, young Aaron smiled shyly when Robin told of his amazing accomplishment.

Today Robin, often accompanied by her three boys, visits Zachy's grave everyday, bringing balloons and art projects and reading from the journals written by Benji, Jacob and Matthew.

As she treasures the past, Robin and her family look to the future with much enthusiasm. "Zachy was a gift to us and to our family; he blessed our lives and made every day a miracle," she said.

Now the Portnoys want a miracle for other gravely ill children. Please help Robin, Kevin, Benji, Jacob and Matthew (and Zachy too), as they walk for St. Mary's this Sunday.

To make a donation to St. Mary's, visit the website www.stmaryskids.kintera.org/zachy.

To walk for St. Mary's, and for Zachy, come to Flushing Meadows Corona Park Sunday morning and walk in Zachy's honor while you help other sick children.

Remember Zachary Portnoy and please help other little ones in their fight for life!