Zoey Isadora Dockal

Zoey "Isadorable" Dockal was born June 14, 2011. In November, after several months of tummy troubles and trips to the doctor, Zoey was diagnosed with Hepatoblastoma, a rare and malignant form of liver cancer. Zoey’s only chance of survival was to be put on the donor list and have a liver transplant as soon as possible. Zoey was blessed to have a liver donor match after only 11 days on the list. While doctors believed the transplant was successful, Zoey's parents later found out that Zoey also likely had a rare disease called Mitochondrial Disease of the heart. This did not allow her heart to recover from her month-long battle with multiple surgeries, procedures, and chemo treatments.

After a brave fight, Zoey passed away on December 8, 2011 just 6 days shy of her 6-month birthday.

When Zoey's parents lost their beautiful baby girl, an outpouring of support came from family, friends and their community. This support enabled her parents to focus on honoring Zoey’s memory and caring for their own well-being and healing. While Zoey’s parents felt very fortunate for this support, they realized that not all families dealing with such a loss receive this same love and support to help them through their struggle.

It was this realization that led to the founding of Zoey’s Angels. Thanks to Zoey’s uncle, Paul Gonzales, and her parents, Gina and Mike Dockal, Zoey’s Angels will continue Zoey’s legacy and provide families in pain with the support, inspiration, and love they need to heal.

For more on Zoey’s story, visit www.caringbridge.org/visit/zoeydockal.