Father of 12-Year-Old Boy Pens Touching Final Goodbye to Son Who Lost Battle With Rare Disease

“At 1:54 today there was a crack of a bat heard. Zac took it deep. My boy hit his homerun. One that I'll never forget. I'm so proud of him. He left it all on the field and I can't ask for more."

"He did so well that he'll be the starting 2nd baseman for The Lords team.”

Those were the heartbreaking opening few sentences in a goodbye letter a father penned to his son Saturday night after the 12-year-old boy died from a rare brain eating infection.

The letter, published on Facebook, was from Jesse Reyna to his son Zachary, a young baseball fan who contracted a rare infection on August 3 while kneeboarding with his friends in a small channel, according to the New York Daily News.

(Credit: Facebook)

The family reportedly said Reyna contracted Naegleria fowleri, a single-celled amoeba commonly found in freshwater lakes, ponds and rivers, which caused an infection called primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM).

According to ABC, only three people have ever survived PAM.

Zachary Reyna. (Credit: Facebook)

And while Reyna wasn't one of them, he still made his father proud.

"I sit back and ask myself, what would make me prouder; my son playing pro ball, being a successful business man or being known for changing and saving thousands of lives for The Lord," the father wrote in his final goodbye.

"The battle is over for Zac but he won the war," he concluded.

A follow-up post said his parents "have decided to donate his organs to others in need," add that "even though Zac has passed, he will still be saving many lives."

(H/T: New York Daily News)

Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter

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