Zach - faith over fear

My little sisters soul mate and partner, my nieces super hero and daddy, my own daughters beloved uncle, and friend & bonus brother to my husband and I. As a family, Zach and Ashley and my husband and I bonded early in both of our relationships, and the four of us have done nearly everything together for the last decade of our lives - graduations, cross country moves, roommates, pets and engagements, marriages and babies. In so many ways, our lives have been entwined. I share that so you might understand, that we have felt all the lows and all the victories deeply along side Zach and Ashley. I am here today, with their permission, to share a piece of Zach's story.

In May 2023, a cancer diagnosis rocked Zach's world - and our world. Zach rounded his 30th birthday learning that he had, what they thought at the time, was stage 4 mucoepidermoid cancer; a rare and difficult to treat cancer. I would be lying if I said that fear, anger and a weight of injustice unlike I’d ever felt, weren’t the main emotions that took hold of my heart. Helplessly I stood by while people I loved so dearly were being sent into possibly the biggest storm of their life. However, in spite of the uncertainty and heaviness of a diagnosis like that, Zach and Ashley responded by falling to their knees, and transformed their nutrition and spirit life. At a time that understandably breaks so many people down, Zach took the reigns by taking a hard look at everything in his power he could do to influence healing in his own body. So many people talk about strength of their loved ones in these situations, but there is truly no other word. At every turn, Zach made hard choices at the chance that they could better his health and strengthen his body. He inspired us all to rally with and for him. I was and continue to be so in awe of the way Zach holds himself through all of this. In June, it became clear that Zach’s cancer wasn’t “typical” but Doctors couldn’t agree on what they were seeing. That’s when they turned to Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa. Doctors who have world recognized capabilities, determined that Zach’s diagnosis was non small cell lung cancer, with a RET Fusion mutation. It was with Moffitt that they found experts and a care team that were able to finally get Zach the treatment he needed to start his fight.

This fight. It got worse before it got better. An entire summer of days spent at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Wesley Chapel, a 50 mile one-way trip from their home, hooked up for hours upon hours for chemo, drives to the clinics to make sure the chills, nausea and aches and fevers and deep, unwavering exhaustion, were all “par the course”, daily radiation.. all while holding on to hope and each other and putting on a brave face for my sweet niece. Often times, in the thick of their battle, his immunity was so low that it was only safe for my sister and their little one to stay by his side, so as not to bring on catastrophic illness. The isolation in spite of having so many that loved them, was as much a mental fight as it was a physical assault on Zach's wellbeing. It is a part of their story that was incredibly hard to see, but undoubtedly harder for them to go through. Zach stayed the course and never wavered though. Exchanging texts, I was constantly amazed at Zach's ability to hold on to faith and trusting the process. His perseverance and commitment to his wife and daughter kept him pushing even through the darkest of those days. My sister maintained hope and brought sunshine to Zach and my niece, in spite of all that landed on her shoulders, through it all. The two of them chose faith over fear, over and over, at every turn.

The absolutely miraculous part of the story that I am so incredibly thankful to be sharing today though, is that after giving it everything he had, on 10/24/2023, Zach’s most recent scan showed that the major masses in his lymph nodes and chest were nearly gone. As a family of faith, we give all our thanks to the one above and the care providers earth side that made this possible. And no matter what comes, we will continue to. But to stay the path that has been bringing healing to Zach, there are still so many things ahead.

The months of treatment for cancer left a mountain of medical bills. Beyond that, because this cancer has a mutation, Zach will need to be on treatment to continue fighting this cancer, until further notice. This means, life preserving treatment for Zach, is a monthly expense the size of a mortgage. As personal as this journey is, this fight has taught us all what it really means to lean into your family and community and allow those who want to help, to help. There should be no question about taking this treatment while it is giving us priceless time.

As Zach and Ashley and Arabella look to the future, we will all hold the belief that there is so much yet in store for their family. I ask that if their friendship, love or story has blessed your life, you consider giving what is within your means, to support this beautiful family in their pursuit of continued healing and growth.

God bless.