See Updates Below! 

On October 13, Zach Lopes had a tragic accident on a trampoline that caused a severe neck and spinal cord injury. Immediately Zach was paralyzed from his armpits down to his feet.  He had emergency surgery several hours after the accident in attempt to repair the severe damage to his neck and spine.  Time will tell if the paralysis is temporary or permanent.

The following week, Zach had life threatening respiratory issues (ARDS) and has since recovered.  He is no longer in an induced coma and recently had a tracheostomy, which is a step in the right direction for his respiratory recovery.  Once Zach is released from the hospital in Salinas, he will need many months of physical therapy at a spinal cord injury rehabilitation facility.

The accident occurred 3 ½ hours away from his home, Cristi, Zach’s mother, hasn’t left his side and has taken a leave from work indefinitely.  Cristi will be with Zach throughout his recovery at the hospital, will need to relocate to be near him at the rehabilitation facility and will be his caregiver every step of the way.  Zach and Cristi will be displaced from their home for quite some time.

We are setting up this page as we know everyone loves Zach and we all want to see that he can gets the therapy and treatment he needs with hopes he will walk out of that rehabilitation facility.  It may take some time and a tremendous amount of hard work, but if anyone can do it, it’s Zach!  So many people have expressed a desire to help in anyway they can. The funds collected through this platform will help with expenses for Zach and his family throughout his long road to recovery.

For those of you that don’t know Zach, he is a 21-year-old young man that has a heart of gold. He is the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back and do anything for anyone. He is in the United States Marine Corps Reserve and has intentions of seeking a career in law-enforcement. He loves his family and friends with his whole heart. Yes, truly he is that kind of guy. 

We are here for you Zach and fighting with you every step of the way.

On behalf of the Cristi and the family, thank you for your messages of love, support and prayers!   Let’s continue to show Zach and his family our love and support with our donations, shares and prayers!


Update #1: November 1, 2018

It has been 19 days since Zach’s accident. He will be transferred to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center spinal cord injury rehabilitation facility tomorrow or the next day. Cristi will be relocating to San Jose and will continue to be by Zach’s side throughout his rehabilitation. Zach continues to heal from his surgery, has conquered ARDS and pneumonia and we hope he will be off of the ventilator within the next two weeks. He has worked extremely hard with the physical, occupational and speech therapists and has impressed them all with his progress. Initially Zach had very limited movement and sensation in his arms and now he can raise one arm to his forehead. He also has some sensation to touch in his abdomen. The staff at Natividad Medical Center has been amazing. Zach has captured each and everyone of their hearts and had him promise to keep in touch with his progress and several have said they will come and visit him. They all expect Zach to do great things with his recovery. They, like the rest of us, too have HOPES FOR LOPES.

Thank you all for your donations, your continued prayers and shares!!



Update #2: November 8, 2018

So much has happened since the update last Thursday. Friday, November 2nd, Zach was transferred to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Respiratory Rehabilitation Unit. He was still on the vent for breathing so this is where he starts his journey of rehab. They will be weaning him off the vent. Today, Zach will be off the vent for a total of 8 hours, breathing on his own and talking. As soon as Zach is completely off of the vent he will be moved down the hall to the spinal cord injury rehab. 

Zach was so happy to get here. This hospital is amazing. Everything is state of the art and the people here are amazing as well! They also have a couple of guest suites on site and we were fortunate enough to get one. Cristi and Lana have been here with Zach the entire time. Lana has been amazing and such a support to Zach and Cristi.

A wheelchair was ordered for Zach when we got here, it arrived on Tuesday. He sat in his chair for the first time yesterday and tolerated it well. Today he will be sitting in his chair as long as he can tolerate it.  We did a total of 3 1/2 hours today. His blood pressure is good and he doesn’t get dizzy any longer while sitting up. 

They changed Zach’s trach from a size 8 to a size 6 on Tuesday and cleared him to start getting ice chips on Thursday. Next is water, then maybe juice and food. 

Zach is still in great spirits! He is telling Cristi and Lana what it feels like to be paralyzed and he’s being very open and optimistic about everything. They never thought they could love him more but he continues to amaze them!

Zach also made his first Instagram post last night, he is trying very hard to learn how to use his phone.

Thank you everyone for your generous donations, your continued prayers and your words of encouragement. We truly appreciate all of you!



Update #3: November 23, 2018

Zach has made such improvements that they moved him to the Acute Rehab side, he’s completely off the vent and plugged for 20 hours on Wednesday. 

Unfortunately Zach had a little setback Thursday morning and spiked a fever of 102.1,  possibly pneumonia again but too soon to tell. 

This Thanksgiving Cristi has so much to be grateful for. For all the love, prayers and support they have received from family, friends, and from people we don’t even know. Zach and Cristi appreciate you so much!

And to everyone that has donated to Zach’s Recovery fund, thank you so much for your generosity, if it wasn’t for you Cristi would not be able to be here with Zach.

Crisit and the family are still trying to get him to Craig Hospital in Colorado. In spite of all the challenges, they are not giving up on the possibility.

Thank you for your continued prayers, support, and shares!



Update #4:  November 29th, 2018

As you all know from my last update, Zach came down with pneumonia again on Thanksgiving Morning. So we’ve just been trying to get over that so we can get back to doing therapy’s. Today Zach is feeling a bit better, back to his encouraging spirits and jokes. He’s been in his wheelchair all day and did all of his therapy.

They did take him off the soft foods when he got the pneumonia so we’re hopeful he can get back to eating regular foods soon. 

We want to thank everyone for their love, support, and prayers, it really does make a difference knowing that so many people care!

Thank everyone that has donated on the “Hopes for Lopes” GoFundMe page, you all have been so generous.


With heartfelt gratitude,

Team Hopes for Lopes