Let’s Unite for Zorro’s Cancer Fight

If you know Zorro and Tara, you know how much they love and care for each other and for their family. You also know that their friends mean the world to them. They would do anything they could for anyone in need and they've done so over the years in various ways.

Back in 2018, Zorro was diagnosed with Myelofibrosis (MF), a rare type of blood cancer that causes scarring (fibrosis) in your bone marrow and stops blood cells from being produced normally.

This past winter (2024), Zorro was told that he needed a life-saving stem cell transplant. After much consideration, Zorro decided that in order to continue living, he would undergo this transplant.

After going through testing, they learned that Zorro's daughter Ashley was a match! She agreed to be the donor that Zorro needed.

On May 31st, the transplant process started and Zorro was admitted into Memorial Sloan Kettering where he received a week of chemotherapy and then his daughter's cells.

Shortly after receiving the transplant, Zorro became very sick with high fevers, sepsis, and he went into renal failure. He needed to be on bi-pap and was in the ICU for 13 days.

Since then Zorro has remained in the hospital fighting infection after infection, now being dependent on dialysis and fighting to get stronger every day. Tara has not left his side except for when he was in the ICU and she couldn't sleep there. That didn't stop her from making the trip from Highland to MSK each day to be by his side.

On July 4th, Zorro and Tara learned that the transplant failed and that they needed a boost to try and see if that would work. At that time, Ashley returned to give him more stem cells.

Zorro and Tara are now waiting to see if his body will respond and engraft with her cells. If not, they will need to find a new donor ASAP.

Both Zorro and Tara have not been working since May when Zorro was admitted to MSK. Tara and Zorro have 5 children, 2 of which are still living at home. The youngest is going into his senior year in high school. They visit Zorro when they can but have also been busy working and taking care of their 3 dogs.

This ordeal has put Zorro and Tara in a financial burden. With bills continuing to pile up, unanticipated issues with their house and caring for their family, the financial strain that this hardship has placed on this family is unimaginable.

Zorro will remain in the hospital for the unforeseeable future and Tara will need to return to work in September. She will commute from MSK to Highland every day so that she can continue to be by Zorro's side while maintaining her job. In the meantime, the expense of the daily commute which will include gas, tolls, wear and tear on the car, combined with the daily living expenses for the family, as well as the medical bills that are accumulating is unfathomable at this point.

If you know Zorro and Tara, you know that the decision to accept help hasn't been an easy one. It's something that they've tried to avoid, but with the setbacks and the fear of what their future holds, they've learned to accept that they can't do this alone. We have started this GoFundMe account to ease the financial burden on Zorro and Tara so that they can focus on Zorro's health.

From the bottom of our hearts we humbly ask that you share this link with friends and family and if possible in giving (any amount will help).

Please pray for our friend, Zorro. And for his family who is struggling right along with him. We thank you for your support and God bless each and every one of you.