Please help Zachary regain independence and quality of life

Hey everyone,

My name is Chafica and this GoFundMe is for my brother Zachary.

Zack was diagnosed with Friedreich's Ataxia when he was just 15 years old - before then he was just a normal kid living a normal life. Friedreich's Ataxia is a rare genetic neuro degenerative disease and it's hard to really put into perspective how this has affected his life. Zachary has extensive heart problems (2 yrs ago he had heart proceedure done), diabetes, progressive decrease in mobility and coordination, loss of reflexes, slow and slurred speech (iykyk), vision loss, shortness of breath, among so many other things. There is currently no cure for Friedreich's Ataxia and the common life expectancy is 15 to 20 years after diagnosis, Zachary is now 33 years old and determined to keep fighting as long as he can, and needs your help.

Zachary was in a wheelchair permanently by the time he was 18. Despite this, he was determined to not let this disease get him down and we were there to help him fight. Zack found a love for exercise and frequented the gym in an effort to keep his strength and maintain his autonomy while continuing to foster and maintain friendships. With the rapid progression of his disease we started looking into other promising methods of treatment. He was able to travel to China to receive, at the time, a controversial stem cell treatment. It resulted in a big improvement in his mobility and slowed the progression of his symptoms. Over the last couple of years his symptoms have progressed rapidly again, making it impossible for Zack to go the gym, to transfer himself or to care for himself independently, and leaving him housebound most of the time. It is so hard to put into words the struggle that Zachary faces everyday - we (his family) have seen it first hand and it truly is heart breaking to see someone you love slowly lose themselves to this terrible disease. None of us can truly understand what it's like to slowly lose your ability to truly live.

In the years since his first treatment, Stem Cell therapy has come more widely studied and is used for degenerative disease and certain cancers. A similar treatment to the one Zack had in China is now available in the US. The goal of this GoFundMe is to help increase awareness and raise funds for Zack so he is able to get this treatment. It is very expensive and is not covered by health insurance. Zack is on disability and is not able to afford it on his own.

If you are lucky enough to know Zack, you know he's the kind of person that would do anything for anyone. He's kind, light hearted, funny, patient, motivated and above all, determined to keep fighting. He deserves so much better than the cards he was dealt, but through it all he remains as positive as he can. His life isn't easy and the people who know him don't even know how difficult it truly is. He struggles to ask for help because he doesn't want to be a burden to anyone, but he is at a point where he NEEDS help. He's lost his ability to do things that we simply take for granted, like getting in and out of bed, feeding himself, going to the bathroom, and even simply going outside when he wants some fresh air. This treatment through Ways2Well in Austin Texas will help give Zachary a better quality of life and regain some of his independence. If you are able to donate any amount, or even just share this page for awareness, we would be extremely grateful.

Also - as I mentioned - Zack is pretty much home bound and alone a lot of the time. That's hard for anyone. He could use some positive connections with friends and the people in his life. If you want to message him a positive message or even just a quick text or even house visit to say hi - he'd be forever thankful.