Zach against Cancer round 3!
Donation protected
UNCW Seahawk article about Zach
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
The definition of unfair is: something that is not based on or behaving according to the principles of equality and justice.
What do you say to a 7 year old child that has to battle against cancer….what do you say to that same child when he has to fight cancer again at 13 years of age because it came back again and all that turmoil he faced before was about to be relived. Now imagine the words you try to find when that same young man has discovered his cancer is back for a 3rd time. I still do not know what to say….the word unfair just doesn’t seem adequate…..does it?
Zach’s body is about to engage in world war III and he intends to win!
PAST:
This is Zach’s story. My nephew (Zachary Parks) is once again in the fight of his life for the 3rd time. Zachary was diagnosed with A.L.L. leukemia at the young age of 7. After 5 years of fighting off this deadly disease it came back when Zach was 12 years old. So basically he had just a few months of respite before the cancer reared its ugly head again. Zach spent the next several years fighting to keep the disease in remission and this time he thought he had won.
At the age of 16, Zach was finally able to remove his port for what he said would be “FOREVER”. Zach then set out the next 5 years to truly start living. He graduated top of his class, was accepted to UNCW where he is excelling in so many areas academically, he started dating, moved out on his own, bought a car, and is paying his own way through college, while working at a local Jersey Mikes. All this from a boy who spent over half his life fighting just to stay alive.
PRESENT:
On April 20th, 2015 Zach celebrated being cancer free for 5 years! Unfortunately, the celebration was short lived…3 days later Zach was admitted back to the Chapel Hill Cancer Treatment center once again battling the same cancer that has haunted him his entire life. We are all still in disbelief of how this has happened and as you could imagine we are asking the question why? What else does he have to prove? How much more time is he going to have stolen from him fighting this disease?
There have been tremendous advancements in the treatment for cancer and Zach has chosen to try out a newly approved drug called Blincyto. For 28 days, every hour of the day, Zach will have this drug pumped into his body which hopefully sends the cancer into remission. “When” this new drug works, he then will need a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully, Zach’s brother Alex Parks is a perfect match and will go through the painful surgery of having his bone marrow extracted and placed inside Zach. This will allow Zach’s body to produce healthy blood cells so that he can resume his life and live a full one. This process is not a easy procedure on Zach nor Alex. Zach will be under constant monitoring to ensure the transplant takes to his body.
So as of right now Zach is facing the reality of spending the next 6 to 8 weeks minimum at Chapel Hill. For now Chapel Hill is Zach new home.
Why GoFundMe:
Zach is one of those souls that is so special. It takes a rare person to still look at the world through his eyes and not feel jaded. It would be easy and no one would fault him if he were to say that life is not fair and for him to wallow in his sorrow. But that is not Zach…he is a fighter through and through and takes adversity head on.
As I sat with Zach this week I wanted to get a sense of what he was feeling and what he was most worried about. I was preparing myself to listen to my nephew talk about how life was unfair, his chances of survival―all the worries and fears I would have. However, that was not what Zach was worried about nor what he is about.
He was worried about paying his rent, (for the first time Zach had signed up for his own apartment and was worried if he could pay out the remainder of his lease), he was worried how he was going to finish and take his final exams, worried if his professors would fail him, worried about how long his employer would keep his job if he was gone for too long, worried about the looming hospital bills, worried about his auto payment, gas required to travel back and forth to Chapel Hill for follow up treatments each week.
I was shocked that here laid a young man fighting for his life and he is worried about bills and personal responsibility! To me this was truly UNFAIR but actually miraculous. The courage he has displayed in the path of fighting cancer again is astounding. I told Zach that I wanted to start a GoFundMe account to see if I could create a fund that would allow him to remove those fears from his life. I want Zach to focus all his energy into fighting and finally beating cancer forever! The funds raised here will go toward paying Zach’s medical bills, college loans, his rent, car payments, gas to/from Chapel Hill, and for his follow up treatment cost.
FUTURE:
Zach’s journey and battle against cancer will not end because of the money raised here. It is not going to make Zach healthier or physically change him, but it will change his life emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It will allow Zach to focus his energy on hope, determination, and having the will to face cancer again and come out on top and whatever else he needs TO WIN.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Zach’s story. If you could please take a moment to share his story with your friends and family we would be forever grateful. Any amount that you could donate no matter how small will be greatly appreciated.
We also have created t-shirts (100% of the proceeds go to Zach’s fund) that you could purchase as well: Coming soon
CONTACT INFORMATION:
By email: [email redacted]
#ZachWillWin
Zach
Always has
Courage
Hope for a cure
Keep fighting Zach – we love you!
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
The definition of unfair is: something that is not based on or behaving according to the principles of equality and justice.
What do you say to a 7 year old child that has to battle against cancer….what do you say to that same child when he has to fight cancer again at 13 years of age because it came back again and all that turmoil he faced before was about to be relived. Now imagine the words you try to find when that same young man has discovered his cancer is back for a 3rd time. I still do not know what to say….the word unfair just doesn’t seem adequate…..does it?
Zach’s body is about to engage in world war III and he intends to win!
PAST:
This is Zach’s story. My nephew (Zachary Parks) is once again in the fight of his life for the 3rd time. Zachary was diagnosed with A.L.L. leukemia at the young age of 7. After 5 years of fighting off this deadly disease it came back when Zach was 12 years old. So basically he had just a few months of respite before the cancer reared its ugly head again. Zach spent the next several years fighting to keep the disease in remission and this time he thought he had won.
At the age of 16, Zach was finally able to remove his port for what he said would be “FOREVER”. Zach then set out the next 5 years to truly start living. He graduated top of his class, was accepted to UNCW where he is excelling in so many areas academically, he started dating, moved out on his own, bought a car, and is paying his own way through college, while working at a local Jersey Mikes. All this from a boy who spent over half his life fighting just to stay alive.
PRESENT:
On April 20th, 2015 Zach celebrated being cancer free for 5 years! Unfortunately, the celebration was short lived…3 days later Zach was admitted back to the Chapel Hill Cancer Treatment center once again battling the same cancer that has haunted him his entire life. We are all still in disbelief of how this has happened and as you could imagine we are asking the question why? What else does he have to prove? How much more time is he going to have stolen from him fighting this disease?
There have been tremendous advancements in the treatment for cancer and Zach has chosen to try out a newly approved drug called Blincyto. For 28 days, every hour of the day, Zach will have this drug pumped into his body which hopefully sends the cancer into remission. “When” this new drug works, he then will need a bone marrow transplant. Thankfully, Zach’s brother Alex Parks is a perfect match and will go through the painful surgery of having his bone marrow extracted and placed inside Zach. This will allow Zach’s body to produce healthy blood cells so that he can resume his life and live a full one. This process is not a easy procedure on Zach nor Alex. Zach will be under constant monitoring to ensure the transplant takes to his body.
So as of right now Zach is facing the reality of spending the next 6 to 8 weeks minimum at Chapel Hill. For now Chapel Hill is Zach new home.
Why GoFundMe:
Zach is one of those souls that is so special. It takes a rare person to still look at the world through his eyes and not feel jaded. It would be easy and no one would fault him if he were to say that life is not fair and for him to wallow in his sorrow. But that is not Zach…he is a fighter through and through and takes adversity head on.
As I sat with Zach this week I wanted to get a sense of what he was feeling and what he was most worried about. I was preparing myself to listen to my nephew talk about how life was unfair, his chances of survival―all the worries and fears I would have. However, that was not what Zach was worried about nor what he is about.
He was worried about paying his rent, (for the first time Zach had signed up for his own apartment and was worried if he could pay out the remainder of his lease), he was worried how he was going to finish and take his final exams, worried if his professors would fail him, worried about how long his employer would keep his job if he was gone for too long, worried about the looming hospital bills, worried about his auto payment, gas required to travel back and forth to Chapel Hill for follow up treatments each week.
I was shocked that here laid a young man fighting for his life and he is worried about bills and personal responsibility! To me this was truly UNFAIR but actually miraculous. The courage he has displayed in the path of fighting cancer again is astounding. I told Zach that I wanted to start a GoFundMe account to see if I could create a fund that would allow him to remove those fears from his life. I want Zach to focus all his energy into fighting and finally beating cancer forever! The funds raised here will go toward paying Zach’s medical bills, college loans, his rent, car payments, gas to/from Chapel Hill, and for his follow up treatment cost.
FUTURE:
Zach’s journey and battle against cancer will not end because of the money raised here. It is not going to make Zach healthier or physically change him, but it will change his life emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It will allow Zach to focus his energy on hope, determination, and having the will to face cancer again and come out on top and whatever else he needs TO WIN.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Zach’s story. If you could please take a moment to share his story with your friends and family we would be forever grateful. Any amount that you could donate no matter how small will be greatly appreciated.
We also have created t-shirts (100% of the proceeds go to Zach’s fund) that you could purchase as well: Coming soon
CONTACT INFORMATION:
By email: [email redacted]
#ZachWillWin
Zach
Always has
Courage
Hope for a cure
Keep fighting Zach – we love you!
Organizer
Niki Bryan Tyner
Organizer
Wilmington, NC