A Single Misstep

One minute Zach was a carefree 16-year old, just walking along the street with his friend Chris. It was December 3, 2005, in the evening, and Zach and Chris were on their way to a "Christmas Wrap" for seniors. It was dark so they didn’t see the drop in front of them. Zach stepped into space and fell 25 feet, landing on his face, hand, and leg. He remembers coming to, then trying to stand. That’s when he knew his leg was broken. Chris ran for his dad, then called for an ambulance. Chris’s dad picked up the teeth lying on the ground, hoping to save them for later implanting.

Zach’s mom, Traci, was Christmas shopping and just a few minutes after she returned home, the phone call came. “Zach has a broken leg.” When Traci got to the hospital, she learned the true extent of his injuries: broken femur, jaw broken in 3 places, several broken bones in his hand. The attending doctor told Traci they might not even be able to repair his broken bones but would have to Life Flight him by helicopter to another hospital. Once they evaluated him further, they decided to keep him in the local hospital. Doctors started repairing his injuries that night, first setting the broken leg. The next day a titanium rod was put in the leg to strengthen it. The following day he had his jaw wired shut. Then they repaired his hand as best they could. He has had seven or more surgeries so far, and possibly one in the future. Yet, the doctors were amazed at his rapid recovery.

Zach doesn’t remember some things that happened immediately after the accident, but Traci says he told her he heard a voice say, “Cover your face”. He put his hand up and protected his head from worse, possibly even fatal, injuries. Traci called the Vineyard Church and asked for someone to pray for Zach right away, and she feels his survival and steady recovery resulted from that.

After having had therapy at home 3 times a week for 3 months, moving around in a wheelchair, eating only pureed food (and gaining 5 pounds! Pureed Pop-Tarts in Ensure, yummy!!), he now appears to be as agile as any other teenager. If you were looking around for the guy who had a terrible fall and injuries a short 4 months ago, you wouldn’t pick Zach as the victim.

Zach is back to doing some of the things he used to do. He enjoys singing in the choir, he’s back in school, and he hopes to be a veterinarian one day.