Hello Family and Friends!

Sorry we have been lagging with the updates on here, but Zach has been sharing awesome updates on his Facebook. We will share his latest post on here, and the only thing I will add is Shirley bumped up his Graduation Day from the program to a week earlier than originally planned, so today, January 13th, Zach gets to go home! He will continue outpatient therapy at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, WI. The progress he has made in a short seven weeks at Shirley is incredible and Zach continues to inspire us all!

Here is Zach's FB post from January 5th (sorry we can't share videos on here):

"Happy New Year everyone and I hope this year brings nothing but great things! I just finished my 6 out of 8 weeks at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and although this process has had its high and lows both mentally and physically, I’ve continued to move the needle forward. When asked what it’s like being here and working in therapy with this type of injury, everyday is like getting up and running a marathon when not preparing or training for one. Also many have asked what the sensation is like below my break & spinal cord injury, the best way to describe it is like the prickly needle feeling you get when you wake up with a dead arm, which is 24/7 for me and not having complete control of your legs. However the fact that I have sensation at all is a blessing.

I’ve learned so much about what a spinal cord injury even is and how no injury is the same when it comes to the SC.  Everyone’s improvement or lack of is dependent on their body and brain reconnection below the injury point which is never guaranteed.  I’m fortunate to have had an incomplete injury to my SC rather than complete as this has given me the second chance in life to learn to reconnect to my legs, which I’m slowly doing. I’ve learned that out of all spinal cord injured patients, only 5% will regain some mobility and I’m happy to announce that I’m within this. Although my form of walking may never be the same, I’ll have the ability to use crutches or possibly even a cane for short distances like around my house, rather than a wheelchair all the time. The feeling will never be normal but the brain is a powerful thing and will provide me this opportunity.

The videos I’ve included show the amazing improvement I’ve made since my last post and I have more to follow as I still have two more weeks here at Shirley Ryan.  However my journey isn’t done and neither does the hard work when I return home and to outpatient rehab that’ll go for a minimum of 6 months along with daily work on my own at home. This has been a humbling experience and has provided me a second chance at life. I plan on taking what I’ve gone through and simply living life to the fullest with my family and friends, never taking life for granted as I did in the past and slowing down to enjoy everything that life has to offer. Also not to stress about the little things, it’s not worth it. 

I highly encourage everyone to watch Any One of Us on HBO which is a documentary about a professional Red Bull Mountain Biker who goes through a spinal cord injury due to a crash and has a similar journey that I’m currently on from his injury, rehab etc. It’s not only a great documentary but truly will open your eyes to what this type of injury even is and what we have to go through as survivors. I tear up even watching the trailer as it’s what I’m going through to the T. 

Thank you all for your continued support, to my unbelievable family who’ve been here with me along the way, to Derek Hein for saving my life on November 12th and to the doctor who told me on November 13th that I’d never walk again as he lit my internal fire that’s about to prove him wrong. I love you all and here’s to an amazing 2023!"