Weekend of Giving.

This past weekend was special to me. I got to witness how people can change a life. Each year my cousin Erin organizes an all-night softball tournament, raffle, food, music, prizes, and anything else you can think of in order to raise money for the recipient and his/her family. This year my sweet cousin Zach was chosen. It was so humbling to see the 22 team turnout and the amount of love that was given towards contributions and raffle items. There were so many volunteers. My mom stayed up all-night. Bless her heart. She is such a strong woman. I love my family so much. I only took a few pictures during the tournament. Here is my cousin's story.



Zachary's Story

Zachary Terry, of Fairview Utah, is 12 years old. Prior to September 2007, Zachary was a very active healthy young boy who loved everything from riding four wheelers, motorcycles, bicycles, skateboards, to running, swimming, playing all sports, and especially loved to go camping, fishing and hunting with his family. Zachary even helped a family friend, Wil, run his backhoe on his farm. Zachary would dig and set huge fence posts, as Wil could not do it himself. Zachary learned to ride a horse that summer at Wil’s farm and three weeks later ran the barrels in the kid’s rodeo in Fairview. Zachary was a very happy 7 year old boy full of love and he enjoyed life and lived it to the fullest.

Around September 18, 2007 it started with a twitch in the right eye, by the 24th twitches started to take over the right side of his face and eventually moved to his right arm. His arm would jerk up in the air unexpectedly. On September 27th his parents took him to the doctor. The doctor ordered a CT scan and while in the machine Zachary had an episode. The doctors informed Zachary’s parents that he had been having seizures. As a result of the tests, Dr. Day referred them to Primary Children’s Medical Center’s Neurology department on October 3, 2007. The neurologist diagnosed Zachary with epilepsy and put him on medication to control the seizures. Zachary had an allergic reaction to the medication which included three trips to the emergency room. Zachary had to participate in breathing treatments as a result of the allergic reaction. After four clinic visits, Zachary was admitted to the hospital for an extremely rare reaction to the medication Tegrital. Life flight was called twice during his hospital stay but was cancelled both times as they were able to control the reactions. This hospital visit occurred on December 5, 2007.

Zachary’s parents, Brent and Jackie Terry, along with some doctors feel that there is a possibility that the symptoms Zachary had been experiencing may have been caused by immunizations given to him in August of 2007. Due to the misplacement of records, the Department of Health required him to have his immunizations again in order for him to attend public school. No one is for sure if this was the cause of the problems he was having but they believe it may be.

As time went by, Zachary’s seizures progressed and escalated from petite maul to grand mauls. Zachary has experienced every type of seizure there is. Zachary’s mental and physical capacity has diminished. A different doctor informed his parents that his condition was most likely not just epilepsy but rather some type of underlying debilitating degenerative disease and that seizures were a side effect and not the cause.

Zachary has been to countless specialists and has been through every test possible for his condition. The tests results have all been negative leaving him officially undiagnosed. Zachary is unable to take medication to control the seizures due to his allergy to the medication. The Terry’s feel like they are running out of options to help him.

Zachary is now at a 7-year old mental capacity. Zachary is old enough to be in the 7th grade but is now at a 3rd grade level mentally. Zachary is losing his dexterity in his hands, the reflexes in his arms, and it is taking over his body. On February 1, 2011, the doctor couldn’t find any reflexes in his right elbow and minimal reflexes in the wrist. Writing is very difficult for him but he keeps trying. He functions extremely slow which makes it hard for him to be in a classroom setting. He simply cannot keep up with his classmates. Zachary’s teacher has said that when he writes two sentences, his class mates have written several pages.

Zachary is now experiencing longer and more intensified seizures and his parent have to spray a sedative up his nose to help control them. The seizures are coming more frequently and are getting more difficult to control. The doctors are out of ideas on what is causing the seizures and are out of options for him.

Doctors currently have him taking wellness/holistic supplements that keep him somewhat stable and functioning. Without these supplements, Zachary would more than likely be bed ridden at 12 years old. Doctor’s fear what would happen if they took him off of the supplements. All of these issues have also compromised Zachary’s immune system. His white blood cell count remains at a 3 which is considered low and makes him more volatile of illness. When Zachary catches a cold, sore throat, or stomach bug, he is down for 10 to 14 days at a time. There have been a few occasions where he has lost the ability to swallow.

As mentioned before, the doctors don’t know what is wrong with Zachary and do not have a diagnosis for his condition. All they can tell Zachary’s parents is that it is life threatening. His parents are in fear they might lose their son. Once child lost is devastating, but in their case, this will be a second child lost. The Terry’s oldest son Tyson was hit by a train and killed when he was just 7 years old. That was a heartbreaking moment for the family and friends.

Zachary’s Father Brent is a small business owner in Sanpete County. Brent owns and operates a cabinet business in which has done so for 22 years. Due to the current economic recession and the lack of new construction across the state, Brent has been forced to put the business up for sale. With business struggling and money hard to come by, the Terry’s had to drop their health insurance simply because they could not afford to pay it. This has added to their stressful situation. The good news for them is that after three years of battling with Medicaid they were finally awarded it in February of 2011.

At this point doctors still haven’t come up with a diagnosis. Zachary’s parents are researching other options, as they are desperate to save their son. They are looking at going to Mexico to do stem cell replacement therapy to mend the broken neurons in his brain and body. Medicaid will not cover this type of treatment. They have researched this and have been amazed at the results of others with similar symptoms of Zachary. The Terry’s have a friend who has MS and was in a wheelchair. She went to Mexico for this therapy and has been able to overcome the disease and is now running around with her children, riding four wheelers, and living a very active life.

I know there are many who are struggling and would be great recipients for this great service you do. I hope you will seriously consider my sweet nephew, Zachary for this year! My family and I will also do all we can to contribute to the success of this great organization.