Wilson County News - Home, Health, and Family - Family plans benefit for son

COURTESY PHOTO A fund-raiser will take place Sunday, Oct. 25, in Falls City for the Zetsche family, (from left) Gabe, Chris, Zachariah �Zack,� and Beverly. Zack has a debilitating seizure disorder and will undergo brain surgery this fall to minimize the severity of his seizures.

Special to the Wilson County News
October 20, 2009
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(By Beverly Zetsche) -- FALLS CITY -- On Sunday, Oct. 25, a benefit for Zack Zetsche, diagnosed with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome, a rare and debilitating seizure disorder, will be held in the Falls City Community Hall. Zack is due to undergo brain surgery this fall in an effort to make his life more comfortable. Everyone is invited to attend and support Zack and his family.

Zackariah is the son of Chris and Beverly Wiatrek Zetsche and the grandson of the late Alvin Wiatrek and Helen Pawelek Wiatrek.

Born Oct. 1, 1997, Zack appeared to be like any baby. As he entered his toddler years, it became evident that he was not a typical child. At the age of 2, he stopped talking and began having problems with impulsive behavior.

When he was 2-1/2, he was diagnosed with autism. We enrolled Zack in various activities, including an early-childhood school program, picture-exchange therapy, and behavioral therapy, in the hopes that the autism would improve, and he did make some progress.

When Zack was 4, he suffered a convulsive status epilepticus and multiple grand mal seizures and was hospitalized for 10 days.

On March 26, one day after Zack�s brother, Gabe, was born, Zack had a grand mal seizure at school. It was then that we realized this was the start of a new and serious health issue for Zack that has led to brain damage.

Zack has been cared for by countless doctors and therapists and has endured multiple medication changes and other therapy treatments. Most medications have caused life-threatening illnesses, including acute pancreatitis and acute aplastic anemia; these have required many hospitalizations and emergency-room treatments.

Zack has been diagnosed with Lennox Gastaut Syndrome. The seizures associated with this debilitating disorder are grand mal and complex partial seizures. Even though he is on three medications, he has, on average, five seizures
a day.

His left temporal lobe and parietal lobe are damaged. Zack also has a tethered cord and Chiari Malformation I, both of the spinal cord, which cause additional muscle fatigue and migraine headaches. This brain damage is irreversible. Zack will never speak, and the seizures have scarred his brain, causing urinary and bowel incontinence, intellectual decline, and dementia.

The next step for Zack is brain surgery, scheduled for Nov. 20, to remove the damaged areas of his brain to alleviate the severity of his seizures and migraines.

Zack still attends school, but he generally misses 20 to 30 days a year from the uncontrolled seizures. The drugs have caused aggressive and violent behaviors. Through all of this, Zack has remained our fighter.

We have created a good family unit, a life not bound by Zack or our struggles or pain, but by the love and joy we each bring to the table daily.

As his mom, I am so proud of Zack�s courage and zest for life. He still greets everyone with a big smile and lots of hugs and kisses. He can make your worst day the best day ever. For his dad and me, Zack is the love of our lives. For Gabe, Zack is a good big brother who �just doesn�t talk.�

Gabe came into our lives at the right moment and brought us this incredible, radiant light; he is our joy. For Zack, Gabe is the irritating little brother.

We will hold a fund-raiser with barbecue plates, a bake sale, country store, and children�s activities. There will also be a live auction with many exciting items to bid on, including an authentic Dallas Cowboys jersey autographed by Daryl �the Moose� Johnston, a �New Year, New You� Austin makeover by celebrity hairstylist Giacomo Forbes and others, and much more. Meal tickets can be purchased in advance at the Falls City National Bank and Karnes County National Bank.

All of the money raised during the benefit will be used for Zack�s medical expenses and long-term care. His parents are the executors of the account.

Please join us on Sunday, Oct. 25, in the Falls City Community Hall from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information about the event, contact Zack�s aunts, Brenda Wiatrek Machost in Victoria at 361-573-5787, Barbara Wiatrek Bolbock in Dripping Springs at 512-970-4290, or Liz Rapstine Williams in San Antonio at 210-883-7730. Information by e-mail can be requested at benefit4zack@gmail.com.

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