I was on Facebook last night getting caught up on all the small town news from where I grew up and came across a post from a father mentioning how his son would be suiting up Friday night after a battle with cancer. And then I saw the photo of his son missing part of his left leg. Stopped me in my tracks. I spent the next hour or so reading up on National Trail High School football player Zack Horn’s story about all he’s gone through in 2018.
Zack was told in February that his left leg was in trouble. He played on the leg during the 2017 season, his freshman year at National Trail. “I thought it was a sprained ankle so I played through it,” he told a Dayton TV station in September. Turns out the problem was cancer in the leg and he was given the choice to have the spot removed and have a permanent limp or have part of the leg removed and get on with life. That’s some deep stuff for a kid who isn’t even old enough to drive a car.
“For me it was easy. It was either play football or be an old man for the rest of your life,” told WDTN. So part of Zack’s left leg was removed, he was fitted with a prosthetic and here we are in October and Zack is suiting up to play football this Friday night.
Zack’s dad wrote on Facebook Wednesday:
Participation is low around the area for all sports, especially football. People have a lot of excuses, but when I told #40 he had cancer all he said was, “I will be an athlete again”. When I told him amputation was the only option for that, he said “It will be fine, I will play anyway”. Quitting was never an option and this Friday he will be dressing with the rest of the National Trail Football family to take on Ansonia.
I hate to get all Tom Rinaldi here, but this story nearly had me in tears. Maybe it’s because I have kids now and it breaks your heart to see your kids go through health problems. Or maybe it’s because I’ve gone through issues with cancer and I sorta understand the mental grind the kid has gone through. Or maybe it’s thinking back to my grandfather having both legs cut off and how he got on with life. Or maybe it’s because this Zack kid has one helluva outlook on life at an early age. I think it’s the latter.
I know we like to keep things light around here because life is such a grind on a daily basis, but I had to stop today and make room for Zack on BC because the kid deserves a slap on the back for getting on with life and rolling along.
National Trail is home Friday night against Ansonia at 7 if you’re in the area.
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