An incredible spirit

Angelique Flores

Zachary Hughes tackled the waves as a surfer. He faced many opponents

playing roller hockey.

These days, the 14-year-old boy is battling bone cancer.

The Huntington Beach youngster’s former school and church have been

rallying to raise thousands of dollars to support him and his family.

“I don’t even want to think about where I’d be without them,” said Annie

Hughes, Zachary’s mom. “They’re a godsend.”

Zachary was attending Talbert Middle School as an eighth-grader when he

was diagnosed with cancer in January 1999. A few months later, he left

school because he wasn’t strong enough to juggle chemotherapy and school.

Hughes, a single mom with two teenagers, had to leave her job to care for

her son and take him to his daily doctor’s appointments. Living on

disability checks, she struggles to make ends meet.

The school has stepped in to help her out. Last year, Principal Rosemary

Eadie held Zach Dollar Days, where students and staff each brought in a

dollar.

“It’s been incredible, several hundred dollars here and there,” Hughes

said.

Before spring break, Eadie extended the Dollar Days to a week, in hopes

of raising $1,000. She arrived on a recent Friday afternoon with an

envelope of $2,316 and a gift certificate for a massage to give to an

overwhelmed and teary eyed mom.

“Everybody loves Zach,” Hughes said. “He doesn’t have an enemy in the

world except for this cancer.”

Seaside Community Church has been matching the efforts of the school. The

Hughes family have been members of the church for only three months, but

the community immediately took them under their wing. The church held a

carwash and raised $800. The youth group took up collections. Church

members have cooked meals for Hughes when Zachary had to undergo surgery.

“It tears your heart,” said Helen Boyer, a member of Seaside Community

Church. “We all have kids.”

The donations help Hughes out with gas to get Zachary to his doctors’

appointments, many of which are in Los Angeles; parking fees, on which

she has already spent $700; and regular bills that she can’t cover with

her disability payments. The Hughes family has also used the money on a

trip to Florida, where Zachary is now visiting his father for 10 days.

Zachary hopes he’ll feel well enough to ride the horse there that a

family friend gave him. The horse had eye cancer and is now in remission.

“My friend thought Zackie would be like the horse and kick the cancer,”

Hughes said.

Zachary has gone through four surgeries and is now receiving radiation

therapy. He had a year of chemotherapy, but doctors told Hughes that more

chemotherapy wouldn’t help.

“There’s no hope, there’s nothing further they can do,” she said.

Every morning, the boy wakes up in excruciating pain. He has lost his

sense of touch in his fingers and toes.

“It’s laborious just to see him walk,” Boyer said.

The other night, Zachary was praying.

“I just want a year, just a year to live without pain,” Hughes said.

“Zach’s an incredible kid that doesn’t want to die.”