“From birth I’ve had the odds stacked against me”

- Zac Daniels

Zac Daniels

On Fall October day in 2001, Zac’s parents were expecting to welcome their healthy baby boy, get some blue balloons on the door and shortly thereafter discharge from the hospital to head home – up to that point they had no reason to suspect anything was awry with their pregnancy. Instead, what Zac’s parents received was a Polaroid picture of their baby boy covered in tubes before he was to be transported to a more specialized hospital – with the added and not so subtle caveat that “...he likely wouldn’t even survive the transport”. Welcome to the world of CDH 19 years ago. But while the odds were already heavily stacked against him, Zac’s competitive spirit and deep-rooted will to fight had already set their eyes on the task at hand!

Zac’s journey with CDH wasn’t a quick fix as is often the case and much of his early years were spent in and out of the hospital recovering from various surgeries, studies, pokes, pricks, and prods. At seven years old a severe case of H1N1 paired with his existing pulmonary hypoplasia prompted a doctor to notify him he’s never going to play competitive sports – a crushing blow to a little boy who already had come to love everything sports. Even at such a young age Zac knew he had a choice to make – submit and accept perceived limitations or pursue the life he wanted with full zeal and zest – a life revolving substantially around sports.

Soccer has always been Zac’s passion and often his escape. It’s also one of the primary sports doctors said he should avoid. But he simply could not, he loved it, and to “boot” (Soccer pun!) he was becoming extraordinarily good at it as well. With a work ethic that wouldn’t quit, he started for his high school varsity team all four years and was named Team Captain his Junior and Senior years. This Fall he has enrolled at Bridgewater State University and has the chance to try out for their team – an opportunity he’ll never take lightly or for granted.  

If the name Zac Daniels sounds familiar or maybe you feel like you’ve heard him on the radio it’s because in the past he’s served as a “Spokes-Child” for Boston’s Children Hospital – it was not only a special moment to share his appreciation for the hospital and their staff but to already begin serving as an advocate for the Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia community!

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