‘NEVER GIVES UP’

Kennett grad, 29, fights for an independent life after a lifetime in hospitals

KENNETT SQUARE » Zach Carson’s main goal right now is to live independently.

But that is a struggle for someone who had his first open-heart surgery at 5 weeks old, and another a year later.

But Carson, 29, a 2006 graduate of Kennett High School, is a fighter. He beat odds of 90 percent that he would be dead within five years of being born. He has endured two cardiac arrests, countless operations, and even a stroke. His cardiac condition is not correctable with surgery or medication and his heart will continue to deteriorate over time, as well as his liver and gastric system.

“Against all odds, even with liver biopsies and heart catheterizations, he just never gives up,” said Carson’s mother Dori, a former volunteer director of Kennett Middle School’s popular After-The-Bell program. “He has lived far longer with his heart than anyone expected.”

Today, Zach Carson is one of the oldest living people with a

defect in his heart’s single left ventricle.

But despite all those setbacks, Carson last year earned his doctorate degree in theoretical physics from Ohio State University. He plans to one day use his knowledge in the classroom as a teacher.

One of his friends recently set up a GoFundMe site to help Zack Carson achieve his dream and to offset the many medical expenses not covered by insurance. Recurring expenses include costs for a Lifeline system that allows him to press a button to call the ambulance, a medic alert bracelet that allows first responders to access pertinent medical information in seconds, a home visitor to assist with daily life, and a grocery delivery system because he can’t get to the store on his own.

As of this week, $18,140 has been raised of a $20,000 goal.

“We are overwhelmed with the support,” Dori Carson said. “The generosity and kindness in this community is incredible.”

When he was young, Zack’s passion was baseball, but as he got older, even that became too much for his system. At Kennett Middle School, Zack tried the wrestling team, but he got to a point where he needed an emergency pacemaker and never wrestled again.

Last year, Zach moved to Canada but began experiencing symptoms of fatigue and found it hard to breathe. In March of this year, he received a heart catheterization in Toronto that showed this his heart function had deteriorated and the damage to his heart

is not treatable. He soon began to bleed internally from the procedure and developed a pseudo-aneurysm, which put him in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit.

Now, he has moved back home, and wants his independence, but is forced to live with his mother.

“The primary purpose of the GoFundMe site is to keep him independent,” Dori Carson said. “He is back home with me, but he is quite sick. We want to get him stable enough or on some kind of supported housing. He feels like he still has a lot of work to do in his life.”

Dori Carson said there is still hope.

“I think he can live independently, I really think so,” she said. “Right now he’s taking experimental medication. Some days he is very positive and some days he just can’t get out of bed. But his spirits are good. It’s hard moving back in with your mom when you’re 29. But he is such a trouper.”

The GoFundMe site is at https://www.gofundme. com/7q43m-zacks-medical-fund.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Zach Carson, 29, a graduate of Kennett High School, has spent much time in hospitals.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Zach Carson and his family.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Zach Carson, a Kennett High graduate, has been facing many challenges after being born with heart problems.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Zach Carson shortly after earning his doctorate degree.