Tigers Baseball Is A Bright Spot As 5-Year-Old Zack Eagen Battles Terminal Illness
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - A wreath of baseballs, one emblazoned with the old English D, hangs on the front door, and when the door opens, a red tick bulldog mix named Cabbie comes bounding outside.
Zack Eagen, 5, named the pup after his favorite baseball player, Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera.
The newest member of the family, Cabbie will be a service dog for Zack. He started his training Tuesday.
"He's not going to go through and be a full service dog," Zack's mother Jessicah said, "just like pulling him with his wheelchair or picking up things that Zack drops or anything like that, and mostly emotional therapy."
An inquisitive blond kindergarten student with glasses and a big smile, Zack danced at the wedding of Jessicah and stepfather Cliff just a year ago. Now Zack dances in his wheelchair, enthusiastically demonstrating moves like the shopping cart, the lasso and the Q-tip.
Watching him interact with his family, a visitor who didn't know Zack's situation would have no idea he suffers from a rare genetic disorder that doctors say could claim Zack in a matter of months.
Upon receiving that awful news in April, Jessicah and Cliff resolved to help Zack experience as much as possible in the time he has. In addition to attending prom with a cousin and enjoying a day with the Superhero Training Academy, Zack has attended a pair of Tigers games. At the second one, he got to round the bases, with Cliff – whose wedding band has red laces like those on a baseball – pushing Zack's wheelchair around the diamond.
Part of the reason Zack likes baseball is because his older brother Owen plays. Zack plays on a Children's Miracle League baseball team called the Grasshoppers. The kids always ask if they can watch the Tigers play on TV, Cliff said. Jessicah thinks that baseball must be in the children's DNA because even Zack's little sister, baby Ainsley – unfazed by Disney or kiddie shows – will pay attention when baseball is on.
The sport has been a constant for the family in the midst of strife, and Cliff and Jessicah do their best to stay positive. At first, sharing Zack's story was overwhelming, Jessicah said. Cliff used to lose it when he even started to think about how to talk about explaining the situation.
"In the beginning it was real hard," Cliff said. "Now we've talked about it so much, and just spreading the word about him and stuff, it's a good thing now because everybody gets to know him. He's kind of a celebrity around here."
The family spoke with Ilitch Holdings, and the organization expressed a desire to get Zack to a Detroit Red Wings game soon.
"The biggest thing that we're trying to do for him is making sure that he has every opportunity that most other people do," Jessicah said.
"In a lifetime," Cliff added.
"We don't have a very long time," Jessicah continued, "so we try to fit it into a nice short schedule."
The outpouring of support the family has received has stunned Cliff and Jessicah. They met members of the Michigan chapter of Chive Charities over the summer, and the group wanted to help. The couple mentioned needing a van that would allow them to move easily transport Zack and his wheelchair, which had formerly been affixed to a platform on the back of the family's old van. When the Michigan chapter of the Chive presented Zack's story to the national organization, that group bought the family a new van, outfitted with amenities like a power ramp and side entry for the wheelchair.
"The stuff that we've got, our family and friends, the help we've gotten from them has been amazing," Cliff said. "We've had a lot of help when we didn't expect it, and it kind of came out of nowhere. Couldn't ask for a better group of family and friends. The Chive, it's a family, is what it is. It's awesome."
To help pay for Zack's continued care, the Michigan chapter of Chive Charities is holding a Heroes Among Us gala. The black-tie event will take place at the Millennium Club in Ann Arbor on Saturday, Nov. 29. Since Zack loves superheroes, costumes will also be acceptable attire.
Some of the money will go to updates on the family's house, which would benefit from an air filtration system and new windows since there is some mold on the current ones.
"We want to make it as safe as possible for him to give him the best fighting chance," Cliff said.
Once he and Jessicah provide for Zack with the money from the fundraiser, they want to return the favor to all those who have assisted them.
"If there's extra that we want to help out some of the groups like with the Superhero Academy and some other people that are in need now," Cliff said. "We want to take care of as many people as we can once we take care of his needs."
That response did not at all surprise RJ Spears, one of six administrators of the Michigan chapter of Chive Charities.
"They want to pay it forward," Spears said. "When they told us that, that's the moment when we knew we had picked the right people."
One item set to be auctioned at the gala is a painting of Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander. Cliff hopes there will be an addition to the item that will make it even more attractive.
"There's actually a spot in the painting for a baseball, so if we could get a signed baseball from Verlander to put with it, it'd be really awesome," Cliff said.
At some point after that event, the family might be making a trip to Florida to take Zack to another doctor.
"From the story that the Chive posted there was a doctor down in Florida that I guess works on a lot of rare cases that read it and said that he'd like to take a look at Zack at no charge," Cliff said, "so we might after the party try to make a trip down there so they can take a look at him."
Though the doctor said he will not charge them to examine Zack, the family would still have to pay for plane tickets and accommodations and figure out how to get time away from work and then make up the hours later. If they can figure out a way to make it happen, however, the family would like to make the trip.
"It probably won't give us any new information or anything like that," Jessicah said, "but if he seeing him can help out somebody in the future, that'd be awesome."
