Bitterness has no home here

He’s as cute as they get, this 8-year-old boy. Zachary T. Baldwin’s the name, although he’s Zak to everyone who knows him.

Zak is all dolled up in a flame-covered shirt on Wednesday morning, when I enter the Baldwin home near Airway Heights. His head sports the kind of close shave that was fashionable back when I was his age.

Zak gives me an impish grin from the $26,450, chin-operated custom wheelchair that holds him. Then he manages to squeak out “hi” despite a ventilator tube attached to his neck.

And my heart melts.

There was a time last summer when I wondered if I’d ever get to say hello to this miracle child. I’m betting the doctors – as they struggled to put a broken boy back together – had moments of doubt, too.

But cute as he is, Zak is one tough fighter.

“He’s always had attitude,” says the boy’s mom, Liz. “He still has attitude. I think that attitude is what’s going to push him to get up and out of that chair.”

Zak’s life changed July 23, when he drove his motorized dirt bike though an intersection on a country road northeast of Reardan. He was immediately struck by a car.

The driver, Michael Andren, had no time to avoid Zak. What happened afterward, however, will be decided in a Lincoln County courtroom. Police say Andren fled the scene. He has been charged with felony hit-and-run and is scheduled for a preliminary arraignment later this month.

Fortunately for Zak, the father of a friend was there to breathe air into Zak’s lungs until paramedics arrived.

His spinal injuries were life-altering. Zak was an active kid who played baseball and hockey. In a split second of impact, he lost sensation and control from the neck down.

Multiple surgeries and weeks of hospital care followed. At Seattle Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center, Liz and Brian Baldwin, a master sergeant with the U.S. Air Force, worked out a shift system for staying with Zak.

A week on for Mom. A week on for Dad. That way one parent could be home with Alex, their 12-year-old son.

In late October, Zak was finally judged fit enough to come home.

If anything is more impressive than Zak’s survival, it is this: The Baldwins are not bitter people.

“The what-ifs,” says Liz, letting the phrase dangle. “We can’t live that way,”

Zak’s daily routine is filled with medications, procedures and physical therapy sessions. Even something as simple as a shower is a serious business that involves the entire family.

Liz does the washing. Brian holds Zak’s head. Since Zak is disconnected from his air supply, it’s up to Alex to manually push air into his younger brother’s lungs with a bag.

There is still room for an 8-year-old to have fun. Zak loves trips to school. He loves remote control cars. He loves watching cartoons and listening to country music from his favorite star, Toby Keith.

“He’s doing wonderfully,” adds Liz. “I don’t believe in keeping him caged. I believe he should be out in the community. We are usually loaded and in that van every day, even if it’s just going to Yoke’s.”

The community outpouring for Zak has been sensational. A benefit spaghetti dinner last fall raised $20,000, enough to pay for his van. Another good-hearted gesture came when the Reardan varsity high school basketball team dedicated its season to the boy. During home games, Zak sits on the team bench, flanked by two players whose job is to protect him from loose balls.

“We take care of him,” says Bob Swannack, who believes doing this not only helps Zak but gives his team something to share that extends far beyond a win-loss record.

As for the Baldwins, they are counting their blessings and not looking back.

“You take what you’re dealt and continue to go with it,” says Liz. “Life has to continue to go on.”