Remembering Zach Kraus: 'Selfless' In Spirit And Will

Zach Kraus was 16 when he stopped fighting an 11-year battle with cancer and started planning a party for friends to attend after his death.

“It should be a beach party in July, “ he told his parents from a hospital bed weeks before dying on Feb. 12.

“That will be a long time for people to wait to pay their respects, “ his mother, Tamara Kraus,  said.

But Zach had lost many friends to cancer over the years and was adamant against a funeral service.  “For people who love me and know me, it will be OK, “ he told her. “By then they will be happy.”

Tamara Kraus said that’s the kind of kid her son was, always thinking of others and their feelings.  So the Schnecksville family, which includes father Rich, brother Tyler and sister Tori, plan to grant Zach’s wish and celebrate his life at the beach in Seaside Heights, N.J., in July, where he spent happier times.

“He’ll be there in spirit,” Tamara said. “I told him his job will be to make sure the weather is nice.”

Zach’s story is remarkable considering how much he accomplished in spite of his illness, how he could laugh in spite of considerable pain.

Diagnosed at the age of 6 with acute lymphocytic leukemia, one of the most common and curable forms of the cancer, he spent much of his life in and out of  hospitals for treatment of the disease or its complications.  During the first year of  his three-year course of chemotherapy, he caught a virus, then relapsed the end of the second year.  A bone marrow transplant from his younger sister failed, and Zach developed complications that damaged his liver and bones.

He “died twice” from fungal infections, his mother said, lost most of his right lung and spent his last five years in a wheelchair.  Yet, the boy found strength and happiness from raising money and spirits -- work that earned him many regional awards and the national “Yes I Can” award in 2009 from the Council for Exceptional Children for accomplishments in academics, arts, athletics and community service.

Stephanie Anderson and Brian Fulmer, two of Zach’s teachers at Orefield Middle School in the Parkland School District, said helping others was Zach’s life passion.

An honor roll student all three years at Orefield, he helped classmates with assignments, worked at a local soup kitchen and participated in food drives and other charity events that generated thousands of dollars in donations for fellow cancer patients.

His favorite causes included Katie’s Crusaders, a Doylestown run against breast cancer;  the American Cancer Society’s Camp Can-Do, a camp for children with cancer; and a Medford, N.Y., canine companion training program.

“Zach exemplified courtesy and consideration for others, was cooperative, cheerful and a positive role model for those around him,“ his teachers said.

“Zach’s positive attitude and kind-hearted nature served as a constant beacon…”

Taking little credit, his mother called Zach “uniquely amazing.”  Home-schooled by Parkland teachers for much of his early education, he tested “advanced” on standard PSSA tests, she said. “He was smart. He could miss school for a whole year and catch up the next.”

Zach played hockey as a pre-schooler and loved baseball. His favorite teams were the Minnesota Twins and the Yankees.

He made many friends, but according to his mother, his best friend was the doctor at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children who diagnosed his condition, Dr. Gregory Halligan.

When told he had a cancer,  Zach asked the specialist if he could die.  Halligan promised the boy he would do everything he could so that wouldn’t happen.

“Because (Halligan) was so honest with him, Zach trusted him completely,” Tamara said.  They were so close, in fact, that Tamara said she and her husband sometimes jokingly wondered whose child Zach was, theirs or Halligan’s.

Halligan stayed by Zach’s side for hours while he waited for a liver transplant in January 2009.  And Zach’s final gift to his doctor was to grant permission for an autopsy.  It was not to prove that cancer was the cause of his death, his mother said, but to give Halligan peace of mind knowing he did everything he could.

His parents asked Zach to go beyond extra measures to fight his cancer, Tamara said, and he did willingly undergo the bone marrow and liver transplants.  But the cancer and medicines ravaged his body, making his bones so brittle that they could break while he was lying down. His pain at times was excruciating.

Yet, even in making the ultimate decision to stop treatment, Zach initially worried about disappointing his mother and father.

“We told him never in a million years,” she said.

Upon hearing the news of his decision, students at Orefield Middle School spread the word through the Internet social network site Facebook and wore orange - the color for leukemia - in a show of solidarity and support for their friend.

Zach saw pictures of the sea of orange and smiled. He had a great laugh, family and friends said, a deep, belly laugh, and a dead-pan sense of humor nurses appreciated.

Happy,  his mother said,  is how Zach would want to be remembered.

Note: Students of the Orefield Middle School's Builders Club began selling "Zach Attack, Always Fight Back" orange wrist bands on Monday to help raise money for cancer research and to help the Kraus family with outstanding medical bills, teacher Anderson said.

The student-initiated sale is being held during student lunches through Friday. Those interested in the bands can call  610-351-5900 ext 61262 or email atkakaleya@parklandsd.org.