Zachary Ryan

My Hero

This may sound unusual to some, but my hero is not only an incredible young man, he is my son. His accomplishments are not that of a traditional hero, but to me his accomplishments are more than bravery - they are of strength, determination, self-sacrifice, and character.

Perfection

Zachary Ryan Colmenero was born in 1987 by emergency C-section due to complications at birth. These complications resulted in a child born with brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation. This sounds frightening when you are a young mother of seventeen, holding a newborn so beautiful you cannot imagine anything less then perfection. I never treated Zachary like he was different than any other child, even though I was told repeatedly I had too high expectations for him. However, I learned quickly that due to the stigmatisms of young parents and children with disabilities, that we both would face challenges regarding the public's perception of his success. It didn’t matter to me; even then, I knew he was someone to watch. He is one of the special people of the world.

Born to be a leader

Over the next four years of his life I was to find out this damage not only affected his small and large motor skills, but also his ability to learn. As if that were not enough of a challenge, Zachary was diagnosed with a deformity that had caused his eardrums not to develop correctly. At age four, Zachary underwent treatment to correct a hearing loss of 80% in his left ear and a 90% hearing loss in his right ear. This loss had put Zachary severely behind in his speech development. So as you can imagine, Zachary was facing many challenges and was severely behind in many areas.

Graduation Day at Head Start

When Zachary was preschool age I enrolled him in Head Start. It was during his time at Head Start I learned everything I could about his disabilities and his rights as a student in Oregon. If I was willing to go to seminars, read material or to just listen, they taught me. The teaching staff encouraged him and treated him as if he were just another student and, although Zachary struggled to keep up with the learning process, he always stayed enthusiastic and determined. I will always be grateful to the Head Start program.

When Zachary entered Kindergarten an IEP (independent educational plan) was formed. The teachers at Head Start attended this first meeting with me. I was informed Zachary would have to ride a bus to another school with severely disabled children to attend classes for children with special needs and that “he may never be able to attend formal classes and I should brace myself for the fact he may never be able to graduate high school.” I began to feel as if I was pushing a boulder up hill. I looked at the picture of my son on the school file hearing only, “Momma, I keen do’t otay (Momma I can do it ok).” I smiled, this is the first time I drew strength from my son.

I insisted on his attendance at the local school with only assistance in speech and reading. I had learned in one of my many seminars how to ask for this and get what was right for my child. I also informed the district “they did not know the determination or character of my son and he would succeed in anything he put his mind to as long as the expectation was set high,” and this was to be a short-term need for him. Zachary would show them just how short-term.

True determination

Long story short, my son sets his bar higher than you or I could. He has been mainstreamed his entire education and was “graduated” from his IEP by third grade. Over the next twelve years, I would watch my son grow in body and in mind. He has always had to work a little harder than the other kids. However, this work ethic paid off for him. In high school when all his “easy A” friends started having problems with how to handle harder work and larger workloads, my son just soared as he was used to having to work harder, study longer, and ask questions or admit when he needed help. It was interesting to watch my son give friends help and explain things to other students as well as explain to Mom and Dad his math homework or give us a history lesson. What a change in events. He became and continues to be an exceptional role model for his younger brother and sister. He is now a senior at North Medford and is almost done with his Senior Project. He has already completed his credit requirements to graduate and will walk for his graduation in June 2006, just as he always should have. His long-term goal in life is to become a teacher.

Zachary not only overcame his learning disabilities, but also his motor skills issues. He participates in several sports from baseball, basketball, wrestling, field and track, to his passion, varsity football, and now rugby. Although he has to work harder than most kids, he has always gotten good grades and works to improve them on his own accord. He still makes mistakes, as most kids do, but his ability to accept responsibility for them and learn from them is above and beyond his years.

If you were to meet this young man, you would never know he had any disability whatsoever, and you would be amazed at his determination to be his own person. Although to see my son you would envision a burly football player, in his eyes and words you would find a kind and giving person, someone who strives to succeed but is also willing to be self-sacrificing for the success of others.

There are not enough words or lines I could use to describe Zachary and the challenges he has faced and overcome, but I can say that I draw strength from this young man almost daily; he is solid in his beliefs and decisions. Once he has set his mind on a goal you cannot sway him from it whether it be sports, politics, school, or just everyday decisions. It would have been easy to lean on his challenges in life, but he chooses to stand on his own. His success is only from his own determination and hard work. He has taught me to never underestimate the determination of the human soul. I only hope to be half the person he is becoming. I can't imagine a better hero to have.