Zach's Story

Zach Reetz
Age 16
Children’s Hospital and Health System Foundation of Wisconsin
Meningitis, Organ Failure

Zach Reetz came to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in multi-system organ failure and septic shock, the result of an often-fatal blood infection. Few expected Zach to survive. Doctors had to prepare his family for the worst.

The next few days were a blur of complicated, unrelenting medical interventions. Finally, Zach began to respond. He regained consciousness, was taken off the ventilator, and was able to scale back the dialysis keeping him alive. Amazingly, Zach’s kidneys and liver regained full function, his lungs were not permanently damaged, and his heart was strong.

Still, the disease took its toll on Zach’s body. He braced himself for a series of surgeries. So much dead tissue had to be removed, Zach went to the operating room three days a week. Both his legs were amputated below the knees and his right hand at the wrist.

Zach stayed in the hospital for several months. Through intensive physical therapy he began regaining many of the skills he lost. Zach always been an unusually determined 16-year-old. There was never a question in Zach’s mind about whether he would be able to walk again—it’s only a matter of when.