Walk for Zach

21/06/2024

Hi everyone, this is Lex! I know it’s been awhile since we’ve updated y’all here, but its been on my heart lately to share Zach’s progress just as often as we once were. I know Claire updated y’all on some of his recent progress and I just wanted to keep it up! Our God has been continuously working in Zach’s life and His work deserves to be glorified and shared!

Zach has continued to work hard, in PT and at home. He has been using a standing machine to assist him in fully standing, which aids in good circulation, and strengthen his upper body. We’ve been using the pulley machine just about everyday and Zach is able to pull against us with BOTH arms! His left arm has drastically improved over the past couple months to the point where his OT made the comment “Zach you’re gonna be feeding yourself in no time!” Which of course ignited a fire in Zach and he’s been working incredibly hard to achieve that goal. He’s able to lift his left arm almost all the way to his chin! While he hasnt mastered feeding himself quite yet, he met another long awaited goal today. A “goal post” was added to his chair as another means for him to drive in place of the sip-n-puff straw. I can’t help but hold back tears telling you all because this is so so huge! Flash back to October at the Shepherd Center when Zach was just getting in an electric chair for the first time. Just sitting upright for a few minutes was exhausting. He was told multiple times once he’s stronger and gains more movement, the next steppingstone would be the goal post. One of the most trying parts of this journey is the unknown timeline. But that’s when we’ve had to sit back and remind ourselves that His thoughts are higher and His ways are higher! With that being said, through constant prayer and a lot of patience, here we are 9 months later! I can’t express how proud I am of this guy. You can see the determination all over his face. And I am just so humbled by God’s faithfulness and love that has brought us to where we are now. And to you all, for all the prayers and support, we thank you ❤️

13/05/2024

This weekend Zach got to take a boat ride for the first time since the accident. As most of y’all know, Zach loves to be on the water. We didn’t know how or when this would be possible, but thanks to good friends and answered prayers.. we did it! We know in our hearts this won’t be Zach’s situation forever, so it was special to see him doing something he loves in the meantime ❤️

24/03/2024

Gentle reminders this morning! Happy Sunday and we hope everyone allows the Lord to lead you today ❤️

12/03/2024

Zach and I were able to attend the Evening of Hope last night and even got to meet the infamous Jeff Foxworthy thanks to our good friend Bryan Braddock! We got some good laughs in and heard some awesome testimonies. One testimony stood out to me when a woman spoke about her addiction. She said she never regrets her journey because it brought her to her knees and into the hands of God. It was a good reminder that life can and will do that, and most importantly, the enemy doesn’t discriminate. The verse “Greater is He that is in me” (John 4:4) comes to mind. It reassures me that He is more powerful than anything the enemy tries to tear down in our lives. Lucky for us, our God doesn’t discriminate either! And He promises He will be there to pick us up from our lowest of lows. I pray one day Zach will be able to stand tall and share his own glorious testimony just as we saw last night ❤️

07/03/2024

Come by and grab a plate today! These amazing people are hard at work and have plenty of food and baked goods for everyone 😊

05/03/2024

Zach got his new chair in!! He’ll be sporting the new whip this Thursday at the Cooks for Christ benefit. We can’t WAIT to see everyone and thank you all in person! We know everyone has been working diligently behind the scenes and we’re excited to see it all come together 😊

*Special shout out to Hillary Johnson for the license plate lol

28/02/2024

26/02/2024

We wanted to a give a big thank you to Julia Belle's Restaurant and Warren Snell for donating lunch to all the volunteers helping with the upcoming Cooks for Christ benefit! The Florence community never ceases to amaze us as y’all have continued to rally around Zach since day one. We want to encourage y’all to share the love and support and grab some lunch at Julia Belle’s!

15/02/2024

Hello and happy Thursday everyone! We have another exciting update on Zach! As you can see in the video he is doing an amazing job at PT. His therapist have also been so great with him which is something we heavily prayed on. Coming from Shepherd Center with top notch equipment and very skilled therapist we were worried therapy back home wouldn’t compare. But those prayers were answered and Zach was blessed with great therapists at home as well. If you guys remember, Zach’s left arm was the one making all the progress at Shepherds. However, that is his RIGHT arm moving in the video!! Now we have both arms firing and getting stronger. Not pictured, is Zach sitting upright completely unassisted. Which is also huge progress. How amazing is that and how faithful is our God!?

This video was taken this past Tuesday and as we were walking in the doors to PT a lady sitting in a chair looked up at Zach with such discernment and said “that’s a miracle coming through the door right there.” We were too stunned to say much, but as she was leaving she came and spoke some words to Zach that brought goosebumps all over. We know that God delivers his messages in many different ways and I have no doubt that was one from God himself. He is timely and He is faithful, and He has shown us time and time again He is never far from Zach. With that being said, right after that interaction Zach showed us all what he could do and even impressed the therapist that day!

We are so incredibly grateful and feel blessed to share positive updates with you guys. We’ve prayed hard for this year to be one of restoration for Zach and we are only seeing the beginning of what’s in store. As always, we love and appreciate you all! 💙

14/02/2024

Hello everyone! We are excited to share that Zach has been chosen by Cooks for Christ for their next chicken bog benefit. It will take place on March 7th at the West Florence Fire Station. We wanted to share and get the word out as much as possible between then and now! This is an awesome organization that supports local families and requires volunteers to assist with the event. With that being said, if anyone is interested in volunteering their time, please comment below or message us and we will reach out. There will be an opportunity to volunteer on Tuesday March 5th as well as Thursday March 7th!

Below is a flier regarding the fundraiser. If anyone has questions feel free to reach out to Zach, Lex, or any numbers listed at the bottom of the flier. Thank you everyone so much for your support!

10/12/2023

Prayer of the week:
God of Hope, remind us of the promise you offer during this season of preparation. May we look to the cross and its promise of all you can overcome. Give us strength as we endure and guidance as we look to your light for direction. Lead us to the promised Christ. In your holy name we pray, Amen.

09/12/2023

Zach has such a passion for what he does and we appreciate all of you for the constant support!

The SCEDA Board of Directors continues to keep our dear friend, Zach Mckay in our thoughts and prayers.

Zach continues to make progress in his goals and the entire economic development community is “Walking for Zach” and cheering him on! Drop some encouragement for Zach in the comments!

Walk for Zach

02/12/2023

Zach’s dad, Jeff Mckay, had the opportunity to appear on Ken Ard’s pod cast this week to provide some details on Zach’s journey and the Mckay family. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share his story in such a positive and encouraging light. Our hope is that his testimony will touch many lives!

Ken interviews Jeff about Zach's accident and recovery. Many in our community have been following Zach McKay's progress and have been showing support to Zac...

30/11/2023

Thank you everyone SO much for lifting Zach’s name up yesterday. As I said, Zach is doing well, we just want to remain steadfast and on fire in this walk with God and our walk for Zach! I can’t even begin to express the gratitude we have for all of you. It’s truly overwhelming. As for an update, Zach’s fevers are gone and you can tell he feels so much better. We’ve been diligent on respiratory exercises to battle the ongoing pneumonia and Zach has been a champ at doing them, as they are pretty frequent and tasking. A chest X-ray was done this morning and showed some improvement! Although his shoulder still bothers him some days, the pain has been well controlled. And as for the trach, we are still hoping for it to be removed very soon.

OT took Zach and his team to the grocery today, which may seem small but was big in our eyes. This was Zach’s first time out of the hospital walls in two months! His OT said he did great. He uses a sip and puff straw to drive and watching him master it is truly impressive. Everyone knows whatever Zach puts his mind to he will conquer it. And we know that will hold true throughout this journey. Whenever the enemy tries to get into our heads and we start to get frustrated worrying about movement or little bumps in the road, we reflect on how much Zach has overcome and how much his body has went through in just TWO months. We are on God’s timeline and He is on the move. And he never makes a mistake! So with that, we are continuing to hold His promises dear to our heart, praying nonstop, and remaining strong in our faith that Zach will come out of this better than before.

Claire sent us something today that we believe suits our situation well right now,
“But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us. And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety" (2Co 1:8-11)

28/11/2023

Hi friends, we want to organize a unified prayer for Zach just like we did the day of his surgery. He is doing well, but if you can stop to pray at 3pm today and simply lift Zach’s name up it would mean so much! Thank you all ❤️

16/11/2023

Wanted to share some more photos of everyone showing their love and support for Walk for Zach 💙

15/11/2023

This is so awesome, thank you guys so much!!

14/11/2023

Hi everyone, here’s an update on our guy! Zach got his trach changed to a non-cuffed trach yesterday, which means they are confident that Zach is improving respiratory wise and now we’re one step closer for it being completely removed. His secretions are also being well controlled now, despite ongoing pneumonia. His C-collar was removed today! Praise the LORD! We are exactly 6 weeks post op from his major surgery and X-ray shows that everything healed great. As far as physical therapy and movement, Zach’s PT have been working on upper body movement. They tried e-stim on both arms recently. With that we were able to see his hands open and close! Now we know this was primarily triggered by the e-stim, however PT seemed to be excited and hopeful that it meant those muscles were able to be triggered. Another OT held Zach’s left arm up to help against gravity and he was able to pull up and back on his own using his bicep muscles! This is HUGE because it means he will be able to have more autonomy the sooner he can strengthen those muscles. Movement is happening and we’re gonna continue to pray we see both of those arms regaining strength every day!

With all these positives there are still a few bumps in the road we’ve been dealing with. We were warned this journey ebbs and flows and we’re experiencing it first hand right now. His pneumonia is still ongoing and it’s been difficult to get under control. He was transferred back to the ICU last weekend for low oxygen levels, thick secretions, and very high constant fevers. He was stabilized and has been back in his room since, however the fevers are still present and taking a toll on Zach some days. Another issue we’re trying to tackle is his right shoulder. It has been causing him a great deal of pain. We don’t have answers as to why other than it being a symptom of the primary injury. Today they’re trying dry needling so we’re praying this brings some relief accompanied with other PT exercises. As always, I share these specific issues for prayer points. Prayers that this ongoing infection is coming to an end and the fevers as well, pain relief in that shoulder, and lastly prayers for a strong mind through all of these hurdles!

Zach continues to have a positive attitude, always smiling as you guys have seen first hand, but our flesh can only handle so much until we need to lean into God to give us His strength! I was reminded yesterday to not get comfortable or complacent with where we are at. That there is still a lot of prayers and pushing that has to be done. So that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Again, thank you all for continuing to follow along and praying so hard. We know the difference it makes and all the support will be life changing for Zach moving forward ❤️

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” Isaiah 41:10

Claire McKay Carrie Calvin McKay Zach Mckay Alexis Nanney Catherine Ellixson

13/11/2023

This weekend we had a few visitors and even got to attend the Shepherd Center’s church service on Sunday! The sermon touched on Psalms 46: “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” Our God always has a way of sending the most encouraging words when we need it most. He also sends us his love and support through friends and family. So thank you to everyone for stopping in to see Zach, we love you guys! ❤️

08/11/2023

After a pretty rough past few days Zach is feeling much better and wanted to finally give an update for himself! We will give a more detailed update tomorrow but wanted you all to see how good our guy looks ❤️

Zach Mckay Alexis Nanney Carrie Calvin McKay Claire McKay Catherine Ellixson

02/11/2023

Today we received our Walk for Zach gear! Zach you can do all things through Christ which strengthens you.(Philippians 4:13)

Your insurance agency is cheering you on!

01/11/2023

Today marks exactly one month since Zach’s accident. At times it feels like this past month has flown by, but some days time just stands still. In those still moments I find myself praying to God harder than I ever have. And we’ve seen so many God moments throughout this month. Some that make you sit back and smile because you know he’s moving mountains. Today we had Zach’s first medical conference with his Team that essentially lays out the reality of his injury and what realistic expectations to have moving forward. Now we knew this would be a hard conversation to have, however Zach’s physician did an amazing job at balancing the realities of some situations but also highlighting the “divine intervention” as he put it, on others.

His physician told us this was an extremely severe injury and it was a miracle Zach survived given the circumstances. He mentioned how Zach’s spinal column was naturally wider and that probably aided in his cord not being completely severed, as most could have. He also went on to give us another example of Zach defying the odds by explaining, “if I showed this MRI at a conference full of doctors and they had to choose if you would ever be able to breathe on your own again, majority of the room would say no.” He continued on about some of the harsh realities surrounding Zach’s injury, which of course were difficult to hear, but all we needed to hear is what’s written above. Because we know all of those were God’s protection and answered prayers. Zach survived that fall, his spinal cord was not severed, and his team is hoping to get him completely off the ventilator by the end of the week!

At the end of the conversation, Zach’s physician said “let’s see you beat some more odds!” So with that being said, I’d like to ask everyone to pray for more movement! Shepherd’s says if their patients can move it, they can strengthen it. So please let that be a prayer point when praying for Zach. In addition, prayers for continued swelling to go down in his spinal column and for his body to remain healthy.

There’s been a lot of emotions today but mostly feeling grateful for the mercy that’s been shown, the unwavering faith, and all the tremendous support coming Zach’s way! A friend of mine reminded me today that God fed the masses with only two fish and five loaves of bread. That he can turn a little into a lot with the smallest amount of faith! So today was a good day because we’re choosing to see the light in all of this and praising God for every ounce of it. And He is not done with Zach yet. We love all of you and again can’t thank everyone enough 🤍 Carrie Calvin McKay Claire McKay Zach Mckay Alexis Nanney

With all the love,
Lex

29/10/2023

28/10/2023

Hello everyone! We wanted to create a page solely for Zach and his journey. One specific page where everyone can see latest updates and share their love and support. Please feel free to follow, tag this page when posting, or even drop a post here! Whether it’s just to stop in to say hello or share something on your heart, I know Zach would love to see it.

He is just beginning therapy here at the Shepherd Center and we need all the continued prayers as we patiently and faithfully wait to see God’s miracle unfold. Remember there is power in unity, and we can’t thank everyone enough for coming together in support for Zach. The more Zach’s story is shared, the more lives will change 🤍