Ball diamond named in honour of Zack Cook

Kind, strong, positive, a great sense of humour and one who never gave up.

This is how Zack Cook’s parents described their son who passed away March, 13, and whose memory will live on as a ball diamond at Lakeland Ford Park now holds his name.

“Everything was all about ball in our house,” his mother Donna said, noting her son as an avid sportsman whose passions were baseball and football.

This passion helped Zack cope as he grappled with an extremely rare form of cancer. He was diagnosed with desmoplastic small-round-cell-tumour (DSRCT), the first in the province. It is an rare disease, with only about 500 cases around the world.

Zack was 19 when he was diagnosed with the illness that has few early warning signs and no cure. The prognosis came with a 25 per cent chance to live for three years. But right from the start, he chose to remain strong, positive, focused and fight through it, his parents said. He did this for the 21 months he battled cancer, despite forced to undergo multiple major surgeries and intensive chemotherapy.

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“That’s what Zac was living with. Imagine going to bed every night with that thought so the first thing you think in the morning is ‘how many more days do I have,’” his father Jim said.

Even as he underwent this period in his life, all the young man wanted to do was play ball and never let his cancer get in the way. This made naming the field overly special.

“We know so many people will come and see this and look up the cancer he had and that brings awareness and bring with it honour,” Donna added. 

His parents said Zach “loved sports and loved playing” them, particularly baseball. His favourite team was the New York Yankees. They told stories of how, soon after his chemotherapy treatments in Saskatoon, he would beg his parents to race him back to Prince Albert so he could make the game.

“He didn’t curl up in a ball in his room. He didn’t get mad. He didn’t blame anyone,” Jim added, saying all Zach asked of his family was that they continue to raise awareness about the disease.

Zach was a member of the Swamp Donkeys and the Nitros. And even as he battled cancer was always out on the field when his body allowed, and though granted, rarely took a courtesy runner, according to Swamp Donkeys coach and captain Brett Honish. 

“It was just incredible the fight that that kid had. He was such a young kid and it just was unbelievable to see,” he said. 

Honish was shocked when he heard the news this spring about Zack’s passing. Btu as soon as he learned of the interest in naming the diamond in honour of Zack, Honish did everything he could to make sure it came true. 

“Everybody knows now who Zach is. Just to play on this field is an honour for any team. He will always be with us,” Honish said as he pointed to the field and the crest on his jersey.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr