Nicholas Zahorcak's Memorial Service

Описание: The Lord saw you getting tired
And a cure was not to be,
So He put his arms around you
And whispered, "Come with me"
With tearful eyes, we watched you suffer
And saw you fade away,
Although we loved you dearly,
We could not make you stay.

I want to thank everyone for coming today… The amount of love and support that has been shown to Nicky has been truly overwhelming but is telling us as a family, things we already knew. Nicky was truly loved and was so special to all of us.
To have lost him is heartbreaking. When I took Nicky to the hospital on the Monday after his Thanksgiving birthday, I knew Nicky was in bad shape. He had been on on a downward spiral for some months. His knee was extremely painful and couldn’t be fixed. His gtube was also very painful and he didn’t agree with the Doctors on how to move forward. He struggled with the decision of either closing the hole for good or getting a new hole, finally he had decided to try the GJ tube and we were just waiting for a date for the procedure.

Sadly his immune system was down but most important, in my view, psychologically, he was done. He slept a lot mostly because of the pain. He took a lot of strong pain medication that barely scratched the surface of his daily suffering.

Once I realized something was wrong it was already too late. They threw the kitchen sink at him to heal him but his body didn’t respond.

We don’t know where the Sepsis started. The last bandage change was done by dermatologists that work under an EB Doctor and they stated the infection didn’t come from any of his wounds as they said they looked clean-that they were impressed even, all things considered. We will never know the source, possibly it was a fate that was going to happen sooner or later due to the brutality of Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa.

But I don’t want to think about his death. I want to think about his life. I know in my heart that Nicky would want us all to remember the good times we all shared with him.

Nicky loved spending his time playing all kinds of video games. I got him started when he was almost 5 years old. We used to play Mario Kart together and in the beginning I would help him win by throwing turtles at all the other drivers and sit comfortably in second place, clearing the path for his victory. He got so good so quickly that eventually I could not beat him if I tried! He became obsessed with SuperMario from that point. He played them all and not only played, but mastered them! From those days with the Super Nintendo he eventually started playing all kinds of other games and ultimately he was sitting at his desk playing Dead by Daylight & League of Legends among others. His best friends, and I do mean best friends, were his online friends that he played with every single day. He loved them because they treated him just like any other normal person. Something he really craved.

He also loved watching Tv shows about cooking. It was kind of ironic since he couldn’t really eat. He started following the Barefoot Contessa & Paula Dean on the Food Network and we watched Top Chef and the Baking Competitions while changing bandages. When he was little we used to bake together, it made him so happy to help me. When he wasn’t playing his games, he was watching videos on youtube about different chefs cooking a variety of things. He was thrilled when he was invited to be either a chef for a day or a cooking class with a couple of famous Italian chefs.

Nicky’s favorite place was Camp Wonder. Every year he was so excited to go and see his EB friends. They would go on boat rides, play games and just hang out. It meant a lot to him to be able to be with those that understood him. He started attending in 2003 when he was 6 years old and his last year was 2018 and he was a counselor by then. He was hoping to be able to go next year, but I am certain he’ll be there in spirit.

Nicky was the purest soul. He didn’t hate anyone. He radiated love. He fought his battle with courage and strength and with a smile on his face, always. 

I will miss him so much.

I have gone beyond the rainbow
To my heavenly home above
Please don't shed a tear for me
Remember me with love

I didn't want to leave you
It was my time to go
I love you all so very much
And I just want you to know

When you see a rainbow
Stretched across the sky
You will know for certain
That I am close by

You will see me in the butterflies
That brighten up your day
You will hear my voice in birdsong
As you walk along your way

I will send a lovely angel
To sit with you at night
When you feel sad and lonely
She will hold you oh so tight

I will greet you with each sunrise
As you begin each new day
At night I'll be there with you
When you kneel down to pray

You will miss me, but remember
I live deep within your heart
Until the day you join me
And we never more will part

Goodbye, my son. You will live in our hearts forever.