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PROVO -- Eleven-year-old Zachary Jensen is a sixth-grader from Provo who had one simple wish: to meet the best basketball team in the Mountain West Conference. That wish was granted with the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the BYU basketball team.
Zach was born on May 11, 1998, weighing 7 pounds, 9 ounces.
"When I finally heard that first cry, both of us were bawling," recalled Zach's mother, Natalie Jensen. "[He was] instantly lovable, had the big blue eyes right from the beginning."
But not long after Zach began walking, Natalie and her husband, Nathan, knew something was wrong.
"I noticed when I would take him to the park to play, it took him a long time to climb the ladder. But I didn't want him officially diagnosed 'til he was five because I didn't want to admit that that's what it was," Natalie said.
What it was is something Natalie is all too familiar with: Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
"I just thought he was such a special kid, you know, but I was just dying inside. It really, it was devastating to me," Natalie said.
Natalie's brother died of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an inherited disorder that attacks the muscles, as well as the heart and lungs. There is no known cure, and the prognosis is not good.
"Right now, they only give you until about age 21. So, it's pretty rough," said.
To get through the rough times, Zach plays games with his siblings and spends time in his bedroom, where he's surrounded by BYU memorabilia. He loves basketball.
"I play on a team, I watch them play. It's real fun," Zach said.
"I love him so much and just want the very best, and that keeps me going," Natalie said.
With the help of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Zach was able to go somewhere he'd never been. Jimmer Fredette and the entire BYU basketball team welcomed him with open arms at the Marriott Center, then filled his hands with gifts.
Jimmer even gave him last year's jersey, and following a courtside view of practice, Zach shot a few hoops himself.
Zach admits that he sometimes asks, "Why me?" But that doesn't stop him from pushing forward.
"It's OK," he said. "I have to be set with it. I'll just work with it my whole life."
"These are the moments of his life that just make his life, that uplift him and know that people care," said.
That was certainly the case at the Marriott Center, when Zachary Nathan Jensen had the time of his life.
The Jensens' 6-year-old son Brady also has Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Last year, the group Heart2Home helped renovate the Jensens' Provo home to accommodate Zach's wheelchair.
E-mail: kaiken@ksl.com
