OUR NEIGHBORS: Mother celebrates son's life, donates gifts to hospital patients
 |
| Ryan Prewitt photo -- Pam Huggins with a photo of her son, Zachary Huggins. Zachary would have been 25 Thursday. |
Zach died at the age of 22 when the drunken driver who was giving him a ride home crashed in 2005.
It was the day after Huggins' birthday."I refuse to let the bad thing take away the good thing in my life," Huggins said.
Like flowers springing up from ashes, the family finds a sense of renewal in celebrating Zach's life.
For the past three years Huggins has hosted a party on Zach's birthday and donated the gifts to children going through treatment at SSM St. Joseph Health Center in St. Charles.
That's the hospital where Zach was born, where he died, and where he gave life to others, Huggins said.
Upon death, Zach's organs were donated; his heart saved the life of a little girl, Huggins said.
On July 17, the anniversary of Zach's birthday, Huggins, her daughters and her grandchildren visited the hospital.
They came to donate the gifts and give out cupcakes to new moms.
Zach's sister Tracy Schaff, of O'Fallon, came with her two boys, Adam, 3, and Luke, 5, to honor her brother's memory.
"He was really funny," Schaff said.
Suddenly, Schaff's blue eyes tear up and her voice breaks.
"He gave these great hugs," Schaff said.
Schaff said bringing happiness to other people in honor of Zach helps them feel closer to him.
Zach's sister Holly Loges, of Marthasville, brought her three little ones, Kylei, 10, Jordan, 7, and James Robert, 2.
"I try to come every year just so I feel like I'm still with my brother in a way," Loges said.
Like everyone else in the family, Loges was wearing a pin with a picture of her brother.
In it, Zach doesn't look much older than Kylei.
Loges said her favorite memories of her brother are of him playing with her own children.
Kylei wore a pin with a photo of Zach holding her as a baby.
In the picture they wear winter clothes; Kylei is bundled up in a pink snowsuit.
Huggins said it was the first time Kylei had ever been sledding.
Zach loved children and wanted some of his own, Huggins said, another reason they commemorate his life by helping kids.
Huggins also hosts a light-the-way-home ceremony on the anniversary of Zach's death.
Friends and family get together and hold lit candles from the spot where Zach was killed to the Huggins' home a quarter-mile away.
Through these rituals, Huggins doesn't just want to celebrate her son, she wants to encourage people not to drive drunk, and to consider organ donation.
In the lobby of the hospital, Huggins stands with a big box of cupcakes. Her grandchildren play and laugh. It certainly looks like a party.
"I just can't let this day go by with sadness," Huggins said.
