Hit Hard-One Family's Journey of Letting Go of What Was-and Learning to Live Well with What Is: A Review

LIFE HIT PAT AND TAMMY McLEOD HARD when their son Zach collapsed on a high school football field; he had sustained a severe brain injury. Facing the devastating possibility that things would never be the same for their beloved son, they committed to staying strong as a family and finding a way to maintain their footing. But the process would reshape their faith, their family, and their future in ways that they never saw coming.

What would it take for them to navigate the endless fallout of their son’s life-transforming injury? How could they reconcile their grief over the life Zach lost, with gratitude for the life that remained? And how does a couple move forward together in their search for hope, rather than letting indefinable loss drive them apart?

Hit Hard is the true story of the McLeod’s journey through ambiguous loss, both having and not having their son. It’s the story of a family who faced unexpected heartbreak, a story that offers us all glimpses of how we can pick up the pieces, redefine expectations, and trust God for hope in the midst of unresolved pain.

Shortly before this football accident happened Zach and family plus 25 students from Harvard and Sanford Universities had taken a trip to south Africa. This was a short learning project to assist at an orphanage where children orphaned by HIV/AIDS as well as children with severe physical and mental disabilities were cared for. 16 year old Zach was a real hit with the children in the orphanage.

The accident that changed Zach and his family’s life forever occurred when he returned home and back to his high school.

Naturally, there was hope Zach would be healed. However, as more treatment and surgeries went on, it became evident that Zach’s life would never be the same as he had been before.

Tammy tended to look at what they had lost. Pat tended to look at what they still had so sometimes they seemed to have a high wall between them. Finally, it sank in on both of them that they needed to accept what had happened and be thankful for what they now had and move on with their life.  

Zach is wonderfully a blessing to many people with his cheerful attitude.

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