Dancers on a mission: Saving Baby Zach

Contributed Photo: Joshua Luis Sarsonas

CEBU CITY, Philippines— To some, dancing is their way of life.

But several dancers from Cebu will be dancing to save a life.

Renzel Mark Lazarte, 24, a junior designer and a dancer, is organizing the Dance Workshop For A Cause to help out a baby suffering from a serious illness.

The dance for a cause event will be held at the Talamban Times Square on September 15, 2019, from a p.m. to 7 p.m.

Proceeds of the event will go to Baby Zach Gabriel Dionson, who has been diagnosed with medulloblastoma just last April.

According to the St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital website (stjude.org), medulloblastoma is a cancerous tumor—also called cerebellar primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET)—that starts in the region of the brain at the base of the skull, called the posterior fossa. These tumors tend to spread to other parts of the brain and to the spinal cord.

Lazarte said he and his dance group friends wanted to use their God-given talents to not just express their feelings but also help out an “angel” in distress.

“It was my idea because Zach’s mother was my officemate before and the baby has grown very close to me,” he said. “This is the reason why I pushed [for this] event with the help of  Joshua Sarsonas Director of CUBS.”

Lazarte invited some local dance groups to take part in this dance workshop to be able to raise funds for Baby Zach.

Ryan Canda Director of Exporters,  Christian Tondag Director of SZHD, Francis Del Mundo Director of Untamed, Kenn Mijares, Soumaf Flores of Adversity Family, CJ Cañete, and other members of the dance industry  in Cebu are helping out Lazarte in this project.

Baby Zach already had surgery to remove a mass tumor in his posterior fossa. But after a month,  MRI results showed it has metastasised to the spine.

“It has been taking a toll on Zach’s body until recently he had a seizure and was brought to the intensive care unit of Cebu Doctors’ Hospital. Up until now, Zach is fighting hard for his life in the ICU and is in a coma. Zach’s parents have been fighting battles only parents who go through the same situation can comprehend. Zach’s parents are young couples who make a living by selling lechon. Sadly, their income is not enough to support Zach’s mounting bills in the intensive care unit,” Lazarte said.

Those who want to help can do so by purchasing tickets to the event.

“They can message me, if they want to be registered, the fee will be at P250 and P300 for walk-ins,” said Lazarte. /bmjo