For Zion Acree, the sound of a bell ringing on July 20 meant more than the end of a treatment journey.
It meant he could finally begin getting back to being himself and reaching his full potential.
The upcoming senior and basketball player at Christian County High School spent much of his junior year battling Hodgkin lymphoma – a fight that began with a lump his athletic trainer noticed on his shoulder.
Zion said he first realized something was wrong while preparing to lift weights at practice.
“We were at school about to lift weights. I couldn’t lift it, so I went to the trainer and asked him what was happening,” said Zion.
His mother, Gteria Acree, was at work when she got the call from her son.
Zion told her he needed to go to the doctor because he had a lump on his shoulder.
Gteria took him to Pediatrics Associates, where the doctors noticed the spot was not supposed to be there. He was then sent to Jennie Stuart Medical Center for an ultrasound.
Gteria said she knew something was wrong when the nurse called her about an hour after the ultrasound and asked her to come back without Zion.
“The nurse told me, ‘I hate to break this down, but I got the results back and Zion has Hodgkin lymphoma cancer.’ I completely broke down,” said Gteria
The moment brought back memories of family members she had lost to cancer.
“I let out a scream that was just unbearable. I couldn’t believe something like this was attacking my son,” said Gteria.
Zion’s biopsy was Dec. 29, and on Jan. 3, he learned he had cancer.
His mind immediately went to the game he loved.
“In my mind, I was thinking, is it over for basketball? But I knew at that time I couldn’t do anything but trust in the Lord,” said Zion.
He knew he had to keep fighting and refuse to let the diagnosis define him.
At the time, Zion was a junior and a member of the Christian County basketball team. Even as he battled cancer during the season, he remained part of the team, watching and supporting his teammates from the bench.
For Gteria, watching her son sit on the bench was one of the hardest parts.
“Zion eats, breathes, and lives in basketball. It has been this way since he was 3,” said Gteria. “Seeing him on the bench and knowing that he couldn’t be up at his full potential – which don’t take anything from him – he would get out there and give it his all, but his body wouldn’t allow him,” said Gteria.
Still, Zion never stopped being part of the team.
He found support in his teammates and coaches, including Kortez Ivory, who would sit beside him on the bench and continue encouraging him.
“I started sitting beside Kortez Ivory, my coach, and he kept pushing me and telling me I was going to be on the court. We knew my body wouldn’t let me go in, but we would sit there and make jokes,” said Zion.
Zion said he leaned heavily on his family and friends, especially his mom.
Gteria said the experience was difficult as a mother because she could not simply take the sickness away from her son.
“It hurt me as a mother to not be able to fix it or be able to do much,” said Gteria. “I would just pray during games that the Lord would take the sickness away from him and that he would be able to come back strong, in his original form,” said Gteria.
Gteria said she watched Zion show a level of strength that she believes came from his faith.
“Zion showed me so much strength within this season. When kids think of cancer, they think of death. He was brought up in the church, and I knew that God was going to come in and make a miracle. I knew that all he had to do was trust and believe,” said Gteria.
Zion had people praying for him every step of the way.
Gteria said four “mighty people” stood beside him throughout the journey, including his godmother, Courtney Henderson; Gteria’s mother and grandmother, Shawanna Crump and Gino Johnson; and Zion’s grandmother, Marilyn Walton.
“His granny, Marilyn Walton, fights breast cancer right now. She would pray from her bedside when she wasn’t able to make it to certain things. He had some prayer warriors beside him through it all,” said Gteria.
Gteria also credits the staff at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt for the care they gave Zion throughout his chemotherapy journey.
“They let Zion be Zion. They let him go through what he was going through, while also standing beside him,” said Gteria.
After six months of obstacles, treatments, and uncertainty, Zion finally reached a moment he had been waiting for.
He rang the bell on July 20
“I felt like it was finally over. It was time to get back to basketball and start being me,” said Zion.
The moment was shared with a large crowd of family, friends, coaches, and teammates.
Zion said he felt the love surrounding him.
“I had a team behind me. I was never by myself,” said Zion.
Gteria said seeing so many people show up for her son was something she will never forget.
“Seeing all the people come out, take off their jobs, coaches coming, players and friends making it, it was just beautiful,” said Gteria. “It was breathtaking.”
Now, Zion is preparing for his senior year as a Tiger at the new Christian County High School – and he has his sight set on making the most of every moment.
He said he plans to make it his best school year and basketball season yet.
His battle with cancer has changed his perspective, teaching him not to take life for granted and strengthening his faith in what is possible.
For Zion, the bell on July 20 did not just mark the end of his cancer treatment.
It marked the beginning of his return to the life he fought so hard to get back to – being Zion, being a basketball player, and being a kid who now knows just how precious every moment can be.
