LAKE CHARLES, La. — "He is very happy, friendly, outgoing, and funny; he is just a joy," said Jennifer Frank, his mother and Zydeco bassist in the Soileau Band.
Zydeco sensation Jennifer Frank describes her son Zion as a resilient young man who has known much about facing adversity from a very young age.
At the start of this year, he discovered news that would drastically change his life.
"They told me to call in family and make funeral arrangements because he was not going to make it through," said Frank-Ledet.
Doctors diagnosed Zion with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.
"I started panicking because I saw that in his chart. This just came out of left field; we were not expecting it. So this was hard for me this time, I mean extremely hard this time," said Frank-Ledet.
At the time, Zion lived like a normal college student at Dillard University; active in sports, he participated in javelin and earned his third title in hammer throwing. He is also a part of the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.
"And he was about to graduate from college, so he had a lot of expectations," said Frank-Ledet.
Expectations doctors tried to put on hold so they could treat him effectively.
"The doctors advised me not to throw in 2023; they didn't want me to go last year because the doctors wanted to do a port-a-cath placement. To easily access my veins with chemotherapy,” said Zion
But Zion had other plans.
"I was not going for it; this is my senior year,” said Zion.
Zion believed he still had work to do and a team to lead.
"I did it because we didn't have a throws coach. So, we were self-taught. So, to be able to do that and, you know, help everybody else and try to help everybody get better is what kept me going,” said Zion.
But cancer started to take a toll on the 6’3 gentle giant.
"When I first started losing my hair, I was like, wow,” said Zion.
This is not Zion’s first battle with an illness or cancer. In fact, at five months old, he was diagnosed with a rare blood infection, and then, at age five, doctors diagnosed him with an immune deficiency disorder. Four years later, at the age of nine, doctors diagnosed him with A-M-L, acute myeloid Leukemia.
“It's tough to sit back and watch while you have no control," said Frank-Ledet.
It took two transplants for Zion to be whole and healthy again, but fast forward to today, Zion is back on the battlefield.
Cancer left its mark on Zion to the point where he was uncomfortable in his skin.
“I started wearing a ski mask,” said Zion.
But that would soon change as his teammates had his back.
"It was like 100 degrees outside, and my coach was like, you just might as well embrace it, let the ball head go. And he was like, um, I am bald head, your teammate bald hit. He was like; we are all bald heads. So, I took mine off because everybody was embracing me,” said Zion.
Feeling supported, Zion opened up and took his story to social media.
When his mother, Jennifer, seemed to be traveling down a dark road, a glimpse of light peaked through
"He was medically cleared in June of this year,"
Zion is now cancer-free and recently celebrated his 23rd birthday in August.
"He went through a lot to get here, and I am just happy that he lives life intentionally," said Frank-Ledet.
The new college graduate thanks his mother
"Without her, I probably would be in a funeral home. She did a lot to save my life,” said Zion.
And, he has not forgotten to give glory where it's due.
"God, I tell you, God! He gave me so much blessing and another chance at life; to be able to be here and share a story and be able to, you know, inspire others," said Zion.
You can watch part 2 of this incredible story about Zion Gennuso and Jennifer Frank, but this time, Frank shares her journey battling breast cancer. Part 2 airs Dec 5th at 6:00 pm on KATC TV 3.
