Zack Bonnema's Fight Against Colon Cancer!

Please share this link for Zack!

Hi, my name is Matt Stofferahn. I am using the gofundme platform to help raise money for the Bonnema family.... please see Zack's story below.

Zack Bonnema has wanted to be a firefighter since he was 3 years old. He grew up in Chaska riding around on his bike with a water hose pretending to put out fires. The Chaska Fire Department was added to Zack’s resumé at the young age of 15 when he joined the Fire Explorer Program. From there, he officially joined the department at the age of 18. By age 21, he was promoted to Lieutenant, then Captain at age 25, and Assistant Chief at age 29. Currently, Zack is the Assistant Fire Chief of Training, still with the Chaska Fire Department. Throughout the years, Zack has been a lead instructor with the Carver/Scott Training Academy and has assisted with many other trainings throughout the state as well. He also has helped represent and lead the Fire Department in numerous community events such as the Ryder Cup, KPMG Championship, Annual Safety Camps, Annual Fire Department Open Houses, and many other events.

In 2017, Zack married his longtime girlfriend, Barbara (Barbie) Robling. They had their first child Joshua (JJ) in 2019 and their second child Owen in 2022. In addition to their two children, they also have two dogs, Remmy and Micco. Currently, they live in Chaska and stay busy with Fire Department events, toddler activities, and spending quality time with friends and families.

Back in April 2023, Zack went to his doctor for some stomach pains and to check on new digestive issues. At that time, nothing flagged or showed as abnormal and the pain and discomfort decreased after some dietary adjustments. Unfortunately, the pain came back and was worse by the time of his annual exam in early November which is when the doctors decided to do further testing. While performing the colonoscopy, a very large tumor was discovered resulting in a diagnosis of Stage 3b Colon Cancer at the young age of 31. From there, everything has moved very quickly with a right colectomy surgery just one week after his colonoscopy. On January 8th, Zack began his chemotherapy journey which will continue through June. Although all his doctors, specialists, and surgeons are very hopeful that treatment will be successful, Zack will need annual testing, procedures, and close monitoring for the rest of his life.

Please help Zack's battle with stage 3b colon cancer. If you can't donate, please say a prayer.

Please share this link for Zack!!!!

Thanks,

Matt