Zane Wach Battles Drug Withdrawal After Surviving 120-Foot Cliff Fall

The harrowing odyssey of 14-year-old Zane Wach has included physical trauma and emotional resilience, and the teenager is now facing the most punishing stretch of his recovery, not just from his fall of 120 feet off California's Mount Whitney, but from the grueling trauma of the drug withdrawal he experienced after being treated.

Zane's father, Ryan Wach, has been open about his son's ongoing recovery and how it changed after the accident in June. Zane's fall from the popular hiking trail was initially attributed to altitude sickness, and its sudden and shocking nature has been widely mourned. He was rushed to the hospital by emergency services, and underwent a great deal of medical treatment and was given strong medication for the pain and to keep him stable.

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But several weeks in, as the healing process begins, Ryan says the hardest chapter has already started. In an emotional Facebook post on June 26, Ryan added that "The hard part is that he is well into feeling the effects of withdrawal. He's been on a lot of heavy drugs for a while, and getting off those is extremely hard and painful. As parents, it's terrible to watch." The physical injuries were just the first part of Zane's ordeal. The following reliance on doctor-prescribed opioids for pain management, a frequent occurrence in traumatic cases like his, now has the teenager scrambling against the emotional and physical cost of withdrawal.

And while Ryan's disclosure was heart-wrenching, he did provide a faint glimmer of hope. On June 16, he offered a moment of cautious optimism on Instagram, writing, "I'm pleased to report that I have nothing to report from the last day, which is exactly what we wanted. No changes whatsoever; compete stability in Zane's current condition." Zane's recovery is a stark example of the many layers of healing that can follow traumatic injuries. Though his survival of the fall was a miracle in itself, the road back to health has its steep and unexpected curves. And as Zane fights his way back to himself, his path has struck a chord with other families in similar post-accident straits. Survival, here, is more about carrying on than staying alive.