Our brother, Zachary Magleby, recently became ill while living in California and flew to visit one of us living in Ohio. During that stay, his symptoms worsened requiring a visit to the ER. It was certainly an awful surprise to be told he had a brain mass of unknown type but severe enough to warrant hospitalization in order to perform an MRI and other tests. Results from the MRI were even more distressing: that this was likely a brain tumor that was large and malignant. A brain biopsy completed a few days later confirmed the worst: This was a grade 4, malignant, and infiltrative tumor known as a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), with at least two sites, and that Zachary’s physical and cognitive changes were due to increased swelling in his brain caused by this tumor.

Unfortunately, due to the size and location of the tumor, surgery is not possible. Zachary will be undergoing both standard radiation as well as adjuvant treatments in the coming weeks with the goal of not only stopping the tumor growth and subsequent effect on his functioning but eliminating it as well if at all possible. Zachary will hopefully be accepted into clinical trials that will increase his chances to survive and then thrive. He will be living in Ohio during that time.

Financially this will stretch into the hundreds of thousands. We are asking family, friends, and friends of friends of friends for support for a small portion of the costs of moving him to Ohio, providing housing, adjuvant treatments (which are not typically covered by insurance), and possibly those standard treatments not covered by his insurance--because he lives in California and his health insurance is considered out of network, multiple cost may not be covered, at any time.

For those of you who know Zachary, you likely remember his kindness, wit, musical talent, and fierce love of his family. Whether Alex (Zach's younger brother) was playing or coaching in Singapore or South Africa, Zachary would be up in the middle of the night to cheer him on. And of course never missed tuning into a Free Jacks match. As Joshua (older brother) pushed through graduate school, building a family, and his clinical practice, Zachary was his staunchest supporter. For those of you who don’t know Zachary, please know he’s a thoughtful, caring, and resilient person who means the world to us.

Donations will help cover urgent expenses including temporary housing, additional treatments not covered by health insurance, and brain tumor rehabilitation—physical, occupational, and speech therapies to address deficits in mobility, self-care, and communication.

Any contribution, big or small, will help Zachary get more of the help he needs.

As you support this fundraiser, keep Zachary in your thoughts, and please hug your loved ones a little tighter tonight.