Make-A-Wish Fulfills 16-Year-Old Boy’s Pro Bowl Dream in Orlando

ORLANDO, FL -- The last two years have been a battle for 16-year-old Max Zamberlin, whose life changed after he was diagnosed with an inoperable benign tumor on his brain stem. Shortly after his diagnosis, Zamberlin had to undergo a surgical procedure on his vertebrae and skull, which ultimately ended his football playing days. However, that has not changed his passion for the game he grew up to love.

Zamberlin was one of five kids to be flown into Orlando with their families to receive a VIP experience at the NFL Pro Bowl while getting an exclusive opportunity to meet some of their favorite players.

“I’ve been a football fan for as long as I can remember,” Zamberlin explained before the AFC team took the practice field on Friday at the ESPN Wide World of Sports. “I’m having a great time here. I just love football, and this is where the best players come to play.”

Naturally, as a native of Seattle, WA, his favorite team is the Seattle Seahawks. Upon being asked about his most memorable football experience, Zamberlin immediately responded by saying ‘the Seahawks winning the Super Bowl.’ He also recalled playing defensive end and fullback for his middle school team where he scored two touchdowns, his favorite part of the game.

As you might expect, he was donning the jersey of his favorite player, Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, whom he met after the practice.

“That was incredible,” Zamberlin exclaimed with a huge smile on his face. “This is awesome!”

His parents, Tim and Takako expressed their gratitude to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and were thrilled to see their son having such a great time. After all, he’s endured so much over the last two years. And while his condition can’t be cured, doctors have worked towards stabilizing it through treatment to prevent the tumor from growing any larger in size, thanks to a V600E gene mutation in his body. This allowed specialists to treat the tumor through chemotherapy as opposed to a more intrusive radiation procedure.

Nonetheless, the treatment has had an impact on on Zamberlin’s physical health.

“He’s always tired,” his father, Tim explained. “He missed a lot of school last year just because he just physically wasn’t able to go.”

In fact, Zamberlin was supposed to attend the Pro Bowl last year, but couldn’t do to a setback with his health.

“Fortunately, this year he’s gotten much stronger, so his physical condition has improved,” his father added. “But it’s definitely taken its toll on him.”

Takako said that her son is ‘one of the lucky ones with this condition,’ but admits to worrying about his health as any mother would. Even the flight to Orlando was concerning because of her son’s breathing issues, which get worse as he sleeps and are magnified in the thin air at 35,000 feet.

“We’re kind of happy where we are now in the process,” his father added before expressing gratitude to the doctors and those at the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

As of last month, Zamberlin was taken off medication as his doctors plan on monitoring the tumor over the next three to six months to make sure that they have been able to prevent it from growing any bigger.

“All of the people that are involved at the Make-a-Wish Foundation that we’ve met are just really super individuals,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable organization and the people that contribute so much are so positive.”

“Unless you’ve been in a situation where they’ve been able to help, you wouldn’t even realize how much they do to help brighten a kid’s day. My son’s enjoying every minute of it.”

For over three decades, the Make-A-Wish® Foundation has arranged experiences described as “wishes” to children with life-threatening medical conditions between the ages of 3 to 17 years-old.

“As Make-A-Wish Central and Northern Florida we are thrilled to once again be the host chapter of the NFL Pro-Bowl,” Kathryn Vroman, President & CEO at Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Northern Florida said before the families arrived in Orlando. “We have a long standing partnership with Walt Disney World and the NFL and are excited for the children attending to receive their wish.”

“Locally, we are also very grateful to be the celebratory charity for the 2018 Pro Bowl Fun Run series, where children of all ages are able to take part in some football fun!”