Zach Morrissey was just 21 when brain cancer cruelly interrupted his life. He radiated kindness, humour, generosity, and ambition. A brilliant young law student who called the beautiful Gold Coast his home, Zach’s life was suddenly rerouted down a path that no one should ever have to walk.
Zach faced his illness with a bravery that was nothing short of extraordinary. Over five long years, he endured three awake craniotomies, countless treatments, and wave after wave of setbacks. Yet through it all, Zach stood tall. He never stopped studying. He never stopped travelling. He never stopped dreaming of the future that was supposed to be his.
He was confident and full of hope and gratitude, with a quiet strength that inspired everyone around him. In April 2024, Zach’s tumour turned aggressive—Grade 4 Glioblastoma—thrusting him into the ultimate battle for his life.
Just six short months later, in October 2024, the world lost someone irreplaceable. Zach was only 26. His story ended far too soon, long before its pages could be fully written. But Zach was so much more than a young man with extraordinary courage.
He was a beloved son, brother, cousin, nephew, and friend.
The kind of person who gave more than he took.
The one who lifted others, even when he was the one struggling.
A good Samaritan in every sense of the word.
Zach’s greatest joy was travelling the world and capturing it through his drone. Through his lens, we glimpse the grace and wonder he saw—even as his own world grew darker. His photographs are more than images: they are a bird’s-eye view of the world he loved so much. They remind us that beauty exists everywhere, even when life feels unbearably hard.
The pain of losing him is indescribable, but his legacy lives on in the way he saw the world—with wonder, kindness, and love.
Zach’s deepest wish was to see a cure for brain cancer become a reality. To stop this disease from stealing futures. When you purchase his photographs, you are doing more than supporting research—you are carrying forward his legacy of love, courage, and hope. You are helping us fight for the day when no one else has to say goodbye too soon.
That smile.
My beautiful Zachie.
Forever 26.
There’s a moment in life that breaks a parent’s heart so completely
You are never the same again.
For me, it was the moment I sat beside my son,
my beautiful, brave, courageous boy,
and heard the words no parent should ever have to hear.
“There’s nothing more we can do.”
Or worse—
“You only have a couple of weeks.”
Time stopped.
The air vanished.
My heart broke in a way that will never mend.
As a parent, we are the fixers of broken worlds.
We make their world safe.
We kiss scraped knees and mend broken hearts.
We always make everything better—
with a hug, a kiss, a bandaid and a whispered:
“Everything is going to be ok.”
But what happens when it’s not ok?
What happens when you are told your child is dying—and you can’t save them?
You sit beside them, helpless.
You can’t bargain.
You can’t trade places.
… you can’t fix it.
You can only hold them tight and pour your love into every breath.
My son Zach died from Glioblastoma.
He was just 26.
He was my everything.
Kind.
Funny.
Gentle.
Brilliant.
He made people feel seen.
He lit up rooms without even trying.
He loved his mum, his family, his friends.
He had plans, dreams, hope.
He wanted to change the world—
and in so many ways, he already had.
He had so much living left to do.
He deserved so much more.
Brain cancer stole his future.
It stole his laughter.
His plans.
His beautiful, radiant life.
It stole ours too.
It changed the very shape of our world.
There is no pain deeper than watching your child suffer,
knowing you can’t fix it.
No silence is louder than the one they leave behind.
No love stronger than the one that continues—relentlessly—even after they’re gone.
To every parent who has walked this path,
or is walking it now—
I see you.
I know the ache of unopened doors.
The sound of an empty room.
I know the weight of unspoken words.
I know the way grief steals your breath in the middle of the night.
I know the holidays and birthdays that still come.
I know the haunting space they should have filled.
But I also know the love.
The kind that never dies.
The kind that lives in every heartbeat,
every sunset,
every quiet moment
where we still whisper their names.
Because every child deserves to grow up.
To grow old.
To love deeply.
And live fully.
To chase dreams.
And to leave their mark on this world.Brain cancer doesn’t just kill.
It destroys.
It steals laughter, moments, futures—
before they even have the chance to begin.
Every moment matters.
Every life deserves more.
In Zach’s honour,
and in honour of every beautiful life taken way too soon,
I will never stop fighting—
for research,
for awareness,
for change.
So that no other parent has to sit in that chair,
feeling helpless,
hearing those words.
Words that should never be spoken over any child.
Because one more child lost, is one too many.
Because my son should still be here.
Because love doesn’t end when the heart stops beating.
It becomes the reason we keep going.
Because our children—and my Zach—are not gone.
They are woven into us.
Into every breath,
every sunset,
every starlit sky,
every whisper of hope.
And I will spend the rest of my life making sure the world remembers his name.
Because his life mattered.
Like the lives of countless others.
Because love doesn’t end when a heartbeat does.
It becomes the reason—
we rise,
we roar,
we fight for a cure.
Written by Tracey Isles-Morrissey
