A Tale of Brain Tumors (Both Benign and Malignant), Love and a Dependable Neurosurgeon

Heather and Tony Tommasi’s story involves a benign brain tumor, a malignant brain tumor and a dependable neurosurgeon.

It started 19 years ago, long before the couple met, when Heather, then 19, fell while mountain biking, suffering a concussion. She was treated at a community hospital and released, but had a seizure the next morning and was rushed back to the facility, where doctors discovered she had a brain tumor.

“One of their brain surgeons saw me, and what he said was very scary: ‘You’ll probably lose motor skills and you might not be able to speak anymore.’ It was just terrible,” says Heather Tommasi, recalling the doctor’s gruff bedside manner. Enter Keith L. Black, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, who changed everything. For more information, click here to read the full release.