Becky - NF2 BioSolutions

Donate in honour of Becky

(Donations go to the Rebecca Grasso fund created by her parents Vitto and Susan Grasso at Mass General Hospital to support research at Dr Brenner’s Lab)

Rebecca is 28 years old. She was first diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) in 2010 when she was 19 years old and a sophomore at Siena College. Up until that point, Rebecca had lived a life uninterrupted by NF2. She was a talented figure skater and avid dancer throughout high school.

For her, it first started with a ringing in her ears while in chemistry class and an increased difficulty to hear the professor at the front of the classroom. Her primary care physician did not know what was causing her hearing loss. Her audiologist could not diagnose the problem. When her parents took her for that first MRI that is when their world was completely turned upside down and their fight began.

Since that time, Rebecca has been under the talented care of the physicians at the Neurofibromatosis Clinic at MGH and MEEI. Like so many others with NF2, she gradually lost her hearing going completely deaf in the fall of 2017. Despite this, Rebecca remained committed to her professional development and passion for helping others. She obtained her doctorate in physical therapy in the summer of 2017.

In addition to losing her hearing, Rebecca has undergone three major surgeries to remove Schwannomas from her spinal cord in 2015, a right cranial Vestibular Schwannomas (VS) in 2018 and a left cranial Vestibular Schwannomas (VS) in 2019. This last surgery had an additional complication that has left her with the left side of her face paralyzed.

Her doctors remain hopeful that this injury will recover on its own with time. We will see her facial nerve specialist at MEEI in December to have her progress reevaluated to see if surgical intervention will be required to assist in the recovery.

Like so many with NF2, Rebecca is so strong and is a true inspiration to her family and friends. Despite all of these hardships, she continues to fight for a normal life. After every surgery, which knocks her down and forces her to rebuild, she finds the first opportunity to get back up and to resume pursuing the full and meaningful life she deserves and is determined to have. She remains a top-notch physical therapist and is committed to finding non-surgical treatment options for NF2.

Donate in honour of Becky

(Donations go to the Rebecca Grasso fund created by her parents Vitto and Susan Grasso at Mass General Hospital to support research at Dr Brenner’s Lab)

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