Moorestown Couple Running Boston Marathon for Charity

It started pretty benignly: slight facial numbness, problems with balance, occasional hearing loss in his right ear.

But taken separately, none of these issues caused Brad Zimmerman much concern. He went to the doctor for the hearing loss, but after all, he was a retired police officer. Gunfire, sirens—hearing loss is sort of par for the course.

The doctor mentioned something about a very rare type of tumor, advised him to maybe get it checked out. But life rolled on and Brad, a Moorestown resident, forgot about it.

A couple years later, during an insurance exam to increase his long-term care, the doctors noticed the notation in his medical history and suggested Brad finally get an MRI. Turns out, that very rare tumor—he had it.

Acoustic neuroma, a slow-growing tumor that takes up residence on the nerve connecting the brain and the ear. While benign—the tumor doesn’t grow into the brain—it compresses the brain stem and can damage other nerves as it grows, affecting hearing and balance, even vision. The bigger the tumor (and Brad's was considered large), the more severe the symptoms.

In May 2010, Brad, his wife Terry by his side, went under the knife. Surgeons at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary (MEEI) in Boston opened his skull, retracted his brain back to get at the tumor, and steadily shaved off tiny pieces until it was gone.

He described the experience as “probably the most stressful thing I’ve ever gone through.” And that’s coming from a former cop. Watching videos online of people who’d had less-than-ideal outcomes from the surgery—facial paralysis being one of the most common— certainly didn’t help his stress.

But 18 months later, after a lengthy rehabilitation and recovery, Brad is his old self again. His gratitude to the doctors at MEEI, specifically his surgeon Dr. Mike McKenna, is boundless.

“We took excellent medical care for granted, and when I had this problem … we really came to appreciate those facilities and those doctors that are totally dedicated at what they do,” Brad said. “To me the real heroes in this thing are the doctors. Because of people like (Dr. McKenna), I don’t have facial paralysis … You have no idea how much I appreciate that.”

To show their appreciation, Brad and Terry are running in this year’s Boston Marathon and to date have raised $16,750 for MEEI through sponsorships. The Zimmermans are part of a 52-person team running in support of MEEI in the April 16 race.

“Terry and I have both been runners for years,” explained Brad. “We just thought it was a nice combination where, since we were already involved in fundraising things (for MEEI), we could also run the marathon.

"Our goal is to raise awareness about the institution," he added. "(MEEI) just happens to be one of the best places in the world you can go (if you have sight and hearing problems)."

In case you’re not a runner and you don’t already know this, the Boston Marathon is THE marathon, according to the Zimmermans. So a chance to run it is, for them, truly a dream come true.

The tricky part is, unlike most marathons, runners for Boston have to achieve a qualifying time—unless they’re running for charity.

It’s how Terry got to run in Boston last year (though she said she could have met the qualifying time) for the MEEI team. Brad, still recovering from surgery, was unable to participate, but go to cheer his wife on from the sidelines.

Now they get to run it together.

Between 20,000 and 30,000 runners participate, with hundreds of thousands of spectators turning out to cheer them on. It’s a literal once-in-a-lifetime event—or for Terry, twice-in-a-lifetime.

“It’s a race like no other,” she said. “I had so much fun running it last year. It’s so exciting. And for him to be able to run it this year—so now it’s like we can definitely both have that same feeling.”

For more information on the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, visit their website.

To learn more about the Zimmermans’ story or to make a donation, visit their personal fundraising page.