August 29, 2024
Neurosurgery and a deep, enduring doctor-patient relationship
A basketball coach’s remarkable story of undergoing brain tumor surgery and therapy while coaching her team to victory.
Ali Jamshidi, MD, with his patient Jessica Haayer and her wife Nia Haayer a year after Haayer’s brain surgery.
After months of headaches, an episode of wordlessness, and then a near-fainting spell, Jessica Haayer of Ventura, California, underwent a CT scan of her head. The radiologist called an hour later and directed her to the nearest emergency room in Ventura, where an ambulance brought her to the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center.
Following an MRI, Haayer met with Ali Jamshidi, MD, a cranial neurosurgeon, fellowship-trained in skull base and cerebrovascular surgery. He evaluated her imaging and recommended an awake surgical procedure so he could receive live feedback from Haayer while removing the grapefruit-sized tumor in her brain.
Awake and engaged
“I wanted to test her function during the resection, so I knew the tissue removal wouldn’t harm her,” said Dr. Jamshidi.
Before the 8-hour surgery, he studied the white matter maps and angiogram of her brain, mapping out the critical blood vessels close to the tumor. “I tailor every approach to the patient so that my angles of attack to the surgical target are both effective and efficient.
Haayer underwent the lengthy surgery on May 12, 2023, and recalls the conversation she had in the operating room with a neurologist who was actively testing her while Dr. Jamshidi removed her tumor. “I told them my whole life story,” she said. “I talked about traveling and what type of music I like. I followed commands: did little movements of my knees, fingers, ankles, around and around,” she said.
A game plan for survival
Two weeks post-surgery, Jessica had staples removed from her scalp. She then started 7 weeks of radiation therapy, Monday through Friday, all the while continuing to work as Santa Clarita Canyon High School’s Division 1 Girls’ Basketball coach — coaching and setting an example for her students, whom she calls “my kids.”
“I can’t just sit around,” said Haayer. “I strive to tell my kids we’re way stronger than you think.”
Haayer had her surgery at 39 years old. She has kept fit and been busy throughout her entire treatment. “A lot of people fall into sickness. I want to live to be 100 and do everything I can to live. I stopped drinking, changed my diet, went keto, lost 40 pounds, and then my doctors told me I needed to stop,” she recalled.
A bond beyond medicine
Haayer feels especially bonded with Dr. Jamshidi. “He’s a magician. He’s my man,” she said. “I trust him more than anyone. We talk after every MRI.”
Dr. Jamshidi knows that each patient is unique. “I can truly comprehend my patients’ concerns, allowing us to connect on an individual basis, soul to soul.”
Watch the video of the doctor-patient reunion.
Since April 2023, the cross-functional neurosciences team at Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center has expanded to care for patients throughout the Kaiser Permanente region in Southern California, providing cranial surgery and cutting-edge interventions in the treatment of patients with tumors, malformations, and neurological illnesses.
