Marissa is a former camper who became a Camp Cranium volunteer and is now a member of our Board of Directors! She was kind enough to share her personal story with us, and it’s perfectly timed for Halloween:
“When I was 14 years old I was hit by a car on Halloween while out Trick-or-Treating. I was medevacked to The University of Pennsylvania Hospital where I received emergency brain surgery.
I broke six bones and had a collapsed right lung. After surgery, I was transferred to The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to begin what would become a long and intense road to recovery.
I endured several weeks and months of Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech Therapy. When Camp Cranium launched in 2008, I was asked to come as a camper. As I was navigating my way through my new normal and my recovery, it was such a great opportunity for me to meet others who had also suffered from a TBI.
After being a camper, I was asked to become a counselor and currently, a cabin leader. I cherish the relationships that I have made over the past 11 years and I am thankful to have the ‘camp family’ that I do.
Currently, I am a co-chair on the fundraising team for the BIAPA Run, Walk, Roll. It has truly become my passion to spread awareness about TBI and to raise money to aid in treatment and recovery and for Camp Cranium! I believe that this camp was such an important part of my recovery and now part of my ongoing therapy as an adult living with TBI.
To know that there were other people out there that maybe understood what I was going through was so helpful for me as I was learning to live with my disabilities. Now, I take pride in being one of those people who can share their story and possibly help another survivor. I am forever in debt to everyone that has helped me to get where I am today and Camp Cranium is certainly part of that.“
Thank you so much for sharing your story and for all you do to make Camp Cranium possible, Marissa!