When I was 15, I suffered a hemorrhagic stroke caused by an AVM rupture. Within hours, I went from walking to diving practice to being rushed into emergency brain surgery. The rupture led to three brain surgeries, a three-week medically induced coma, partial blindness, acquired epilepsy, expressive aphasia, and months of adjusting to a completely new normal. During recovery, one of the hardest parts was feeling like I had no one to look up to who had gone through something similar and still found a way forward. Slowly, I returned to springboard diving.
Before my third brain surgery, I signed my letter of intent to dive Division I at Rider University. Fourteen months later, I won the NCAA Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in 1-meter springboard diving and was named Rookie of the Year, Diver of the Year, and Rider University Rookie Athlete of the Year. After my story was shared through interviews, other AVM, aneurysm, and stroke survivors began reaching out to me for advice about recovery, returning to school or sports, managing fear, and accepting a life that looked different than before. Those conversations showed me how powerful survivor stories can be. I later transferred to Virginia Tech, continued my Division I diving career, and graduated with a B.S. in Clinical Neuroscience on the pre-med track. I hope my story reminds other survivors and families that recovery is not always quick or linear, but life after brain injury can still hold purpose, connection, and possibility.
Although I am just beginning to connect with the Niekro Foundation, it has already shown me how important it is for AVM, aneurysm, and hemorrhagic stroke survivors to have a community that understands them. After my own recovery, I know how isolating it can feel when you do not know anyone who has gone through something similar. Connecting with the Niekro Foundation gives me hope that my story can reach other survivors and families who may need encouragement, support, or someone to remind them that they are not alone.
My words of hope and advice to other survivors is recovery is not a race, and it doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. Celebrate every small victory, even when progress feels slow, because those small steps eventually become milestones. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, lean on the people who care about you, and remember that your diagnosis does not define what you’re capable of. Your life may look different than you imagined, but it can still be full of purpose, joy, and accomplishments you never thought were possible.
Click on the video below to see me diving:
