As told by Emma’s mother, Maureen
On Christmas Eve, 2012, we were in a terrible car accident. Emma, who was 4 at the time, suffered a traumatic brain injury and did not wake up for 4 weeks. Unlike in the movies, where people wake up and everything is back to normal, that was not how it was with Emma. When Emma woke up, she had to relearn to swallow, sit up, eat, walk and talk.
Emma was basically a newborn, who lacked head control, in a 4-year-old body. We were thrilled when Emma was accepted into a 4-week program at Kennedy Krieger that dealt with children with traumatic brain injuries. She was making great progress and the Kennedy Krieger Institute wanted to extend her stay. Luckily, we got off the waiting list and stayed at the Ronald McDonald House for 6 weeks.
Since July of 2013, we have come back to Baltimore several times a year as Emma has follow up appointments. Prior to us coming to Baltimore, Emma had lost her sparkle or desire to do things. She rarely smiled as she could remember things that she could do before the accident that she could no longer do. When I brought Emma home after her first week of being at the Ronald McDonald House, my husband and parents both commented on how happy she seemed. She had her sparkle back in her eyes again. All she did that weekend was talk about the kids and different activities that were offered at the house.
It would take me all day to tell you how proud I am of Emma and how far she has come. The first time we came to Ronald McDonald House, Emma was in a wheelchair and crawled to get around the playroom. Her speech was hard to understand as she was still relearning to talk. Emma left Baltimore that summer using a walker and no longer relying on a wheel chair to get around.
As of today, Emma is 17 years old and is a 12th grade honor student and just finished her 4th year of varsity Swim team. She plans on attending WVU in Fall 2026.
Our family and Emma have participated in the Red Shoe Shuffle since 2014. She looks forward to attending the shuffle every year. Last year she was at a youth conference in the Capital of WV, over 5 hours from our house. We made the drive home late Friday evening to leave Saturday afternoon to head two hours to Baltimore for the race. We always look forward to seeing everyone at the race in April!
