hen Lisa Foley ’02 walked out of a Port Richmond, Pa. nightclub at 2 a.m. on September 11, 2004, after celebrating her mother’s 50th birthday with family and friends, she was lighthearted, giggling with the group of friends she was leading across the street.

Little did she know, that as she stepped into the street her life would be forever altered. Out of nowhere a car appeared, speeding furiously as it sideswiped a parked vehicle and then struck Lisa, sending her an estimated 20 feet into the air. She landed headfirst on a parked car as the unknown driver sped away. The driver has never been captured or identified. She can recall nothing of that day.

While her prognosis is good and her recovery is ahead of schedule according to doctors, Foley spent six weeks in the hospital with life-threatening head injuries, as well as a broken neck, facial fractures and a compound fracture of her right lower leg. She doesn’t remember the first four weeks of her hospitalization and luckily, doesn’t remember being in any pain either. “By the time I came to and started realizing where I was and what was going on I wasn’t on any medications except a blood thinner, so I wasn’t in any pain,” she says.

Foley attributes much of her recovery to family, friends and God. “I think that God did save me and I feel that he must have a larger place for me, which I will discover when the timing is right,” she says. “I think that I was surrounded by angels the night that the accident occurred. I have always been a strong person but there is a reason that I am still here and hopefully through life I will find out what that reason is.”

Although she remains positive, her recovery has been a challenge. With brain trauma, basic human functions like speech and motor skills are threatened. In late November 2004, Foley suddenly lost most of the dexterity in her right hand and has had difficulty regaining its full use. “When my right hand ceases to work and doesn’t allow me to do things for myself such as cutting meat or tying my shoes it’s one of the hardest obstacles,” says Foley. To help regain use of her hand, she attends Moss Rehabilitation Hospital for about seven hours a week. Specializing in treating brain injuries, Foley’s rehabilitation focuses on regaining the movement and strength in her right hand and arm and rebuilding the strength in her right leg.

She’s even had obstacles no one could have expected. A section of Foley’s skull, removed in her initial surgery, was lost. “My skull, which was frozen at Hahnemann University Hospital, could not be used because the freezer at the hospital broke and the bone dethawed,” she says. At first, she was upset and angry about the loss, but with the realization that it was an accident, she says that all she could really do was laugh. “It was just a freak thing that occurred,” she says.

On February 8, 2005, Foley underwent a cranioplasty. The procedure added a plastic piece custom made to fit the area of her skull that was missing. The procedure had to be done because there wasn’t a protective covering over Foley’s brain. “It was almost like my head was that of a soft spot on a baby except it was much larger,” Foley says. The plastic piece was actually a better fit than the original bone would have been because the pieces of bone that were cut and frozen had jagged edges.

While her future prognosis is good, Foley must be extremely careful the rest of her life. Another brain injury would be even more serious, she says. “If I do anything physical, such as go skiing I have to wear a helmet to protect my head and I have to be careful because even if I was involved in a car accident and had a concussion it would be worse for me to have one versus a person who never had a brain injury.”

Now back at home undergoing regular outpatient therapy, Foley says she still does have some deep feelings about the driver of the car, a person she has never met. “I just hope that the person does not hit someone else, let alone a child, because they might not bounce back like I have.”

Foley knows she has a lot to be thankful for. “I am grateful that I wake up each day and that I don’t have any major, permanent problems.”

With a positive spirit she looks ahead to the future, hoping to eventually earn a master’s degree in business or human resources. Foley also plans to become a volunteer at Moss Rehabilitation Hospital, to help show others that they too can overcome a tragedy.

– Ashley M. Seilhamer ’05