Cristina's Story
25 years after recovering from a traumatic brain injury, Cristina, a previous Burke Rehabilitation patient, returned to the main hospital in White Plains and was transported back in time.
Cristina said, “Burke is a very special place with very special people. In large part because of all of the positive people that were around me, I was able to maintain such a positive attitude and get to a place of gratitude and comfort.”
In 2000, Cristina was a 20-year-old college student when a truck rear-ended her on a local parkway. She sustained severe head trauma and underwent brain surgery at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, remaining in a coma for nearly a month. She awoke cognitively disoriented, unable to move (her left-side paralyzed), and unable to speak. When she was medically stable, she started her journey of recovery at Burke.
“Burke is the place that gave me a chance; it is a beautiful place of growth, hope and possibility. When my doctors doubted I would ever walk again, Burke welcomed me in and every morning the staff told me. ‘Yes, you will.’
She returned to Burke recently and is sharing her story as a tribute to the care team who treated her. Cristina does not remember all that happened during that time period, but walking through the halls and gyms evoked strong emotions. “I started to cry,” she said as she retraced her steps, adding “my whole soul remembered, even if my brain could only recall pieces.” Cristina was amazingly reunited with two of her nurses, Marie and Paulette, who had encouraged her every step of the way.
“The gifts that I've been given and just learning how to overcome adversity and not allowing people to put a ceiling on your growth, is immeasurable.”
After being discharged from Burke, Cristina graduated college on time, earned a master’s degree in social work, and became a clinical social worker.
She spent much of her career supporting the emotional journey of those with intellectual disabilities and neurological conditions/illnesses, initially working on a neuro ICU with people who had traumatic brain injuries, brain aneurysms, and brain tumors, supporting the families and then the individuals themselves, inspiring hope and using what she had learned through her own experiences to help them adjust to their new reality.
“I take the gifts Burke has given me to fuel my spirits as I try to nurture and empower others to push limits and rise above adversity.” Cristina currently works as a bilingual school social worker in a high school setting, supporting students with a range of needs in facing and navigating their own challenges.
Cristina acknowledged that at times she continues to deal with the aftereffects of her injuries, continuing to perform physical therapy exercises at home, but she never lets those injuries define her. Supported through the years by her family, she acts as an example of resilience to her three children.
