Graci's Testimony

At the age of 11, Graci's life was forever changed as a competitive cheerleader living in the Birmingham area.  On January 31, 2012, she was practicing a stunt with her fellow cheerleaders where she was the flyer.  At the height of this stunt, she was ten feet in the air, when a base supporter did not catch her foot and she fell to the floor hitting her head.  She immediately lost consciousness and was unaware of her surroundings. She was immediately nauseated, dizzy and had a severe headache.  She went to the ER, where they did an MRI.  The ER doctor said that she could return to practice the next week, but her symptoms persisted.  Her mother took her to a pediatrician, who referred her to a neurologist and she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.  For over six months, she saw a neuropsychologist every Friday and was finally able to return to cheering.  After her injury Graci began taking piano lessons as a form of music therapy. At the age of 14, Graci adopted traumatic brain injury awareness as her platform through pageantry. Through her platform Heads Up For Head Injuries , she became a board member and partner with the Alabama Head Injury Foundation at the age of 14. For the last nine years she has been an advocate for this invisible injury. She forms fundraisers, appearances and more for TBI survivors. She is thankful for where she is today, for the recovery she experienced, even though she still has some consequences from her injury.  She wants to continue to be a voice for all of her fellow TBI survivors.