Speaking About Brain Injuries
A mother never expects that when her 13-year-old daughter leaves the house to play a recreational basketball game she would return not being able to talk or walk without assistance, but that nightmare happened to Jodi Stosic of Jefferson Hills, PA.
“Bella was playing basketball then spending the night at a friend’s house,” Jodi recounted. “After the game, I received a call from her friend’s mother who informed me that something was wrong with Bella – she could not talk or walk without help.”
During the game, Isabella “Bella” Stosic collided with another player, fell backwards and hit her head on the ground. She played the remainder of the game and left normally. Unbeknownst to her, she suffered a brain concussion that impacted her speech. The teen also needed assistance to walk. She spent four days in the trauma unit at the local pediatric hospital and was discharged with little guidance.
“We were given a very broad diagnosis — that she would probably be better in a week, or she may never regain her ability to talk again,” Jodi said. “We just couldn’t accept that diagnosis.”
A determined mother’s quest to help her daughter recover took them to multiple specialists and therapists. Due to the fact that Bella’s vision field was limited and she wasn’t able to navigate riding the bus, she did not return to school and used an iPad to communicate with her teachers. She completed all of her 7th grade lessons online and achieved high honors.
It wasn’t until the following year, when Bella was in the 8th grade that she regained the ability to talk largely due to the therapy she received from the Center for Children’s Rehabilitation at Penn Highlands Mon Valley, in Carroll Township, PA. The Stosic’s wellness journey at the Center for Children’s Rehabilitation lasted more than two years.
“When Bella came to us, she was not talking at all and she was coming weekly. I began seeing her approximately half way through her therapy after the retirement of her original speech therapist here,” explained Abby Marodi, MSCC-SLP, a speech therapist at the Center for Children’s Rehabilitation.
She continued, “As she progressed, Bella was saying words but they were not articulated well and she was making sound errors. Her speech sounded choppy. She needed to take deep breaths between words.”
Fortunately, Bella had access to hyperbaric oxygen therapy that enables a person to breathe pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber to increase the amount of oxygen in their blood. It is a safe and effective therapy for the treatment of concussions. The hyperbaric oxygen therapy helped refine Bella’s speech sounds.
Bella did not allow an injury to sideline her. In March 2023, she raised $5,000 selling brain injury awareness bracelets at her middle school. The funds were donated to the Chuck Noll Foundation for Brain Injury Research.
Bella entered Thomas Jefferson High School in fall 2023. During the spring semester, she enrolled in a public speaking class where she began delivering speeches and reciting poetry. Through her therapy and public speaking class she developed the skills and confidence to give motivational talks for the Chuck Noll Foundation along with former Steelers players Jerome Bettis and Merril Hoge. She also was instrumental in establishing a Brain Injury Awareness Club at her high school that sold shirts and candy bars to benefit the Foundation.
Bella was discharged from her therapy at the Center for Children’s Rehabilitation in July 2024. She is currently taking Advanced Placement classes and is an honors student. She continues to use her personal experience to educate and help others learn about brain injuries.
To learn more about the Center for Children’s Rehabilitation, visit www.phhealthcare.org/rehab.