Off to a Running Start
Just 15 months after sustaining a brain injury, Allison Lillie ran her first half marathon.
On a cool morning in November 2024, Allison Lillie left the starting line of the Palmetto Peach Half Marathon and didn’t stop running until just under two hours later, completing her first half marathon and finishing fifth in her age group.
This would be a feat for anyone, but it was especially significant for Allison, who just 15 months earlier — on Aug. 22, 2023 — sustained a traumatic brain injury in a car crash.
Allison was taken to Augusta University Medical Center’s trauma unit. She was unconscious for 15 days with an uncertain prognosis.
“We had to pray for her to wake up,” her mother, Monica, says.
When she did wake up, Allison could not walk and had short-term memory issues. Three weeks after her accident, she transferred to Shepherd Center for rehabilitation. Doctors told Monica and her husband, Josh, that their daughter’s memory might not return. With additional balance and vision issues, it was also uncertain if Allison, a member of her high school’s cross-country team and an accomplished pianist, could return to the activities she loved.
Allison eliminated any doubts.
At Shepherd Center, she re-learned to walk, dress, and feed herself and regained her balance and memory. As she improved, she started running and playing the piano again. She was at Shepherd Center for six weeks and spent another six weeks at Shepherd Pathways, a comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation program for people recovering from brain injury.
Just a few months after her injury, Allison completed a 5K race with her mother and played a Christmas concert at The Jabez Hardin Auditorium in Evans, Georgia. She returned to school that January. “She was back to where she was before her injury,” Monica says. “It was nothing short of a miracle.”
Allison had another goal in mind: running the 2024 half marathon — by herself — and without stopping.
“I was so happy when I finished,” Allison remembers. “I beat the time I set for myself by 20 minutes.”
Allison, a junior in high school, hopes to attend the University of Georgia. Inspired by her time at Shepherd Center, she is planning a career in the medical field so she can help those with brain injuries the way people helped her.
“Shepherd Center is a great community,” Allison says. “They are so supportive and encouraging and helped me get better. I would like to do that for others.”
By Sara Baxter
This story first appeared in the special 50th anniversary issue of Spinal Column magazine.
With five decades of experience, Shepherd Center provides world-class clinical care, research, and family support for people experiencing the most complex conditions, including spinal cord and brain injuries, multi-trauma, traumatic amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and pain. An elite center ranked by U.S. News as one of the nation’s top hospitals for rehabilitation, Shepherd Center is also recognized as both Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems. Shepherd Center treats thousands of patients annually with unmatched expertise and unwavering compassion to help them begin again.