“I love everything about swimming,” says the senior on Georgia Tech’s swim team. “It’s just pure love, pure enjoyment. The competitive aspect is sopersonal. You have opponents and you want to win as a team. But it’s really just you against yourself. I love that.”

So, when swimming was taken away from MaryGrace — due to a pair of concussions she sustained in “freak accidents” in the water in 2025 — the pain wasn’t relegated to her brain alone. Thankfully, MaryGrace landed at Shepherd Center’s Complex Concussion Clinic (CCC). CCC offers fully integrated, multi-disciplinary treatment for patients whose concussions have produced more complicated, persistent symptoms. The clinic is led by founding director Russell Gore, M.D., an expert in neurotrauma who has significant experience in working with athletes specifically; in fact, this past summer, Dr. Gore served as concussion consultant and advisor for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. A Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket himself, he is an assistant professor in the Walter H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

“Dr. Gore and the whole care team understood how frustrated I was with the symptoms and how hard it was to not be swimming,” MaryGrace says. “They shared it all with me and they really understood the love I have for the sport. I felt like I was really being taken care of, just fully supported.”

Her care included testing, treatments, and exercises to directly address symptoms such as dizziness, blurred vision, fatigue, and light sensitivity. MaryGrace also participated in physical therapy and speech therapy to address cognitive issues that were making her academic life more difficult, as well.

“I was kind of re-learning how to do school,” MaryGrace says. “It was learning new study techniques — re-reading chapters before class, writing things down, charting what I knew and what I didn’t know to put markers in place that we could track. It was all about memory recall and retaining things again.”

For the better part of a year, she was fully away from the sport. The absence was painful, but her body was healing. Gradually, things improved. As she could get back in the water again and start training more, her mental health strengthened along with her physical health.

“Being at Shepherd Center and going through this, it sounds so cliché, but it really did make me so much more mentally strong,” MaryGrace shares. “And mentally strong in the water, specifically, as an athlete. Those mental exercises from the clinic carry over to the pool.”

Starting with her senior year this fall, she’ll have two seasons of eligibility left at Georgia Tech. She plans to get her master’s degree during that extra year and consider what comes next after college.

One thing she’s sure of: Swimming will always be part of her life.

“Oh, I’ll keep swimming forever!” MaryGrace says. “I’ve realized that all over again this past year. I’ve also learned more about resilience. This has all just reinforced for me that even the craziest setbacks can make you come back even stronger."

Written by Phillip Jordan

Baseball has been part of Grayson Pope’s life since he was three years old. 

“When he was about four, we were playing travel ball and they toured the University of Tennessee baseball facility,” recalls Grayson’s mom, Jamie Pope. “While we were walking back to the car, he said he’d play ball there one day when he got big.” 

Grayson, 19, graduated high school in May with a 3.9 GPA and started attending the University of Tennessee (UT) in Knoxville as part of its baseball team this past summer. Although he’s not playing on the team, he will be helping them in a coaching role, living in the dorms, exercising with the team, and making lasting memories. 

“It means so much to be on the baseball team,” Grayson says. “They have been so supportive of me since my accident and being able to give back and help out with the program means the world.” 

On June 6, 2023, while playing golf with friends, a pop-up storm hit the course. As Grayson drove back toward the clubhouse, a large oak tree fell on him, causing a severe traumatic brain injury. 

He spent 42 days in UAB Hospital’s ICU in a coma before transferring to Shepherd Center’s Disorders of Consciousness Program. After four days, he moved to the inpatient Brain Injury Rehabilitation Program. While Grayson’s dad and grandparents stayed in family housing provided by Shepherd Center to families and patients who live more than 50 miles from the hospital, Jamie stayed by his side in his hospital room. 

“I didn’t want to miss any milestones," Jamie remembers. "When we got there, he was like an infant. By the end of the first week, he was holding his head up. By the time he left inpatient and started the outpatient program, he was walking.” 

Grayson’s team of doctors, nurses, and therapists worked with him to incorporate baseball into his therapy. He recalls practicing on the Zero-G Gait and Balance System for safe mobility training. 

“I practiced hitting a ball and running while I was attached to the Zero-G," he says. "It has straps that can control the tension and helped me stand up without falling.” 

The recreation therapy team also took Grayson to a Braves game, where they toured the facility and met some players. “It was a great experience,” Jamie says. “There’s so much hope at Shepherd. They made me feel like Grayson was their only patient, and I know he wasn't. They will forever have a special place in my family’s heart.” 

By the time Grayson completed the inpatient program, he was able to walk again. After, he began Shepherd Pathways, an outpatient brain injury rehabilitation program, where there was an intensive focus on making sure he was ready to return to day-to-day life and school. 

Despite the challenges he faced, Grayson discharged from Shepherd on Nov. 17, 2023, able to function independently again. He returned to Shepherd the next summer for Project Rollway.

"He got to go pick out his outfit he got to wear. They had food and entertainment. What was really neat was we hadn't seen a lot of our therapists, especially ones from inpatient, for a while,” Jamie says. “We got to reunite with all of them and show off our kiddo. Up on the stage, the world stopped revolving for a split second, and he enjoyed that moment." 

Grayson shares his mom’s sentiment. 

"It was fun seeing all my therapists, doctors, and nurses again,” he says. “They were able to see how far I had come. Being on stage was fun, but I enjoyed seeing everyone more." 

Grayson went on to continue therapy closer to home, while finishing his junior and senior years of high school on time with his friends. 

“Baseball taught me you will fail more than you will succeed, but that is okay. Never give up, and you will learn from it and get better the next day,” Grayson reflects. “I am excited to start the next chapter of my life at UT.” 

Written by Damjana Alverson

Loranne Ausley remembers going to sleep on Oct. 31, 2024, in anticipation of competing in Ironman Florida — her sixth Ironman competition — in Panama City the next day. She doesn’t remember anything past that — until she woke up at Shepherd Center three weeks later. 

Loranne was injured in the bike segment of the race. Unsure of exactly what happened, she believes her tires hit something in the road, causing her to fly over the handlebars. She sustained a spinal cord injury, a traumatic brain injury, and a broken collarbone. After three weeks at Ascension Sacred Heart Emergency Care and Trauma Center in Panama City — where she was unconscious for several days and underwent neck surgery — she was transferred to Shepherd Center on Nov. 24. 

Loranne had a tracheotomy and a feeding tube. Her right arm was virtually unmovable. She used a wheelchair for the first few weeks. During therapy, she worked on regaining her strength, balance, memory, and executive functioning skills. 

As an athlete, attorney, former Florida state legislator, and community volunteer, Loranne was used to keeping a fast pace and working hard. She had to learn to take baby steps. 

“I had to set small goals,” she says. “My main goal was to get back to running races. That was my life.” 

After nearly two months at Shepherd Center, Loranne returned home on Jan. 9, 2025, to continue her rehabilitation. A victory came when she ran for the first time with her physical therapist next to her. In March, she completed a 10K race. 

The successes continued as she regained her independence. She returned to her board post at the Institute for Child Success and was able to travel alone to a board meeting in Washington, D.C., in April. She’ll take over as board chair for the nonprofit in January 2026. 

Loranne has promised her husband she will not get on a bike again. But she continues to run and swim, and believes there is still a marathon in her future. In August, she completed a 20-mile hike in Wyoming with friends. 

Loranne is still working on a few things, but is grateful for how far she’s come. 

“I give a lot of credit to Shepherd Center for getting me where I am right now,” she says. “I made incredible improvements there. It’s an amazing place that helps people in very difficult times.” 

Written by Sara Baxter

“I wrapped my mind around it,” Greta says of the news that the symptoms she’d been experiencing — extreme fatigue, dizziness, pain, and weakness throughout her body — were caused by MS. “But I didn’t wallow — the condition was not going to take over my life.”

It took a few months to get the diagnosis. She received hypotheses from doctors but no real answers and nothing to relieve her symptoms.

“I had to cut back my teaching as it was difficult to move,” she recalls. “I stopped going to the gym. It was a scary and stressful time because no one had any answers.”

Last September, she visited another doctor who suspected MS. An MRI confirmed that diagnosis.

“I was actually relieved,” Greta says. “I knew what I was dealing with, and I could move toward progress.”

Greta sought treatment at the Andrew C. Carlos Multiple Sclerosis Institute at Shepherd Center, impressed by their holistic approach to care.

“MS is something I’m going to have the rest of my life,” she says. “I wanted a place that could give me a whole cadre of care.”

Greta began regular physical and occupational therapy, incorporated stretching into her routine, and was careful to eat a healthy diet and get plenty of sleep.

“I’m very coachable,” Greta says. “Tell me what to do, and I will do it faithfully with as much effort as I can. I felt empowered to improve.”

Greta also works out at Shepherd Center’s ProMotion Fitness Center, taking exercise classes tailored to people with MS. Her hard work and dedication have paid off; she’s seen improvements in her strength, mobility, and balance.

She has adapted her work schedule, and now teaches at an indoor facility, which helps her avoid the heat. She’s cut back on teaching but expanded her business in other ways that are not as physically demanding. She walks with a walking stick to help with balance.

She is grateful for the MS Institute.

“MS can be overwhelming,” Greta says, “especially if you don’t have a place where you can get physical and emotional support. Shepherd Center does that. Everything you need is right there. It is a life-changing, life-affirming place.”

Written by Sara Baxter

That Tommy is competing in these races at 64 years old doesn’t register on the scale of what is remarkable about his story.

On Sept. 8, 2010, a small, private plane in which Tommy was a passenger crashed near McRae, Ga., in a heavily wooded area less than three miles from the runway. The pilot was killed in the fiery wreckage. Tommy, battered and bloodied from head to toe, was spared.

The events immediately following the crash are remarkable. But Tommy only knows about it second hand – from rescue workers.

“I have post-traumatic amnesia,” Tommy explains. “There’s a four-day period that I have no memory of, thankfully. It is a blessing that I don’t remember what happened. The last thing I remember was driving to the airport in Carrollton and seeing Dan, my friend, who was the pilot. The next thing I remember is four days later.”

When Tommy’s plane crashed, an elderly man who lived nearby heard the noise and was able to point rescue workers to the aircraft wreckage. “If he hadn’t heard us, I’m not sure what would have happened because we were deep in the woods,” Tommy says.

According to rescue workers – who Tommy has since thanked over some barbecue in McRae – Tommy was conscious, alert, in a lot of pain and trapped in the plane when they arrived on the scene. The crew had to use “Jaws of Life” to cut out an aircraft seat so they could free Tommy from the wreckage.

It took 70 stitches to stop the bleeding on his head. He broke both ankles and five ribs, fractured his right elbow, tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder and sustained a lumbar spinal fracture. He underwent surgery in Macon and was transferred to Shepherd Center, where he spent three weeks in rehabilitation.

Tommy knew of Shepherd Center’s reputation for excellent outcomes before his crash. But seeing what he saw while rehabilitating gave him a new appreciation of the work doctors, nurses and therapists do at Shepherd Center.

“I had knowledge of the hospital through my friend and board member, Duncan Beard,” Tommy explains. “I had a great deal of respect for Shepherd Center before my injury.

Now, I know it is unquestionably the finest institution I’ve ever been associated with.

“I’m sorry I learned about it the way I did, but it was so rewarding to see the upbeat people and the attitudes people have there every day,” he adds. “I don’t know how they do it every single day. The patients are upbeat; the staff is upbeat. The people who work there are unbelievably well trained. They motivate, but do not coddle you, and they adjust to each patient.”

Tommy knew he was surrounded by patients who had more severe injuries. It made him grateful that he wasn’t hurt worse. But that doesn’t mean the initial days after the crash were easy.

“By the time I got to Shepherd Center, the troubling thing for me was a fear of the unknown,” he recalls. “They had gotten me out of bed in Macon, but it was extremely painful. I could walk five feet at first. By the time, I left there, it was like 10 yards. I knew it was going to be tough. Just how permanent it might be is what concerned me.

“After a week or so at Shepherd, I started thinking my improvement was steady enough that I’d be able to get back to an active lifestyle,” says Tommy, who has participated in triathlons for nearly three decades. “Now, I don’t have stabbing pains anywhere. I’m aware of where the fractures were, but I am very fortunate to have recovered so well.”

Shepherd Center physician Gerald Bilsky, M.D., knew Tommy had an excellent chance of making a good recovery, he says. But to the point of being able to participate in triathlons again?

Not so much.

“I expected him to be active and independent, but I couldn’t predict he would go back to triathlons,” he says. “There is a certain amount of luck involved, and he worked hard. The acute care hospital did the right things initially, and we helped him recover with a comprehensive rehabilitation program. Plus, people who are athletically inclined tend to do better. But no doubt about it, he was lucky.”

After returning home, Tommy continued therapy in Carrollton with the notion he was not going to miss the 2011 triathlon season.

“Now, I’m doing the same things – golf, running, swimming, biking,” he says. “I am close to normal on the bike. In swimming and running, I’m slower, though. I need more strength to return in my back and shoulders, more range of motion.”

The triathlon season will heat up again this spring, and Tommy is committed to shaving some time off his 2011 results.

“But I am 64 and did have those injuries,” he adds. “All in all, I’m pretty pleased with how I did.”

Written by Bill Sanders

Photography by Louie Favorite