“Today the Bergen Record covered the road from my illness through my recovery. I shared my story in part to bring awareness to the public of brain aneurysms. Towards that goal, I am announcing my newest endeavor. I have agreed to join the board of The Lisa Colagrossi Foundation. The newly formed Foundation was started by Todd Crawford who lost his wife Lisa Colagrossi, a popular newscaster, after she suffered a brain aneurysm earlier this year. The Foundation’s focus will be to raise awareness and educate individuals to warning signs and treatment options for brain aneurysms.
The Foundation recently launched the “Lucky 7” challenge. The effort is a one-of-a-kind national fundraising campaign that will directly fund brain aneurysm awareness, education, research and support initiatives across the country. “Lucky 7” encourages individuals and businesses to make donations that include the number 7, Lisa’s favorite number and the network she worked for in New York City.
For more information about The Lisa Colagrossi Foundation, Holly Schepisi’s board announcement, the “Lucky 7” challenge and information about brain aneurysms please visit www.LisasLegacy7.org. “Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi
Mountains to climb: North Jersey lawmaker tells of her road back after brain aneurysm
NOVEMBER 8, 2015 LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2015, 12:59 AM
BY LINDY WASHBURN
STAFF WRITER |
THE RECORD
On a Saturday in March, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi felt her left arm go numb. It was cold out, and she’d just given a speech at a rally to oppose oil trains crossing the Oradell Reservoir. Soon she felt like her tongue was swelling. She quietly excused herself.
At home, she felt “as if the synapses in my brain were misfiring,” she said. It was like “someone was pressing Bubble Wrap in my brain.” As she sat with her young son, her left side went numb.
“I felt like I was in the movie ‘The Matrix,’ popping in and out of reality,” she said. She jumped out of her chair. “Something is really wrong,” she told her husband.
