Featured Patient

“8 AM game, 59 degrees, windy and rainy. This is love.” Christy Lazer posted those words on Facebook while watching her son’s baseball doubleheader in Virginia. Just hours later, everything changed. A sudden, severe headache led to the discovery of a ruptured brain aneurysm. After emergency surgery and multiple complications, Christy remained minimally conscious. Doctors recommended she be transferred to a long-term care facility—believing recovery was out of reach.

But Christy’s husband, Preston, wasn’t ready to give up. While researching rehabilitation hospitals, he was connected to Bryn Mawr Rehab by a childhood friend of Christy’s, Kate Turner, who works there. A specialist in brain injury at the hospital, Dr. Maneyapanda, reviewed her case and identified a secondary, treatable condition—offering new hope where there had been none.

Christy arrived at Bryn Mawr Rehab in November, traveling 160 miles from her home in Virginia  but finally in a place where everyone believed in her potential. Her care team adapted therapies with creativity and compassion. In one breakthrough moment, a speech therapist handed Christy a whiteboard—and Christy began writing full sentences. Later, she started drawing hearts for her family, quiet but powerful reminders that she was still very much present.

Day by day, Christy progressed—finding strength not just in therapy, but in unexpected places like the hospital’s greenhouse and the Art Ability exhibit. By March, she was back home rejoining life with her family. Her recovery defied expectations and stands as a testament to the healing power of belief, perseverance, and art. At Bryn Mawr Rehab, we never stop believing in what’s possible—for patients like Christy, and for all those on the path to recovery.

Featured Artist

Rachel Coleman is a fluid artist living in Chester County, PA. Originally from Allentown, PA, Rachel grew up helping in her mom's ceramic shop, but she never considered herself an artist. After losing both of her parents within weeks of each other and subsequently struggling with her mental health, a therapist suggested she try something creative as a reprieve from her trauma. She started small with a few craftier projects, eventually finding her way to fluid art. The way the colors moved across the canvas and created organic shapes was intriguing to her. Drawing inspiration from color, biology, and the elements of nature, fluid art has allowed Rachel to let go and give herself over to her art.

Rachel has a rare degenerative eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. She has decreased vision at night, trouble seeing in low light, and loss of some peripheral vision. Rachel says, "Being an artist living with this eye disease can be stressful, so I am grateful for every day that I have my sight. Making art has helped me come out of the dark."

Our Sponsors

Kenneth and Moira  Mumma
Bryn Mawr Rehab  Volunteer Auxiliary

		Lara and Scott Evans
			Steve and Carol Zarrilli