Retreat FundRaiser Spotlight
Meet Gabriella Tranchina!
Gabriella (she/her) will attend her first LoveYourBrain Retreat this Spring in Colorado, and is one of our top Retreat fundraisers, having raised over $7,000 to-date! While LYB Retreats are free, we ask participants to help fundraise to pay-it-forward for future Retreat attendees. Gabriella’s efforts and the generosity of her community have now made it possible for 5+ individuals to attend our Retreats!
We are so grateful to Gabriella and all that she has inspired by sharing her story. We hope that you find inspiration for her story and the power of what she shared with us!
What does attending the LYB Retreat mean to you?
When my neuropsychologist 'assigned' me to watch The Crash Reel, as I approached the anniversary of my TBI, I received validation. Kevin said things about his TBI that I had been feeling for the past year, but hadn't been able to put into words. Instantly, I knew I wanted, no, needed more of that as I continued to recover and lead a life with this new brain. You can imagine my excitement when I then found out LoveYourBrain was founded and the Retreats existed!
My mother and I checked the website every day to see when applications for the next retreat would open. I received my acceptance right after Thanksgiving, just as the Holiday Season was beginning, and I cannot think of anything more fitting. As 2022 ended, my college friends and I shared our roses and thorns of the year. My thorn was having multiple surgeries and procedures, but my rose was being invited to the LYB Retreat. For the first time since my accident, I have hope. Hope that I'll find people who understand and relate to my day to day. Hope that I will finally find a community in all this.
Tell us about your fundraiser! What made it so successful?
I took a lot of time working with my mom and brother to create my description. I wanted to make it clear in an accessible way to all readers that LYB is necessary, Retreats like this are necessary, and there probably isn't enough talk about the importance of the brain and the seriousness of concussions and TBIs.
To accomplish this, I made sure to maintain my personality, which includes a lot of humor, so it sounded like I myself was reading my story. I wanted to explain directly from myself why this Retreat is so important to me and my brain injury survivor siblings. My fundraising page didn't sound like a computer-generated statement, but like a person, like Gabriella.
I had many people comment on my description, specifically the jokes in it, including people I didn't know! My brother or mom would tell me that their friend's sister's cousin read my description and laughed at the part where I referred to being hit by a car as being punted, yeeted, rocked, and skrted. One even said "Well, she's still got her sense of humor!"
Gabriella on the anniversary of her TBI.
Additionally, I did let my fundraiser fall into the lap of therapists at my outpatient center, Transitions of Long Island. Transitions specifically deals with brain injuries, so this cause was very close to the therapists' hearts and those that could were more than happy to donate. It almost felt like part of their duty.
What motivated your incredible fundraising efforts?
Gabriella skiing, before her accident.
I know what it feels like to have a severe TBI and l know how lonely of an experience it is. Some of your family and friends may try to understand what you're going through, but they just won't be able to fully grasp it because they themselves aren't living it. Brain injuries are definitely partially an inner feeling only those affected can understand. I know how excited I am to go on the Retreat and how necessary to my recovery, my energy, my growth, and my soul the retreat is. I want others that unfortunately have to walk this line to find the peace I am going to find.
Gabriella at her college graduation.
Gabriella working on her first TV job!
What have you found in the LYB community?
I have already found so much friendship, validation, a home - and I haven't even gone on the Retreat yet. My mom recently completed a LYB online caregiver retreat and already I've seen such a productive difference in the way she communicates with me and manages her own emotions, specifically regarding my brain injury. LYB has brought a lot of peace to a once intense household.
I am currently in a 6-week Mindset group for brain injury survivors and it's only made me MORE excited for the Retreat. It's so fascinating to see how all of us, old and young, relate to the same things, feel the same things, and additionally, share resources that help us all! Every week consists of getting emotional support and more helpful tips and tricks to navigate life with a new brain.
I've actually had to monitor how much I chime in in a session because I myself will make us all run over because after each person talks I want to exclaim how much I relate, add a new point, or share a helpful tool. The LYB community is going to be my community for life and never stop giving.
We are so grateful to Gabriella, all of the wonderful humans joining our Retreats, and those supporting us to make this a free, supportive opportunity for our community!