Swimming may have provided the miracle that allowed Nan Long of Haverford to survive a near-fatal brain injury and return to a normal life, writes Kathleen E. Carey for the Daily Times.

“I fell down the basement steps reaching for a darn box of dog bones,” the now 67-year-old said of the incident on Oct. 12, 2006. “Everything was gone.”

For a while, it was a touch-and-go situation, according to her husband, Steve. The medical staff brought her back to life but she was still bleeding and needed another operation.

She underwent nine brain surgeries and also contracted bacteria meningitis.

She ended up paralyzed and couldn’t talk.

Long slowly worked her way back to walking with a walker, then a cane. A neurologist said he’d never seen anyone recover as fast as Long.

“They called her ‘the miracle woman,’” said Steve Long.

Long’s husband attributed her miracle recovery to the fact she was in good physical shape and had been taking aerobic classes. Long said swimming at Aronimink Swim Club played a key role in her recovery.

“The swimming is keeping me going,” Nan added. “The endorphins.”

Read how Nan Long’s life has changed since her accident in the Daily Times.

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