MARION — For Hannah Strom, the road to recovery has been long since she suffered life-threatening injuries in a brutal January car accident. But on Sunday, the young Marion woman owned the road as she ran from Tabor Academy to Silvershell Beach with close companions by her side and fans cheering her on.  

“I didn’t realize how many people were behind me and it amazed me to see” the support, Strom said in a phone interview with Sippican Week.

On Jan. 15, the Marion native (and daughter of the owners of Kool Kone in Wareham) was involved in a serious accident while training with her rowing team in Florida. The team’s van collided with a pickup truck, killing Strom’s teammate Grace Rett and injuring the other coaches and passengers.

For 139 days, Hannah was in medical care. Starting in the Intensive Care Unit in Florida, then at Massachusetts General Hospital and finally at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. She remained there from Feb. 11 until June 5 when she returned home to a huge surprise parade in town.

“It was very heartwarming to see all of those people, most of them I didn’t even know,” Hannah said of the parade. 

Gail said Hannah set a goal in September to do her “beach runs.” While she was at Tabor, Gail said she would run the mile or so down to Silvershell Beach to get ready for her crew season and she was upset that she wasn’t able to do them anymore.  So, she set a goal for herself to do one before Christmas.

And when Hannah reached that goal, she wasn’t alone.

She was cheered on by a crowd of people and joined by what Gail calls Hannah’s “dream team.” One of her Tabor crew coaches, Meredith Finch, her very first physical therapist from Spaulding Charlestown, Abigail Spaulding and Cheryl Langlais, her Physical Therapist from Seaside Physical Therapy, were all there by her side at the finish.

When Hannah and Gail lived at Spaulding Charlestown, Spaulding (who coincidentally has the same last name as the hospital) was her therapist for four months. Gail said Spaulding was literally on the ground lifting Hannah‘s legs and putting them in place and locking her knees, all while Hannah was in a harness. Gail said she wasn’t even able to hold her head up.  

“When her therapist at Spaulding Charlestown reached out and said that she would love to come to cheer her on or run alongside her I literally cried,” Gail said.

Now back at home with her family, Hannah is going through the recovery process in physical therapy.

Along with Langlais, she works with Joan Mabie, a local fitness specialist, twice a week for stretches and core strength. Hannah also goes to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital twice a week in Sandwich for rehab.

The recovery has gone well enough that Hannah recently got back in the boat for the first time in over a year on Nov. 8 at Lake Quinsig in Worcester alongside her brother and some teammates.

“It felt good to be back in the boat,” Hannah said.

Gail said she hopes to be back in classes at Holy Cross in the spring and participate a bit with the rowing team.

Through the village, fans cheered on Hannah and some even ran alongside her.

At the finish she was greeted by friends from Tabor, her father Tom, and brother. Even the new family goldendoodle, Ruthie, made an appearance.

“Thank you for supporting me from the bottom of my heart,” Hannah said. “I couldn’t have done it without everyone behind me.”