Growing up, we all go through the process of selecting our favorite teams. Many fans are born into the team they will follow based on the proximity of the team or the influence of family and friends. This was not the case for Sargent Lisa Crutch, a New York native whose desire to be different pushed her to become a lifelong fan of the Philadelphia Eagles. This week, she was given the surprise of a lifetime when she was giventwo tickets to Super Bowl LVII. 

The Wounded Warrior Project  

Crutch served in the Army for eight years and rose to the rank of Sargent before being deployed to Iraq in 2004. She was initially a truck driver, but when she arrived in the country, she worked on gun trucks, operating the fifty caliber machine gun during missions escorting troops. 

While serving in Iraq, Crutch sustained TBI, or traumatic brain injury,due to a crash. She also suffers from PTSD.

“I didn’t even know what TBI was until I got home and went to the VA,” Crutch explained. 

Upon further examination by the doctors, she learned that her memory loss, lack of sense of taste, and headaches were all symptoms of TBI. According to Department of Defense reports, 449,000 servicemen and women were diagnosed with some form of TBI between 2000 and 2021.

With the help of the Wounded Warrior Project, Crutch learned how to transition back to civilian life and get back on her feet while completing the organization’s year-long TRACK Program. This program is a residential college and vocational skills program that provides academic, career, and health counseling,  along with extensive goal setting and peak performance training in order to help participants succeed in college vocational school or the workforce. 

“The Wounded Warrior Project helped in ways I couldn’t start toexplain,” she told Career College Central Magazine. “The WWP has been a light in a tunnel of darkness.”

Fly Eagles Fly

Since her deployment, Crutch has been working to raise awareness for the wounded warrior project and TBI. She has been featured on numerous news outlets and even flew to Arizona to represent the organization at the Super Bowl. It was here that she received thesurprise of a lifetime. Check out the video below!Hide original message

“This is a great life that I’m living, a lot of people might not think so – I got hurt, I have PTSD and TBI and all that – but this is a wonderful life that I’m living, and I’m just so grateful for it,” Crutch told reporters after receiving the tickets. 

Crutch’s attitude toward life and service to this country is truly inspiring. While we don’t know who will come away with the win on Sunday, we know one thing for sure, Sargent Lisa Crutch will be enjoying every moment. 

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