The Morristown miracle remains optimistic after the train station incident

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Lisa Fitzgerald has collected quite a few new T-shirts since losing her left leg on May 4.

Fitzgerald had been visiting her brother, sister-in-law and newborn niece in Morris Plains and was rushing to catch her train at the Morristown station that evening when she slipped and fell through the tracks, sustaining a leg that had to be amputated above the knee.

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“And that’s what it was, just a stumble, a slip,” she said in a recent interview with Patch. “And that’s all it took to get through it.”

When none of the people above came to her aid, Fitzgerald – who said she is used to running six miles a day and doing other physical activity – managed to pull herself up onto the platform and call for help until a New Jersey Transit worker came to her aid, then she ran to find Morristown police.

Patch checked in with the “Miracle of Morristown” last week as she settled back into her Queens apartment with her boyfriend Brian. She was allowed to return home on June 1 after spending about 10 days in an inpatient rehab facility.

She has maintained a positive attitude towards her recovery and appeared visibly in good spirits during the intensive rehabilitation therapy and the preparation for the first prosthetic fitting.

“The leg is gone, I can’t get it back. That’s decided,” she said. “What do we do now? Move forward. Laugh about it and make progress.”

Another example of that good humor is the T-shirt she wore on a Zoom call with a patch on it that read “IHOP.” Fitzgerald sent photos of a few more shirts with amputation puns, all capped with a grin.

She also insisted on having “nub-shaped” foods for her 30th birthday, which she spent in the hospital – the menu included taquitos, sausage rolls, carrots and hummus, eclairs and other dishes that fit the “glamputation” party theme.

Fitzgerald is one of eight children, so the party was well attended. She said her family also celebrated Mother’s Day and her sister-in-law’s graduation from Morristown Medical Center.

She said she and Brian had only moved into their apartment two weeks before the accident. Her family members also came over to help her organize the leftover moving boxes and her bags from the hospital and to clear some space so she could get around with crutches.

“The good thing about it being a small New York apartment is that there is always something there that I can take with me when I need it,” she said.

She is receiving support from her family, friends, loved ones and, thanks to the vast reach of the internet, people she has never met before. A GoFundMe campaign has raised nearly $128,000 as of June 11 to cover the costs of her rehab, care and prosthetics.

“This great love and support from strangers is so touching,” she said.

Because her stitches were recently removed, Fitzgerald can begin a “shrinker” to get the rest of her leg in shape before she receives her first prosthetic.

She is looking forward to the process and to working as a financial advisor again. She said the pain at the amputation site is “absolutely bearable” on a day-to-day basis, but she is suffering from nerve pain because doctors had to relocate her sciatic nerve.

Supporters have sent her messages through the GoFundMe campaign that have helped her keep her spirits up, Fitzgerald said.

“So many people have shared things that have helped them deal with the pain, or shared their perspectives, or just shared how they dealt with it or how long they’ve been dealing with it. It’s been so amazing and helpful to me and the way I think and feel.”

And Fitzgerald is also thinking about how she could use this experience to help others.

Fitzgerald said she was asked to return to the hospital after her recovery to share her mindset and positive attitude with younger victims of traumatic injuries like her.

“I’m definitely going to do something other than speaking at the hospital,” she said. “I just don’t know what it will be yet.”

You can read more about Fitzgerald’s story here and support her road to recovery via GoFundMe.