Crash Survivor Austin Sisk Named Volunteer of the Year

Austin Sisk was just 18 when a truck slammed into him five months after high school graduation, tearing his brain in four places and leaving him in a coma on a ventilator. Doctors told his parents the future looked uncertain.

What followed were weeks of what his mother Andrea calls "just in time" miracles. Each time doctors prepared for the worst, Austin improved just enough to qualify for the next level of care.

After three weeks in intensive care at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center in Georgia, he transferred to a long term rehab facility in Chattanooga. Eight weeks after the crash, he woke from his coma. Six months later, he came home to begin years of physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

"Austin came to us as a 19 year old kid with the odds stacked against him," said speech pathologist Danielle Salerno. "He kind of started at the bottom."

Austin, who also has Marfan Syndrome, dreamed of becoming a physical therapy assistant. He gave it everything he had, but his disabilities made that career path impossible.

So he asked if he could volunteer instead at the same rehab gym where he'd learned to walk and talk again. The answer was an immediate yes.

Now Austin cleans equipment, checks in with staff before leaving each day, and does something his former therapists say nobody else can do. He talks to discouraged patients one on one, offering hope from someone who truly understands their fight.

"When we have patients who are depressed or getting down about their progress, Austin is great to go and talk to them," said occupational therapist Alyssa Luthi. "We can talk to them and tell them there's hope, but we haven't been there like Austin has."

One young patient recently told staff his goal is to be like Austin. Therapist Misty Copeland said if you're going to pick somebody to be like, you can't go wrong with Austin.

Why This Inspires

Austin could have stopped at survival. Instead, he turned his hardest chapter into a gift for others walking the same road. He meets patients where they are, offering genuine encouragement rooted in lived experience, not just professional training.

"Austin chose to return not just as a survivor, but as a source of strength and encouragement for others," said Carolyn Falcitelli, director of Volunteer Services. "He stands as a living reminder that persistence is the path to success and that recovery is possible, even on the hardest days."

Austin received his Good Samaritan Volunteer of the Year Award on April 27, 2026, alongside three other volunteers recognized for compassionate service. His former therapists call it a full circle moment, watching a patient become the pillar of what they hope to see in everyone they treat.