“I’m grieving the person I was before the accident,” Jessica Stratton tells PEOPLE exclusively
NEED TO KNOW
- Jessica Stratton always loved the outdoors and considered herself to be very active
- However, four days before her 28th birthday, she suffered a traumatic brain injury while skiing with friends in Denver
- Now, she’s documenting her recovery journey online and using her platform to encourage other skiers to prioritize safety — starting with wearing a helmet every time they hit the slopes
In January 2026, Jessica Stratton had been skiing with a group of friends in Colorado when her life changed in an instant.
What began as a typical run down to the base ended in a crash she doesn’t remember and a recovery she never could have imagined.
“We’re assuming that I hit a patch of ice or caught an edge, but [my friends] said that I double-ejected from my skis and tomahawked/tumbled at a pretty high speed off the side of the run,” Stratton tells PEOPLE exclusively. “[They] found me a few yards down from where my skis were sticking straight up in the snow.”…