From Tragedy to Triumph: Former Pro Racer Returns to the Track After 2016 Tragedy

Morgan Monroe to also open Morgan’s Place for discharged traumatic brain injury patients and their families

MILLINGTON, MICHIGAN, UNITED STATES, May 8, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Some fairytales do come true. Within the flat track motorcycle racing community, the story of Morgan Monroe feels a bit like a fairytale, complete with tragedy, a miraculous recovery, and a happy ending.

Morgan Monroe started racing motorcycles on flat track at the age of eight. She and her family traveled the country racing different tracks and meeting new friends as an amateur racer. When she was 15, she attended her first riding school hosted by Johnny Lewis – MotoAnatomy. They quickly became friends and he turned into a mentor for her, helping her take it to the next level. At the age of 17, Morgan earned her professional license and her future as a racer looked bright. Unfortunately, later that year, she had a life-altering accident at the last race of the season.

The Road to Recovery

The accident resulted in several broken bones and serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury leading to a hemorrhagic stroke, causing temporary right-sided paralysis. After 30 days in the hospital, she walked out of the hospital on her own using a cane, but her road to recovery was just beginning. Throughout the next two years, Morgan underwent extensive outpatient therapy including three months in Florida, where she stayed on Johnny Lewis’ property with her mom in their motorhome. She had physical, occupational, and speech therapy, along with other modalities, such as acupuncture, yoga, and recreation therapy they were creative about themselves.

Along the way, Morgan and her family realized that outpatient therapy can be not only expensive, but a bit boring, especially for elite athletes used to pushing the limits. As a result, she launched Morgan’s Place in 2021, a nonprofit organization with the goal of supporting injured individuals and their families after they’ve been discharged from inpatient care.

“With support from my family, friends, and the flat track community, along with my experience recovering at Johnny’s, I was inspired to create a place of help and healing for others,” said Morgan.

Shifting Gears

Morgan made a miraculous recovery. She decided to become a recreation therapist and graduated with a degree in Health Sciences in 2020 from the University of Michigan-Flint. She began her professional career in 2021. As of 2023, Morgan has joined Royal Enfield – Build. Train. Race. and will be racing again with factory support at select Progressive American Flat Track races. She truly gets to live her dream even after the hardships and trials she imagined would hold her back. She’s realized nothing can hold her back and wants to show others that they have the same power within themselves, too!

Still a Racer at Heart

“I’ve done some racing since the accident, but though I felt physically able, I wasn’t ready mentally,” admitted Morgan. “I tried hard to tell myself ‘I’m not a racer anymore,’ but I am. That’s who I am and what I love to do.”

Six years after her accident, Morgan is gearing up to race again – and Johnny Lewis is once again playing an integral role. In many ways, they have come full circle.

Morgan has recently been accepted to be a part of the Royal Enfield – Build. Train. Race. program, in which Johnny Lewis is a professional factory rider for the team. Build. Train. Race. promotes women in motorsports by assisting them to build their own race bike and compete in select rounds of the Progressive American Flat Track series.

About Morgan’s Place

Morgan’s Place will implement innovative recreation therapy services and respite care incorporating entire healing mechanisms to care for visitors and family needs after they experience a traumatic injury. Staff members will provide wrap-around services to ensure families aren’t left struggling trying to figure out what’s next. Work is in progress at the facility in Millington, Michigan with an anticipated opening date of May 29, 2023. For more information or to find out how you can help, visit www.morgansplace.org.

Amanda Holdsworth
Holdsworth Communications
[email protected]
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