Marissa McKay

Marissa McKay is a young golf champion who came into the hospital after a spinal injury.

Golf
Marissa is an avid golfer. She was ranked first among junior golfers.

Injury
Marissa came into the hospital with severe lower back pain, which her pediatrician had dismissed as growing pains and soreness from playing golf. However, x-rays showed a serious misalignment in her spine. Callie Torres developed a plan that would allow for more stability, increasing her chances of not becoming paralyzed. However, Amelia Shepherd developed a conflicting plan, which gave her spine less stability, but allowed more flexibility, which would allow Marissa to continue golfing. Marissa chose Amelia’s approach because she said golfing was the most important thing in her life.

Amelia proceeded with the surgery, but the defect was even worse than the scans showed, so she was forced to call Callie in to do it her way. By the time Callie arrived, Marissa had no nerve function in her spine, so Callie had to work quickly to stabilize her spine to restore function. The surgery was finished and Marissa's mother was told that she would be able to walk, even run, with physical therapy, but that she wouldn’t golf again.

Marissa was upset because she said golf was the only thing that clicked for her. Callie told her that she would find something else that would click for her.

Familial
Marissa's mother actively encouraged her daughter's love of golf. When she found out that Marissa would never play golf again, she was upset with Amelia and Callie because her daughter was great and they were supposed to be great, too.

Notes and Trivia

 * Marissa was the best junior golfer in the country prior to her accident. She hadn't lost a tournament in 4 years prior to her injury.