ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — There was a sense of ease.
 
In this kind of moment, laying in a hospital bed with your future in question, that description wouldn't capture just anyone. Good thing Jaclyn Mijuskovic, a senior Flagler College softball player, isn't just anyone.
 
"I said 'Honestly, mom, if this was it and I wasn't OK and I didn't live or I was never the same again, if that were the case, I would be OK with it," she remembers saying, "because I left nothing unsaid. I regret nothing that I've ever done, said, or participated in in my life.  
 
"It was a good feeling."
 
A year ago, those were the words Jaclyn, who is better known as Jackie, spoke after suffering truly a freak accident on the softball field at UNC Pembroke while playing catcher. Diving for a live ball, she collided with a teammate that resulted in a more significant injury than she initially thought.
 
"For a while, I thought I just broke my nose, and I would just get a quick nose job and be back on the field really quickly," she said.
 
However, it wasn't that easy of a fix nor was it an injury Jackie could have ever imagined happening to her. But, unfortunately, it did and is why April 7th will forever be engraved as the day that turned the now 22-year-old's life upside down.
 
"You go about your day thinking nothing can ever happen," Jackie said, "and then you don't know it can, until it does."
 
Walking Miracle
 
The injury was very significant — life-threatening even.
 
Once Jackie and her parents, Mark and Sylvia Mijuskovic, left the field and arrived at the local hospital, the CT scan revealed the broken nose and much more. It showed that over 10 broken bones throughout the orbital region of her face were shattered, her skull was fractured, and her brain was bleeding with cerebrospinal fluid coming from her nose.
 

The realization kicked into high gear as Jackie was prepped for immediate air transportation to the Carolina Medical Center in Charlotte. Even then, with her life in flux, she found some good in the situation.
 
"I remember going out to the helicopter and my eyes were starting to swell up at that point, but something told me to open them," Jackie said, "so I forced my eye open and looked out. You could see all the city lights, all the stars, and it was this really calming peace brought about me when I saw that. I wasn't nervous; I wasn't scared — I knew it was going to be OK."
 
Jackie's intuition served her well as she was in the ICU for days upon her surgery to repair the damage physically done. Leaning on her own courage and strong-will, the long-time softball lover lifted up those surrounding her in that hospital room. 
 
In less than two weeks, Jackie was released with her biggest obstacle and recovery hanging in the balance.
 
"The doctor said he had never seen anything that bad in a sports injury," said Flagler College's FCA representative and Jackie's mentor, Sheila Hodges, "and for her to survive the injury … it's just amazing. Through the power of prayer, Jackie got well so much quicker than the doctors expected. They were scratching their heads. The process she was making was just amazing and at record time, and just a miracle."
 
Overcoming
 
Jackie has been beating the odds since day one.
 
As a premature baby, the doctors said Jackie would be delayed in her development, but it never proved true.
 
"Jackie has been a fighter since the day she was born," Jackie's mother, Sylvia, said. "It's interesting to see, even from birth, that has almost defined her personality. She has always overcome every obstacle that has been in her way. When she went through this, it was yet another need for her to be strong and overcome it.
 
"That type of attitude not only helped her get through it, but helped all of us get through it."

Personal video filmed from Jackie
 
The Rockledge, Florida, native leaned on her parents, older sister, Jazmyn, and boyfriend James Fitzpatrick as the recovery without her other half began. She was shouldered with not only recouping her normal outside appearance as swelling and bruising lingered for four months, but also the fact softball was over due to the severity of the injury and the metal plates and screws throughout her face/head area.
 
The feeling of loneliness and uncertainty was there for a while as was the anxiety of returning to campus, where sometimes she would lose recollection of where she was at times. The hardest part was accepting she had to set aside her pride and do things —like accommodated testing— for the time being as she battled through these post-brain injury symptoms.
 
"I think the best thing for me was getting back into a routine," she said. "In some ways, I really wasn't ready."
 
But like with everything, Jackie battled through it, including another setback in November where she had to have a second surgery to repair her sinus pathways and orbital cellulitis, and found ways to make herself feel normal again.
 
"Jackie has always been inspiring and motivating to those around her way before her injury," Flagler College softball coach Kathryn Geouge said. "Her kindness and her genuine care for people can be seen by even just spending a few moments around her. Jackie took her injury and chose to become stronger from it. She faced her daunting recovery with faith, hope, and positivity and has become an inspiration for all those around her. I was amazed by her optimistic outlook throughout the entire situation and am so incredibly proud of the strong young woman that Jackie is!"
 

To get back into the swing of routines, she wrote herself positive reminders on her bathroom mirror, started a new job, worked out, connected with old friends, volunteered with Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and continued her journey as a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes on campus.
 
Jackie also began to give private softball lessons while continuing to be a part of the softball program, where she would go to games and practices so she could keep a positive association with the sport that defined her for a long time.
 
"Every game, we usually say who we are playing for, and since the 2019 season I have always said I'm playing for Jackie," Flagler senior Genevieve Mangini said. "Jackie has always been strong. She is always putting up crazy weight in the weight room, but on April 7th, I got to see how strong Jackie really was. Since that day, I have never seen her feel sorry for herself or make her accident stop her from doing anything. She has shown me to never take anything for granted and to see the positives.
 
"Since the end of our 2020 season, I think about what we did accomplish this year. From turning our first triple play to starting conference 2-0, and although Jackie wasn't on the field with us this season, she was our biggest supporter and continues to be."
 
Finding a New Path
 
Over these past 365 days, Jackie has kept everything in perspective.
 
She's inserted new pieces to her puzzle and has grown with the determination to use her tragic accident as her testimony. It's what made her the perfect choice as the new FCA President, being nominated by fellow student-athletes, following the near-death accident that put her in a place she's never been before.  
 
"She was so excited because she wasn't going to be able to play sports anymore, but she was going to be able to be the leader of FCA and the leader of the athletes," Hodges said. "The largest meeting we had was when she spoke and people came to hear her, her story, and journey. The whole time she was so positive. She said 'Yes, I'm going to miss this, but the opportunity now to be able to speak and let people know that there is something else afterwards. With God and great faith, miracles can happen, and it happened in her life. She knew God kept her on this earth for a purpose and it was to inspire others. If I can come through this, you can come through this.'
 
"Very powerful, very powerful."

It's a message that overflowed from Jackie and now again proves so true after the coronavirus (COVID-19), a respiratory disease, canceled seasons and careers for many student-athletes across the nation. It's the same pain Jackie felt, except hers came a year earlier.
 
Since hanging up her cleats, Jackie has been set on pulling positivity from the situation she was dealt and showing how being a student-athlete prepared her for moments like this. It's helped her view things differently while finding a new calling in life and encouraging as many as she can along the way.
 
"It made me into the type of person that was able to handle such a difficult time," said Jackie of playing softball. "The takeaway from any type of sport or athlete is built up so much and has such a solid foundation, as a person intrinsically. They have that foundation to be a good professional someday and be the kind of person who can handle hardships because that's what sports are. It's just making good out of hard situations, if needed."
 
It's the same mentality now, even with a sports hiatus. The game plan hasn't changed  — just the venue. It's all about what you do with this new challenge, and a fact Jackie knows better than anyone. 

One year ago today on April 7, 2019, she was tossed the toughest pitch of her lifetime and she didn't whiff. Through her resiliency, faith, and never-give-up attitude, Jackie knocked it out of the park. 

She continues to do so, knowing softball laid the foundation and now she has those individuals in her corner to help write the rest of her story. 

"Just remembering you can reach out to a friend or teammate if needed," Jackie said, "knowing you aren't alone, and you are supported during this time and knowing there is life after sports, even though it doesn't seem like it. Remember your identity outside the sport and just try to get better in some way every single day."