PBS39 Premieres ‘Out of the Darkness’ A Special on Brain Injury

This 30 minute special will be hosted and produced by PBS39’s Tracy Yatsko, a brain injury survivor.

Bethlehem, PA – March 26, 2019 – Out of the Darkness, a PBS39 Special on Brain Injury, will air at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 29, 2019. PBS39’s Tracy Yatsko of Your Take will host and produce this half hour special.

“PBS39 is proud to present this special during Brain Injury Awareness Month,” Tim Fallon, Chief Executive Officer of PBS39 said. “Out of the Darkness gives members of our community a platform to share their stories of perseverance and strength.”

Tracy Yatsko has been a brain injury awareness advocate and public speaker for more than a decade. While in high school, the Tamaqua native sustained a brain injury playing basketball, which robbed her of eight years of her life. After many unsuccessful treatment options, she met a specialist who helped her overcome her disability. Yatsko has made it her mission to use her voice to stand up for the brain injury community.

“Fourteen years ago I was fighting for brain injury awareness in front of government officials, now I’m reaching an even larger audience by hosting a television special,” Yatsko said. “This is something I never could have imagined back then. I am so grateful for this opportunity to shine a light on a cause that is so close to my heart. I am honored to stand alongside these survivors and I hope this special is healing to those who watch.”

Yatsko will be joined by two brain injury survivors, Cristabelle Braden and Marissa Witman. Braden suffered a traumatic brain injury at a young age while playing a game of Red Rover. She is now a singer, songwriter, speaker, author and the founder of Hope After Head Injury. Witman had emergency surgery after being hit by a car on Halloween night at the age of 14. Braden and Witman will discuss the challenges of living with a brain injury and how they had to grieve the loss of the people who they once were and accept their new selves.

Yatsko’s mother, Linda McCarroll, will also share her insight on how brain injury affects the whole family. Speech language pathologist, Sarah Krusen, and clinical psychologist, Dr. Ann Marie Laughlin, will join the conversation with a professional perspective and discuss their work with the brain injury community.

This special will also feature voices of survivors from across the country. Survivors from Washington, Oklahoma, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania will share their darkest moments and how they persevered to offer hope to the brain injury community.

Out of the Darkness will air at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 29. The special will air again at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 31. Check your local listings to find PBS39/WLVT on your cable or satellite provider. The special will also be posted in its entirety on PBS39.org.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. For resources, visit the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania website or call the free brain injury resource line at 1-800-444-6443.

About PBS39

PBS39 is a community-owned public media station licensed in Allentown to the Lehigh Valley Public Telecommunications Corporation, serving eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. PBS39 acts as the catalyst to promote civic engagement, and to fulfill the regional needs of the Greater Lehigh Valley through its dynamic communication platforms and resources. PBS39 Reporter Corps journalists are embedded in the ten counties that make up the Greater Lehigh Valley. The Reporter Corps creates community-focused content for PBS39 News Tonight and for the PBS39 digital platform. For more information, visit PBS39.org.

Information provided to TVL by:
Nicole Harrell
Public Relations/Promotions Manager, PBS39