2026 Pediatric Hero:
Marina Ganetsky
“Winning this award means a lot to me — not just because it’s a big honor, but because of what I hope it helps people understand. I hope it helps people see that you can have aphasia and still have your intellect intact. This award can also remind doctors to keep hope alive. There is no such thing as a plateau for a kid whose brain is still growing. Recovery and progress keeps happening for years after a stroke — but only if you keep working hard and practicing.
To me, this award means being seen for who I am — not just what happened to me. And I hope it opens more doors for kids like me to be believed, challenged, and included.” – Marina Ganetsky
At the tender age of 10, Marina Ganetsky suffered a ruptured AVM (Arteriovenous Malformation), a tangled web of veins and arteries so devastating that it caused multiple ischemic strokes in her young brain. Marina was unable to walk, talk, swallow, read or write. With a lot of determination, discipline and hard work, Marina, now 15, has made tremendous progress and is even involved with athletics. She helps others by speaking about her strokes at national conferences. She even wrote a book for children who face strokes and other brain injuries.
Marina, a Neeham, Massachusetts resident who was told she may never talk again, loves providing inspiration and hope for young people, who see her and realize that a child’s brain is capable of amazing growth and healing. She wrote the 2023 illustrated book, Or So They Thought: A True Story, where Marina and other young stroke survivors share experiences.
Last spring, she won first place in the state science fair with her research project on word-finding in people with aphasia, a language disorder caused by brain damage. Marina wants to help people that aphasia affects language, not thinking. She’s passionate about showing that intelligence remains intact, even when talking is hard.
Some damage from the strokes lingers, and Marina still struggles with balance and uses a walker. But she doesn’t let that stop her from being an athlete with adaptations for disabilities. Marina does adaptive skiing in the winter, adaptive surfing in the summer and adaptive swimming throughout the year with an occupational therapist. With her can-do, positive attitude, Marina rejects the common myth that recovery from stroke inevitably includes a plateau; one of her favorite sayings is: “Say no to plateau!” Marina works with her state representative to make the community more accessible for people with disabilities. She was recently recognized by the Massachusetts State Senate for her work in raising awareness about aphasia, helping advance scientific research, and promoting inclusivity and accessibility in her hometown.
