MILFORD -- The scrapbook isn't finished yet. The chapters filled with smiles and cheers, records and awards, newspaper clippings and ribbons came to a premature close, but turn the page. For Millie Crisostomo, there's more to come.
December 26 marked the one-year anniversary of the auto accident that killed Crisostomo's friend and Milford High track teammate, Talia Emslie. Crisostomo, the best female runner in Milford history, is still recovering from injuries she suffered in the crash, including two shattered legs.
She still thinks about the tragedy and she doesn't look away when she passes the roadside shrine that's been erected in Emslie's memory at the sight of the accident on Interstate 495 in Hopkinton.
“I see it when I go to the mall,” Crisostomo said. “You can't miss it. It makes me think. I'll never forget it, and I still have flashbacks, but I kind of want to put it away.”
She's ready to start that new chapter in her life. In fact, she already has.
“When I look at my old medals. ... that's high school,” Crisostomo said. “Those are races that I won in high school, so that's in the past anyway.”
Crisostomo recently completed her first semester at Boston College with a 3.0 grade point average. Two weeks ago, while home on school break, she had the pins that were inserted in her legs following the accident surgically removed. She'll walk with the aid of crutches for two more weeks while her legs strengthen. She'll need about a month of physical therapy after that. Then comes the next step.
“I guess I want to make miracles happen,” Crisostomo said.
Crisostomo was recruited by BC coach Randy Thomas before the accident and ended up receiving a partial scholarship from the school. Despite being sidelined, she is on the roster for both the cross country and track teams and traveled to meets with her cross country teammates this past fall to cheer them on.
“When I saw the list of people who made the team posted in the locker room last fall and my name was on it, it made me feel really motivated,” Crisostomo said. “They have me on the roster for the track team, too. They've been very supportive. I'm part of the team, I'm just on the injured list. They still have hope in me that I'll get back. That makes me really happy.”
The timetable for Crisostomo's anticipated return isn't set, but she has her own goals.
“I was planning on running, having all of my injuries fixed, by sophomore year track season (spring 2000),” said Crisostomo, who also wears a brace on her left leg because of nerve damage. “I've been thinking about a lot of stuff, and I want to run sooner than that. If it means for me to run with the brace, I'm willing to do it if my doctor tells me I can. I think about how awesome it would be to run one race, even if it's with my brace. I want to start at least jogging this spring. I'm anxious I guess.”
She looks proudly to the framed poster her father and No.1 motivator, Al, made for her to bring back to school. It shows Crisostomo on her way to victory at the 1997 Central Mass. cross country championships.
“Looking at that and seeing myself right now. ... maybe it will take a while before I get back like that. My legs aren't what they used to be. I'm not all done though. I'll be back.”
Crisostomo and her father visited Emslie's grave last week. She said she sometimes has dreams about her protege.
“There's times when it's emotional,” Crisostomo said.
The adjustment to college life wasn't easy at first, either. She was assigned to a single room in the dormitory and it was hard not having a roommate to talk to. It was also difficult for her to leave behind her friend Nick Ferrucci, a Milford High junior who was also hurt in the accident. They helped each other through the tough times.
“I went there thinking, 'okay, I can do this,' ” Crisostomo said. “Then you get into the mood, 'how am I going to go through this on my own?' There were times when I didn't want to be alone, when I was sad and I needed someone to talk to. I called my Dad a lot or called my friends or wrote in my journal. I try to do stuff to forget about it. Like being with the cross country team, that makes me forget about it. A lot of people have been very supportive.”
Crisostomo, who is majoring in communications, considered her first semester a success.
“I did well and I'm happy about that,” she said.
When having the poster printed, Al Crisostomo borrowed a line from his daughter's senior night speech and had it inscribed -- “Life is like a box of chocolates.” It was a line Crisostomo herself took from the movie “Forrest Gump.”
“When I first heard it, I was like 'yeah, Forrest Gump, whatever' ,” she said. “But then the more I thought about it, life is like a box of chocolates, because you don't know what you're going to get. You never know what's going to happen.
“I was so into running, and it was getting into my head. I wasn't cocky, but I was so confident about it. I never thought about breaking my legs. You never know what's going to happen.
“Just because I can't run now, I don't want to be a person who gives up. That's easy to say, but it's hard to do. I've accomplished one goal already -- making it through a semester and doing good. My next goal is getting motivated to run. I see everyone running, and I'm like 'I want to run now. I want results now.' Once I get off the crutches, I'll see how it goes. I'm up for moving ahead.”© 1998 Worcester Telegram & Gazette