HARRINGTON, Del. - From three brain bleeds to taking the main stage at the Miss Delaware pageant, Courtney Russum has made quite the journey to compete.
Russum is from Millsboro and began competing in pageants at a young age and currently holds the title of Miss Sussex County. However, her fight for the crown back in 2018 turned to a fight for her life. A devastating car crash left her in an induced coma for a week.
"Waking up and not seeing teeth in my mouth and not being able to talk and only being able to remember two names, my best friend and my mom's name, was very eye catching.." said Russum.
After much physical therapy, she still has delayed motion in her right side but is back to twirling her baton for the talent portion of the competition.
These hardships left her with a passion to advocate for those with traumatic brain injuries like what she had.
Russum said, "To be thankful that you're here and you have to be thankful that you're able to walk and you're able to talk and be able to eat, because they didn't think I was going to be able to do any of that and I was like 'You've got the wrong one. You can't sit here and tell me I can't do something'. "
As she continues to prove herself on the Miss Delaware stage she also inspires others in the classroom at the Sussex Consortium.
The pageant begins Friday with the Miss Delaware Teen part of the competition and continues Saturday for Miss Delaware at the Harrington Raceway and Casino.
If you're interested in signing up for the pageant, you can go to missde.org.