LOS ANGELES – School is back in session at the Episcopal School of Los Angeles, but one student wasn’t quite sure she would be present.

Tessa Carlisle, 16, is starting her junior year. Last year she was rushed into emergency surgery with a ruptured aneurysm. A ruptured aneurysm is when an artery bursts and blood spills out into the space between the brain and the skull.

Her recovery has been miraculous.

This year Carlisle is using her experience in class. She loves photography so for her advanced art project she is going to incorporate her own brain scans, photos, and texts. It is one way she is healing mentally while her body has been doing a lot of healthy physically.

Carlisle’s last scan in June showed everything was okay, but still goes to physical therapy.

“I never thought I would be here. When I was in rehab I remember looking in the mirror one day and seeing my shaved head and being like oh this is going to be my hair for the rest of my life,” said Carlisle, who no longer wears a wig.

Going back to school probably carries a bit more meaning for Carlisle than most.