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Against All Odds

Local woman fights to regain mobility

by Sarah Tonner

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The day that Mandy LaCombe was involved in a car accident was the day that forever changed her life. In August 1996 LaCombe, like many people her age, was deliberating over her future career. “I was just about to graduate from court-reporting school but having had two back surgeries when I was younger, I was also considering being a motivational speaker,” she recalls. “I knew that the medical experiences I had endured could provide hope to other people in a similar situation.” She decided to finish her schooling and then follow her dream to inspire others. She had finally given herself the green light to forge her own path, but that path would take an unexpected turn.

The Unthinkable Happens

As LaCombe passed through a green light on an overpass on I-45 South in Houston, her car was hit on the driver’s side by a tow truck. The powerful impact caused the large steel grill-guard of the truck to become embedded into her car door. After firefighters cut the bumper free, rescue teams realized the severity of her injuries. LaCombe remembers floating in and out of consciousness, and later was told that her heart had stopped several times at the scene. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The accident broke LaCombe’s neck and paralyzed her. She has spent the past 11 years in a wheelchair, unable to bathe or dress herself.

Doctors told her that there was a 99 percent chance that she would never shrug her shoulders or breathe without a ventilator. According to LaCombe, the medical professionals she saw were extremely negative about her chances of recovery, and still are. She adds, “I believe I understand how so few patients ever make meaningful progress, when we’re told that there is literally no hope. I strongly believe that the body is influenced by the mind. If the mind is not in good shape, then the body will not be able to recover.”

Before her accident, LaCombe was a fun-loving, outgoing young woman. “I was a cheerleader, loved to ski and travel, and was always on the go. My friends used to call me Mandy-Go-LaCombe,” she says, grinning.

A year and a half after her accident, LaCombe’s insurance company decided her progress was too slow and was no longer willing to support her, despite videotape evidence that demonstrated her moving her legs.

Fighting Back

Undeterred, LaCombe still believed there was hope. “The experience I had with physical therapists was disheartening. I never thought they really believed in me,” she recalls. “I don’t want to be around someone who doesn’t genuinely believe that recovery is possible. I won’t accept that this is the way I’m going to be for the rest of my life.”
In August 2006, Mandy met Trevor Carney, a personal trainer from Bryan/College Station who was ready to help, and more importantly, to believe in her. During their first training session Carney asked LaCombe to move her body in ways she never thought possible. LaCombe recalls giggling and replying, “Don’t you know I’m paralyzed? There’s no way my body is going to move like that.”

Yet this past January, LaCombe made the trip to Project Walk. Based near San Diego, California, Project Walk’s goal is to stimulate the patient’s central nervous system with the hope that the patient will be able to walk again. The program aims to reactivate the nervous system through an extensive range of floor and load-bearing exercises that result in increased muscle size/tightness, nervous system activity, and joint stabilization. LaCombe and Carney attended the “Train Your Trainer” educational program, which supplied them with the knowledge and skills necessary to work LaCombe’s paralyzed body through a personalized program.

Progress Report

LaCombe and Carney train five days a week, ensuring that LaCombe gets out of her wheelchair and supports her own weight to get an active response from her nervous system. The results have been incredible. After 10 years of being told that she will never make any type of recovery, LaCombe is now able to control movements in her legs. She has increased her upper body strength and improved her balance. “In five years’ time I know that I will be running, walking, and jumping,” LaCombe predicts.

Unfortunately, spinal chord rehabilitation is not covered by insurance. A generous donation from The Bubba Moore Memorial Group enabled LaCombe to make her first trip to California. But Project Walk recommends that patients return every three months to reevaluate progress and develop a recovery plan. LaCombe is very eager to return, but the many treatments and rehabilitation sessions she requires are estimated to cost $150,000 per year. “Very few people are aware of just how expensive it is,” notes LaCombe. She has set up a tax-deductible charity and is busy working on fundraising ideas to help cover the costs. “I really want to develop a Relay for Life race. I hope this is one way I can build a support network to give me further hope for the future.”