A young cheerleader from North Texas was paralyzed during a freak accident while practicing for homecoming.
Makayla Noble is a world champion cheerleader, but she was involved in a horrible accident in September, which left her paralyzed. Noble was recently brought to aTIRR Memorial Hermann for rehab.
The way Noble explains it, the timing for the stunt was “off,” and she knew as soon as she hit the ground that she was paralyzed.
That’s an awful thing to go through, but dwelling on that accident isn’t really her style. Her competitive side tells her to keep striving for whatever range of motion she’s destined to get back, and she believes while she puts in the work, the outcome isn’t up to her.
“Staying strong in my faith and just trusting in Him has gotten me through,” Noble said.
As of today, she can lift her arms, hold a paintbrush and has feeling in her legs.
Noble’s doctor, Matt Davis, the clinical medical director of Spinal Cord Injury Service Line at TIRR Memorial Hermann, said her social media platform is helping to show that spinal cord injuries are not always as limiting as people assume.
“I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding, a lot of underestimating what’s possible with a disability,” Davis explained. “That’s not a hopeless situation. There’s a lot of hope that can be had with that.”
Davis said the measure of success for each spinal cord patient is different. He added that the ultimate goal is not always walking again.
But when you ask Noble if she can feel her limbs, she replies, “Not YET. Like, they’re going to [work again], just not yet,” she said. “Because I think that’s really leaving the door open. You know?”