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Cowgirl Up: The Amanda Jo Coats Story
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The Natural
It was no surprise when Amanda Jo made the cheerleading squad she seemed like
a natural. The unassuming, instantly likeable, seventeen year-old had
a quiet confidence about her.
Amanda was also athletic and had a contagious smile that could light up a room. Her upbeat attitude would be a great fit for the Kimberly High School cheer team. But tragedy strikes even the most undeserving – and the team would have to get along without her.
Cheerleading would have been a bit out of character for Amanda, having always preferred more direct competition; volleyball, basketball and even powder puff football had been her outlet. But living on a ranch in rural Idaho sparked Amanda’s real passion, rodeo. From the back of her horse Playboy, Amanda competed in nearly every riding and roping event available for girls – at this too, she seemed like a natural.
Kaleidoscope
In mid August of 2009, Amanda’s attention
turned toward cheerleading. It was a Friday evening and Amanda was on her way
to meet the team, and then proceed to cheer camp. She was running late and
speeding to make up some time. Amanda had driven that two-lane county road
a hundred times before and knew it well.
Her eyes left the road for only a couple of seconds as she looked for some earrings. When she looked up, her car had crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic. With a quick reflex action, the young driver jerked the wheel and overcorrected. Amanda lost control of the car as it left the road, bounced through a ditch, and then stopped by a telephone pole.
“I don’t remember any of that,” Amanda reflected. “…but I do remember not wearing my seatbelt.” When the car came to rest Amanda was in the back seat. She tried to clear her head as she looked around for her cell phone; that’s when she realized she couldn’t move her legs. Now she was really frightened.
Oncoming traffic witnessed the wreck and emergency responders arrived quickly. Her memory of the next few days is only a kaleidoscope of scenes. One such memory is being loaded on the Life Flight helicopter headed for Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise. She vividly remembers being scared and in pain.
Girl
Interrupted
When Life Flight arrived at Saint Alphonsus, the trauma team went
to work. Amazingly, Amanda escaped the crash without serious damage to her
head, or limbs, but a severe injury to her spine was discovered. A CT scan
revealed fractures to five vertebrae. The most serious fracture drove bone
fragments into the spinal canal carrying nerves to her lower body. Nerve damage
in this area had robbed Amanda of the use of her legs.
Surgery removed the bone fragments and helped restore spinal stability with implanted titanium rods and related hardware. When Amanda woke after surgery she sensed the hard reality. “I knew,” said Amanda. “…I just knew I was going to be paralyzed forever.” No more volleyball, basketball, snowboarding, or cheerleading.
“But the worst part was thinking about rodeo,” she said. The thought of giving up her passion briefly erased the ever-present smile, and Amanda fought back the tears.
True
Gift
Following the surgery, Amanda’s level of recovery would be determined
by natural healing and physical rehabilitation. The Saint Alphonsus In-House
Rehabilitation Team, guided by rehab specialist Rodde D. Cox, M.D., became
Amanda’s new teammates in her most challenging event ever.
The first meeting between Dr. Cox and Amanda came a few days after her surgery. “Her legs weren’t working at all,” said Dr. Cox as he recalled his first examination of Amanda. “We’ve seen this type of injury a lot before. The frustrating part was that we couldn’t predict the type of recovery Amanda would get.”
A week after surgery, the Saint Alphonsus Rehabilitation Team began working with Amanda. The accredited spinal cord rehabilitation team would take a multidisciplinary approach to Amanda’s therapy. An early therapy goal was to get Amanda to a point where she could transfer herself to and from her wheelchair. But the cowgirl from Kimberly had her own goals; she wanted to walk again.
The monstrous challenge brought out Amanda’s true colors. Her positive attitude and hardworking nature wouldn’t be denied. She no longer accepted her paralysis, she only accepted the fact it would take hard work to beat it. Stepping up to the challenge, Amanda gave it her all. Painful stretching and exhausting exercise sessions pushed her as far she was willing to go, which proved to be a great distance.
Giant Leap
The dedicated team of therapists, encouraging nurses,
hands-on guidance from Dr. Cox, and a supportive family helped Amanda focus
on her goals. She would reach one benchmark of recovery and move on to the
next. Her rapid gains
surpassed everyone’s expectations, everyone except Amanda Jo’s.
“It’s really cool when more movement and more feeling returns, it keeps me enthusiastic,” explained Amanda. “I just want to walk so bad…I’m going to work as hard I can.” Whether it’s youthful exuberance or maturity beyond her years, Amanda is driven.
Only weeks after surgery, Amanda was standing, and then taking steps, in the swimming pool. Standing at the parallel bars soon followed. At first Amanda could hold herself up for only a couple of seconds, but that’s an eternity for legs that were dead-weight a few weeks earlier.
“Amanda has done everything we’ve asked of her and has made great gains as a result,” said Dr. Cox. And on this day Dr. Cox and the rehab team would ask Amanda to take her first steps “on dry land.”
Amanda had on her game face as she in her wheel chair, staring at the parallel bars, preparing for her first step. Amanda was helped to her feet, and stood slightly unsteady, and with coaxing from her therapist, Amanda’s right leg slid itself forward and the first step was in the books. The process was repeated a few more times before an exhausted Amanda plopped back in her wheel chair with a look of accomplishment.
For Reasons Unknown
That day of accomplishment was also Amanda’s last day at Saint Alphonsus.
Only sixty days have passed since Amanda arrived at Saint Alphonsus as a paraplegic. “I
think remarkable is a good word for her progress,” Dr. Cox remarked. “She’s
ahead of the curve in her recovery because of her work ethic and attitude.”
Amanda spreads the credit around a little further. While she recognizes her attitude has helped, she also gives credit to God along with Dr. Cox and a list of Saint Alphonsus staff. “They’ve been really awesome to me,” Amanda said. With teary eyes Amanda slowly admitted, “I’m kind of sad to leave actually, but it’s all good. And I’ll come back to visit them…a lot.”
Years of ongoing therapy are still in Amanda’s future. And it’s still anyone’s guess at how far Amanda will go down the road of recovery. But the “cheerleader” has the crowd believing in victory. “I’m optimistic, that one day, Amanda will come walking into my office without crutches or a cane,” Dr. Cox said with a smile. “I’m convinced she can get to that point.”
“I’m okay with it now,” said Amanda, reflecting on her situation. “After all, everything happens for a reason.” While the reason is still unknown, there is one certainty; Amanda has shown the world the true meaning of “cowgirl up.”
