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“Look Twice for Motorcycles” – Amazing Patient Recovery Story
Meet Meissa Neumann! Meissa went for a ride on her motorcycle in August 2021 when she got into a severe motorcycle accident, causing her to have significant brain injuries, could not speak, breathe on her own, nor walk. Neumann underwent many surgeries, and extensive rehab. Rehab Without Walls provided physical, speech, occupational, and music therapy.
Neumann still remembers the first time she was able to speak – on Jan. 13, 2022, one week after her cranioplasty. Her therapists were leaving for the day and she said, “Goodbye.”
“They all started cheering,” Neumann said. “It was really cool.” Her speech therapist taught her how to breathe again, how to read, and worked on impulse control.
By January, she no longer needed the lift. The following month, she got a new wheelchair, specially designed for her needs. Since then, she has slowly moved out of the chair; she started using a walker and learning to support herself on standing bars.
In the fall, Neumann graduated from Rehab Without Walls. In December, she returned to TIRR for outpatient speech therapy. She also enrolled in occupational and physical therapy.
Neumann participated in the Honor Walk for trauma survivors at the hospital on May 16, 2023, and for now is still working to recover her physical and mental abilities.
To read her full story from the Houston Chronical, click here.
Pictured: Meissa Neumann and her dad Ernie Neumann work on building a motorcycle together like they did when she was a young girl on Monday, May 1, 2023 in Houston. Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronical Staff photographer
