Laura Grabowski

I want to be able to cook a feast for my friends and family.
Laura Grabowski

Laura’s Story

Living in San Diego allowed Laura the opportunity to embrace the warm climate and engage in adventurous outdoor activities. When she wasn’t tending to her career as a scientist for Novartis, a pharmaceutical company, Laura could be found outdoors mountain biking, paddle boarding, snowboarding, and doing yoga. “I had a really, really good life before I was injured,” said the outdoor enthusiast.

But life took a sudden change in April of 2019 when the then 43-year-old was on a casual mountain bike ride. Something went wrong and Laura landed in the ER with a spinal cord injury at the C7 level.

While it’s no secret that Laura has been itching to get back to the activities that she loves, she knows she has a mountain to climb. But it’s a journey she’s up for and one that has already shown signs of progress. Because of the nature of her work as a cancer researcher, Laura was not able to return to her job that required fine hand movements and motor skills. Instead, she dedicates her time to rehabilitation. She does physical therapy sessions five days a week at Reneu Health and NeuroEx in San Diego.

INJURY

April 2019 – C7 spinal cord injury while mountain biking

STUDY PARTICIPATION

  • SpineX Upper Limb Clinical Trial
  • Gripping Recovery
  • In-clinic participation from February 2021-to-June 2021
  • At home participation from February 2022 through August 2022
  • Regained core strength and endurance as well as better use of hands

Treatment

Laura was one of the first participants to enroll in the SpineX SCONE upper limb clinical study. She began the in-clinic portion of the trial study in February of 2021 that concluded in June of the same year. She entered the at-home phase of the study in February of 2022 that allowed her to use the device during everyday activities for six months.

Laura’s Progress

“The device was incredible for me,” Laura stated with sheer delight. The first thing she noticed was an increase in endurance and how she was able to do everyday activities without getting tired. The next change she noticed was an improvement in her core strength. She was able to sit up longer, lean forward and reach for things without thinking about it. These milestones were happening naturally. “I just want to emphasize how important being in the study was. To be given ANYTHING that provided a glimmer of hope and purpose pulled me through a dark time.”

We asked Laura if there was a moment that stood out to her, when she realized she had regained functions that were lost when she was paralyzed. A big smile spread across her face as she told us how she picked up a burrito with one hand and applied hot sauce to it with her other hand. We’ve also seen her spread peanut butter on a piece of toast, do sit ups in bed, sit in her adapted paddle board and yes, paddle through the water. Next on her agenda, find an adaptive mountain bike. We admire her tenacity and endless determination to prove that paralysis is no longer permanent.

But Laura’s road to recovery doesn’t end here. Although she had completed the SpineX SCONE study funded by the Jack Jablonski Foundation, she was not done in her quest to regain more functionality. That’s when she connected with neurosurgeon Uzma Samadani in September of 2022. Samadani has been doing spinal cord stimulation (SCS) procedures through her private practice in Minneapolis. She implanted the stimulating device in Laura and strongly recommended she return to San Diego and work with Reneu Health, one of the few centers working with implant patients to optimize the settings of the stimulating device.

Laura was able to move a leg and initiate some hip flexion when the device was first turned on. She’s learning to stand and make a transfer pivot. She’s happy to report that she’s getting close to standing, thanks to the support of her Reneu Health team and their ability to assist Laura with the device settings. We can’t wait to see what’s next in Laura’s recovery journey.