Ashford woman, 22, paralyzed while driving to deputy's funeral recovering slowly but steadily

Richelle Heacock still uses a wheelchair. But the 22-year-old Ashford woman is making progress toward her goal of walking again after a devastating car accident two years ago left her paralyzed from the chest down.

In the 13 months since The News Tribune last checked in on her, Heacock has regained some sensation in her legs, strength in her arms and some use of her abdominal muscles.

Before the accident, she was an accomplished athlete, and she’s approaching her rehabilitation with the same tenacity she was known for on the basketball and volleyball courts.

She does rehabilitation exercises several times a week – sometimes with an occupational therapist, sometimes on her own. She also sees an acupuncturist and a neuromuscular therapist.

The recovery process at times can seem painfully slow, “but Richelle is getting stronger all the time,” said her mom, Peg.

“You always want it to be faster than what it is,” Richelle Heacock added. “But as long as there’s progress, it’s always hopeful.”

The wreck happened in January 2010 on state Route 7 near Elbe. Heacock was driving home to Ashford from college in Oregon City, Ore., when she lost control in bad weather. Her car went into a ditch and flipped.

She was on her way home for the funeral of Pierce County sheriff’s deputy Kent Mundell, who was slain on the job. Mundell was her dad’s coworker.

“At the accident site, I knew I couldn’t feel my body,” Heacock told The News Tribune in November 2010. ”I knew something was different.”

The C5 vertebra in her neck was broken. It was an especially cruel blow for Heacock because so much of her life was wrapped up in sports.

She’d been a standout athlete at Eatonville High School and was a leader on the Clackamas Community College volleyball team.

She planned a career as a teacher and coach.

Heacock now lives with her parents in Ashford as she works on her rehabilitation. She spends time with friends and family between workout sessions and hasn’t lost her love of sports – far from it.

She coached a team of fifth- and sixth-graders in volleyball this fall and helped with summer camps at a Bellevue volleyball gym run by Olympic coach Bill Neville. He had worked with Heacock before her accident.

Heacock’s face lights up when she talks about coaching. It isn’t the same as playing, she explained, but it allows her to look at the sport she loves in a new way.

“It’s hard because you can’t show them (the correct techniques). It forces you to be more articulate,” she said. “When I was coaching before, I’d just (say), ‘do it like this.’ ”

As she spoke, a volleyball game flashed silently on the television in the background.

She’s a Christian, and her faith has helped her greatly in the nearly two years since the accident, she said. She knows people have been praying for her, and she’s thankful.

She’s also grateful that she remained healthy in the last year, avoiding complications that sometimes affect those with spinal cord injuries, such as pressure sores and pneumonia.

In the new year, the 22-year-old hopes to take part in a special therapy program for people with injuries like hers; she’s identified two in California that might work. The family also hopes to buy a therapy machine that resembles an elliptical trainer with a harness for Heacock to use at home – an investment of several thousand dollars.

Heacock still plans to become a teacher, although she’s put school on hold for now to focus on her recovery.

If she feels anger about the detour her life has taken, she doesn’t show it. She said she’s gained a new perspective.

She looks forward to the day she can put her wheelchair away and talk about her injury in the past tense.

“I’m still getting better,” Heacock said. “It’s not always leaps and bounds, but hopefully I’ll be back on my feet soon.”

Sara Schilling: 253-552-7058

sara.schilling@thenewstribune.com

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