A FEMALE lawyer who was told she might never walk again after surviving a horrific gym accident has now become a champion bodybuilder. Marcelle Mendes Mancuso, 30, was hanging down from a bar for an inverted sit-up when she slipped and crashed on the floor and shattered her spine . Marcelle said she could not feel anything below her neck after the horror accident that took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil .
X-ray images and reports from her doctors concluded the lawyer had broken one vertebra and dislocated two others. She explained: "It turned out that I broke C4, dislocated C5, and C6, and had spinal compression. From this moment on I could not feel anything else below the neck.
" Marcelle had to go through surgery where the doctors implanted a titanium plate and six screws into her spine to strengthen the backbone. While the operation was a success, doctors told Marcelle and her family that she might never walk again. She even struggled to move her fingers - and had to learn the basic activities of life holding and picking up objects all over again.
Marcelle said: "The surgery was a success, but the doctor told my mother that it was not possible to know if I could recover and walk again. "At this time, moving a finger was a battle for me. The doctors did not know if I would walk again.
"I had to relearn to do the basic activities of everyday life. Picking up objects, lifting, sitting, walking, every little achievement was a gold medal for me." But Marcelle stayed hopeful and went.
