Mark's Story

Returning to a career after spinal cord injury with TIRR Memorial Hermann

Mark Neagli with his grandchildren.

Photo courtesy of Memorial Hermann

In May 2016, Mark Neagli fell down the stairs at his home, resulting in a C2 spinal cord injury, one of the most severe types of injury.

During his initial hospitalization following the fall, he was unable to move his arms and legs and was dependent on a ventilator for breathing.

Today, Mark is the executive director of a foundation he helped to form, participates in clinical research projects, and is enjoying life with his five children and 11 (soon to be 12) grandchildren. He credits the Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann with getting him back to the people and activities that mean the most to him.

Memorial Hermann Mark Neagli Photo courtesy of Memorial Hermann

When he fell down the stairs, his family immediately called emergency medical services and Mark was promptly taken via Memorial Hermann Life Flight to Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center, where he remained for about four weeks. Once he was medically stable, he was transferred to TIRR Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center.

TIRR Memorial Hermann has been nationally recognized for its ventilator weaning pathway for spinal cord injury patients. This program has a success rate of over 97% in weaning patients from ventilator use prior to discharge.

The TIRR Memorial Hermann team of caregivers created a customized treatment plan for Mark that involved his entire family. At the time of his accident, Mark was a divorced father of five who worked as an executive with the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society.

“Mark was not focused on if he was going to go back to work, but when and how he would be able to fulfill his roles as executive, father, and grandfather,” says his physical therapist, Adele Henry, PT, DPT, CPPS, CPHQ. “Mark learned to instruct his family on how to assist him, while making sure he was participating in the task to the greatest extent that he could. Mark and his family found a great balance working to return to the activities they enjoyed while also promoting his neurorecovery.”

Mark took ownership of his rehabilitation. “I was able to make my own decisions, and they had so much patience teaching my children to be my caregivers,” he says.

On a daily basis, Mark participated in physical, occupational, speech, and/or group therapies. “Mark’s dedication to his neurologic recovery was balanced by his desire to learn the most advanced adaptive technologies, like eye gaze technology, to ensure he would be able to reintegrate to the community as quickly as possible,” says Adele.

Memorial Hermann Mark Neagli Photo courtesy of Memorial Hermann

TIRR Memorial Hermann’s Adaptive Technology Lab provides patients like Mark the opportunity to learn to incorporate technological devices into their daily activities. Mark finished his first phase of inpatient care at TIRR Memorial Hermann in August 2016.

In February 2017, Mark completed a second therapy phase lasting two weeks at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

After the two-week session, Mark was discharged from this second phase of inpatient care. At that point, he began outpatient therapy. “I went to TIRR Memorial Hermann Outpatient Rehabilitation – Kirby Glen Center as well as to TIRR Memorial Hermann Outpatient Rehabilitation – Memorial City for approximately one year,” says Mark. “I especially enjoyed the aquatic therapy. In the pool, I could walk forward and step up on a platform.”

Mark visits the TIRR Memorial Hermann Outpatient Medical Clinic periodically to address spasticity, a condition in which muscles stiffen or tighten. He also works with Radha Korupolu, MD, affiliated physician in the Spinal Cord Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

Mark serves as an advisory board member on research projects for Dr. Korupolu’s NIH-sponsored feasibility study on mindfulness-based meditation. “As a Community Advisory Board member, Mark has contributed valuable input on the study design, procedures, and data collection methods,” says Dr. Korupolu.

Following his injury and rehabilitation, Mark returned to work with the National MS Society until he retired from the organization in 2018.

Memorial Hermann Mark Neagli Photo courtesy of Memorial Hermann

Today, he serves as executive director (also a volunteer role) for the Victor Rivera Foundation, an organization that focuses on providing access to neurologic and neuro-ophthalmologic services for under-resourced individuals living with MS.

“Amazing work is done at TIRR Memorial Hermann,” says Mark. “Everyone was so kind. The little things they did, made a difference in my experience.”

Learn more about the Spinal Cord Rehabilitation Program at TIRR Memorial Hermann.

health hospitals spinal cord surgery tirr memorial hermann promoted

income analysis

Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family

Mark's Story

Returning to a career after spinal cord injury with TIRR Memorial Hermann

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