LAFAYETTE, La. — A local woman will be riding in the iconic 136th Annual Rose Parade for the 111th Rose Bowl Game—an experience she never imagined would happen.
"I grew up watching the Rose Parade, and I never thought once, 'That's going to be me one day,'" Paige Lacombe said.
Lacombe, a Lafayette native, will serve as an International Patient Ambassador on the Shriners Children's Hospital float.
This opportunity brings things full circle: at just 8 years old, Lacombe faced a significant health challenge when she was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare and serious disorder triggered by an allergic reaction to medication.
"It was a chemical burn from the inside out,” she recalled. “Like you know when you get an allergic reaction and it’s a rash or something. It was a burning, tingling sensation. It started in my face; my cheeks were blisters, my lips were big, and then it went down to my arms and knees. My mom would touch my skin, and it would just fall off."
Lacombe was admitted to Shriners Hospital in Texas, where doctors immediately initiated life-saving treatments. She credits the facility with saving her life and future.
"As soon as we got there, it was immediate recovery—surgeries after surgeries, and I was skin grafted 11 times," she said. “My eyes were bolstered shut with amnion from the placenta, which was very cool because if I didn’t have that done, I wouldn’t be able to see today."
Now an empowered young woman, Lacombe views her past in a new light. What once was a traumatic experience has transformed into a source of hope and inspiration for others.
"You would have never known that would be a result of a medication,” she said. “And now with this role and opportunity, I am looking at my story and thinking, ‘OK, this is a positive now. They saved my life when I was 8, but now they’re giving me life at 20 years old and giving me a whole new perspective on my story. It's helping me share and spread awareness about what I have.'"
Currently, Lacombe is a student at South Louisiana Community College and plans to pursue a marketing degree at the University of Louisiana.
The Rose Parade is set to take place on New Year’s Day.
