My ER visit

Kaleigh and I have been working with these two horses since January. One of them was so jumpy and unapproachable, but we were patient and consistent and she was beginning to come around. I was able to approach her, pet her, and even make sudden arm movements without her freaking out. So we decided to take the next step and put a saddle on her. That went well, so I decided to just sit on her. The owner kept hold of her via a lead line rope. Well things went downhill fast. She bolted, dragging the owner about 15 feet on the ground while galloping full speed toward a set of rocks that are toward the back of the paddock. I knew I was going to fall off with no way to control her so I bailed. Unfortunately, my head found a rock anyway. I was knocked unconscious and when I awoke I couldn't figure out why I was on the ground and in so much pain. My hip hurt so bad I thought it might have been broken. I was immediately taken to the ER, where they did a CAT Scan and X-rays. It took 3 hours to get the results, all which came back normal. While waiting I was assisted to use the commode and when I tried to move, I got severe pain in my ribs. They DR was going to send me back down to x-ray to see if they were broken, but I declined. I did not want to spend any more time there waiting for results, because I knew there was nothing they could do for them anyway. The doctor agreed and gave me instructions to keep taking deep breaths despite the pain otherwise I could be back int he hospital with a collapsed lung. So I was released with the diagnosis of a concussion, hip contusion and possible cracked rib and some heavy duty pain medication which I definitely needed to sleep the first couple of days.


Fast forward 11 days and my ribs are still quite painful but the headaches have decreased in frequency and intensity and I can walk with out pain. I'm looking forward to being able to move pain free soon!