The Death Horse

I have told this story before of how I almost got killed while being on a horse.

It’s not one of my most fond memories, but I was over at Rose’s place (The Fuse Is Lit on my blog roll) reading about her former morning ritual with her horse that made me remember it. However, Rose’s story made me want to join her and just breath. Almost. I still have flashbacks to the horrendous day that makes me think before I do something like that.

It started out innocently enough with the sun shinning over a cloudless sky. The horse was there all saddled up and waiting. I did my administrations and climbed onto the saddle. But before I could get seated properly and my feet in both stirrups, the damn thing started jerking around.

The horse was going up and down and back and forth and I was hanging on for my life. I was screaming for help and, despite my death hold on the neck, I started sliding of the side. I was trying to find the stirrup to put my foot in to stop the sliding, but it was no where to be found - not that I had the time to look for it.

Between my fear, the pain in my arms from holding on to his neck so thigh and was beginning to loose grip, my screaming for help, and the unstoppable movement of the horse I was sure I was going to die.

Finally my arms begin to give way and I was sliding further off the horse. I just knew I was going under the wildly gyrating thing and be crushed to death. I was finally hanging on with one hand on the withers of the neck but was just about to fall under the damn thing when the Wal Mart manager ran out and unplugged the ride.

I still have flashbacks to this day. (shudder)

My Grandkids

***Update*** J-Man is home and very sore, but in great spirits - as I knew he would be. He woke up with a joke to the nurse who was checking his bandages. He only slightly grimaces when he has to move his legs, but he sucks it up. He is truly an inspiration to me.

Thank you all for your comments and prayers. He deserves them.

 

My hero, J-Man.

 

My little horse lady, Bug.

Let me explain.

It’s been a year now and my grandson will have his surgery today to remove the screws and plates in his legs. This time it is much simpler than the last time.

J-Man was ‘pidgin-toed’ and it bothered him very much. My ex’s husband is a Shiner and sponsored him as a candidate to the Shiners’ Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Greenville, NC. He was accepted and had surgery on both legs. They opened his thighs from just below the hip to just above his knees, cut his thigh bones in half, turned his lower legs untill the feet were straight, and then put plates and screws in to hold them in place.

It was very painful for the little dude, but he sucked it up and was a true trooper. As were most of the kids there. If you want true inspiration and witness true courage, go to the Children’s Hospital. But the medical angles there were in love with him. He kept his humor and was an inspiration to me.

He could not put any weight on his legs for six weeks, which means he lived in a wheel chair and have someone pick him up to go to bed or ride in the car the whole time. But now is the time to take the hardware out. However, the biggest news came from his workup. He is now 5’5” tall and, wait for it, he weighs 103lbs. He finally broke the triple digit weight number. He is like his Paw Paw. I looked like I had just come out of Dachau when I was his age.

I think we are going to drive up there (MeMaw, me and Bug) tonight so we can see him before he goes in for the procedure in the morning.

And Bug is another story. My very talented artist and creative writer, Me Maw, gave Bug a book THAT she is putting together. Bug is a horse girl. She loves horses. So Judy is writing a book for her about a little girl (whose name is Bug’s name spelled backward) and a magic horse that lives in a cave. She gave Bug the first chapter, complete with pictures on every page that actually followed the plot, for her eleventh birthday, and will add a chapter on every special occasion.

So Bug got on the computer last night and started her own book. She would find a picture of a horse and write a little history or fact about the horse breed. She is writing it for her MeMaw and titled her book, “Judy’s Horse Information Book”

The first page was a picture of an Appaloosa and she wrote, “The Appaloosa’s history all started with the American Indians. All the appaloosas were used for battle with other tribes. The only horse to race in the breed of appaloosa was a horse named Pamaloosa.” There were pages of entries like the Lipizzaner Stallions, Mustangs, and others. But the one that really got a smile out of me (actually I had to excuse myself to go to the bathroom so I could laugh without her being offended) was her entry about the Clydesdales. “Clydesdales are draft horses. They are very, very strong. If they can carry a wagon they can carry anything. Plus they are very beautiful horses. If they were men all of them would be taken already. This is how beautiful and strong they are.”

God I love those kids.