Jess, why don’t we hear about your TBI (traumatic brain injury) anymore?
Still unconscious.
If you are new to my page, I made a series of decisions that resulted in my coming off of a horse, being kicked in the head, and admitted to the hospital for a week. Final prognosis? Moderate shearing injury. Think shaken baby syndrome, the adult version from being kicked that hard. This happened in November 2016 and life has changed a lot since then.
The reason you no longer see posts about the effects of my TBI is simple.
I am not a victim.
First ride, re-learning everything that came so naturally before.
I refuse to build a platform about myself, my family and my business due to that experience. It’s like hearing, “she’s a good cowboy, for a girl.” No, I just want to be a good cowboy, PERIOD. I never want someone to make excuses or allowances because of where I’ve been. I either make the cut or not, but don’t lower the standard on my account.
As it is applicable, I speak with people about my injury, it’s residue, and struggles. I also know that with horses, it is not a matter of if, but when, a person gets hurt. I am not embarrassed or shame-filled because of it. Injuries do not simply go away, especially when you were a step away from being a vegetable.
I have learned a lot cliché lessons through this process such as:
Everything that glitters is not gold.
You find out who your friends are.
It’s not if, it’s when.
Kindness is free.
Adversity breeds character.
Having an online presence is a beautiful thing but it can also brand you for life. The right to choose whether or not an announcement was made on social media was taken from me while still unconscious. Regardless, I’m trying to ride the string of circumstances I was strung, one circle at a time. Thankfully, there are still some phenomenal people in life that continue to require I rise to the occasion. To them, I will forever be grateful for they have always known that I was not a victim.
Back at it
Leading my boys to look for cows.