January 8 at 9:37pm ·

Thank you to all that have voted to get me into the Top 10.
Maybe I will be lucky enough to represent all of my fans at the American.
I had always rode horses, but Barrel Racing was my true passion.
I had my first pony when I was 3. My dad got into the bucking bull business when I was 5, and my love of Rodeo was born.
On November 25, 1990 while elevating corn I became entangled with the power take off shaft on the elevator. It caught my shirt and I reached down with my left arm to try to break free, but it was too fast and it wrapped my arm until it reached my shoulder and at this point it began beating my body between the shaft and the barn floor. Thank God I wasn't working alone. My brother Jeff ( who was 16) and a friend were there. Jeff was in the wagon and heard a noise that he thought sounded like a broken chain on the elevator. He looked out of the wagon and thought he saw a coat whipping around on the shaft and soon realized I was entangled in the shaft. Before he could turn off the tractor my arm was ripped from my body and I was slung across the barn floor. At this point I was unconscious and not breathing. My brother knew I was visibly very beaten up, but had no way of knowing the extent of my injuries. He knew I needed CPR my mouth was clamped shut so he just started breathing into my mouth. I started breathing again. He sent his friend to call 911 as he continued to do CPR. Realizing how traumatic my injuries were he didn't want to wait for the ambulance so he loaded me in a car and started for the hospital. He continued to talk to me and ask me questions to keep me conscious. We met the ambulance about 4 miles from our house and they took over. Life Flight was called and when they arrived they told my family I had a slim chance to make it to the hospital alive. I made it to the hospital were a team of doctors were waiting for me. After my evaluation they realized that my arm was the least of my worries that I had suffered major internal injuries including 2 punctured lungs, bruised heart, ruptured spleen, 7 broken ribs, 3 ribs broken from my spine, 2 broken legs, 10 broken toes, fractured vertebrae in my back and deep lacerations on my left leg and foot. I had severe internal bleeding. After several hours of surgery they told my family I had less than 10% chance to make it through the night it would be up to God and my will to live. After 7 days in ICU I had a set back it was determined that the bruising of my heart created fluid around my heart that needed to be drained, and I again I pulled through. They told me that I would be in the hospital for at least 90 days, but after 15 days in the ICU and one day in special care I told the doctor I was headed home. He laughed at me and said you have both legs in casts and cant even walk. I told him "YES I CAN". So he said I will be back with a crutch and cane if you can use one of them to walk to the end of the hall and back you can go home, and I came home on the 17th day. I knew we had a rodeo coming up the 3rd week in January and I always carried the American flag and I was determined I was going to do it. So after some trial and error I figured out a way to do it and I did carry that flag.
I continued to progress and figure things out until I was able to do anything I put my mind to.
My brother is my true hero after all he did save my life.