September 28 started out as any other day for Spanish Fork resident Shannon Giles. In fact, it was quite a good day because it was her second day of a successful cattle drive bringing cattle out of Payson for the winter. Due to the success of the first day, she decided to bring her children along on that second day.
With her son in front of her and her daughter behind, they slowly, but surely, made their way to the main base cabin on their horse. The trio’s pace was a little slower than the horses ahead, and they fell behind. Without warning, the horse sped up to keep up with the others, and her daughter lost her grip. While trying to help her daughter into a better riding position, the horse was startled and started bucking.
“I only have two hands. I needed to hold onto my kids and the reins, but as a mom, there wasn’t even really a choice. I had to save my kids,” Giles said.
She dropped the reins and grabbed her children as they all three crashed to the ground as the horse bucked. While her kids landed out of her immediate view, she could tell by their cries that they were scared but not hurt. Knowing that they were OK, allowed her to focus on herself and on breathing because it had become labored.
Thankfully, friends and family were nearby to immediately rush to their aid and transport them to the Spanish Fork Hospital. While there, it was found that Giles had a burst fracture on her seventh cervical vertebra (C7) with just a single tendon protecting her spinal cord. She also had two fractures on her thoracic vertebra (T8 and T10), along with torn tendons and ligaments.
These injuries were so severe that Giles needed to be transported to Utah Valley Hospital where she quickly underwent surgery to repair her neck and back. She spent several days in the hospital recovering. Despite the severity of her injuries, Giles has no lasting nerve damage and was released from the hospital on October 3.
“I should have been paralyzed,” Giles said. “It’s a literal miracle I’m able to sit here and talk. I should be wheelchair bound or worse.”
Despite these challenges, Giles remains positive.
“I am so thankful that I’m still around and that God clearly has a plan for me,” She said. “All I can see are the blessings. … I’m going to get back on a horse … Nothing is going to stop me.”
While her injuries are not critical and the future filled with hope, the current severity means that her journey to health is still far from over. Not only that, recovering while taking care of her children has been challenging, and Giles hasn’t been able to return to work as an entrepreneur owning several small businesses.
“It’s so hard as a mom to take it easy,” Giles said. “I’m still very limited on what I can do right now. No lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk, and things like that. It’s limited my ability to work since standing for too long is really hard on me.”
Giles owns a home-based salon in Spanish Fork called Scissors, and has a mobile children’s boutique – both are currently put on pause.
“I’m not one to ever ask for help, but we could really use some help right now,” Giles wrote on a Facebook post.”
For those who are able to help Giles and her family during this difficult time, donations can be sent to @Shannon-Giles-1.
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