Woman Suffers Serious Head Injury During Horseback Ride — Becomes ‘Walking Miracle’ Despite Grim Prognosis

Feb 01, 2022 by apost team

A relaxing horseback ride in March 2016 turned into a fight for life after a woman’s horse bolted and she fell and hit her head. Tabitha Hale’s mother, Kim Smith, was right behind her when she saw the horse take off toward the barn nearby. Smith said in a moment the horse was out of sight and she chased after it until she found Tabitha face down on the ground with blood coming out of her ears. She called emergency services right away and Tabitha was rushed to the hospital.

After the neurosurgeon Dr. Arun Jacob had a chance to look at Tabitha, he told Smith and Tabitha’s husband, Jacob Hale, that her brain was swelling and if they did not surgically remove part of her skull to release some of the pressure on her brain stem she could die. Tabitha was immediately taken to surgery and the operation was successful. She was placed in a medically induced coma and intubated because she was not able to breathe on her own. 

Doctors and nurses warned Smith and Jacob that Tabitha may not be able to speak or walk after she wakes up. Smith recalled the moment that the doctors tested Tabitha’s reflexes and they saw her toes move in response. She said the joy was like seeing her daughter walk for the first time all over again. After the breathing tube was removed, Tabitha was awake and was immediately able to speak an entire sentence. 

Tabitha was released from the hospital after just nine days. Both the medical staff and her family agreed that this kind of quick recovery was nothing other than a miracle. After just six weeks, Tabitha was able to undergo a procedure to have the part of her skull put back. Read on to learn more about this incredible story.

When Tabitha reached the hospital her brain was already bleeding internally and swelling fast. Her neurosurgeon explained, “If it swells a little bit more it can just press on the brain stem and the next thing you know is she can deteriorate really fast. To the point of no return. Her breathing can stop, her heart can stop. And essentially she will be brain dead in a matter of an hour, maybe not even that.”

The family was left to wait while Tabitha underwent surgery. Her husband Jacob said, “I guess my biggest fear in the whole thing was that she just wouldn’t recognize me or our boys. I wasn’t worried really about her, she was in a wheelchair or anything like that, I just wanted her to know who we were.”

To everyone’s surprise, Tabitha was able to speak as soon as she woke up. She recalled, “I remember when people came in, my Mom or Jacob would ask me, ‘Tabitha, do you know who this is?’  And I was like yes, I know who this is, and I would say their name.  And then after everyone left, I was like, if y’all ask me one more time who somebody is, I was like I think I’m going to come off the bed! I know who everybody is!”

Tabitha was able to leave the hospital after just nine days and returned to work after three and a half months in recovery. Smith shared, “Even the physical therapist that was there, you know, he was like, this doesn’t happen.  This does not happen.  That was a big wow for me, that I knew that okay, we’re on the downhill slide now.  That this is-this is going to be good.”

“She’s a walking miracle — a true testimony of the power of prayer,” Oakwood City Manager Stan Brown said. “Her recovery has exceeded all our expectations.”

apost.com

Did this story touch your heart? What do you think of this miraculous recovery? Let us know and feel free to pass this along to your friends and loved ones.