“I Ruined My Kids’ Christmas”: Mother-of-Three Left Devastated While Narrating Life-Changing Horse Riding Tragedy

Horse riding days are fun when you coordinate well with the horse. However, things might go atrociously out of hand, if the sync between the rider and horse is not well established. Especially, it can leave the rider with scars and trauma that can stay with them lifelong. In 2010, 54-year-old Joy Heenan experienced the horrifying horse-riding accident of her life on Christmas Eve.  

A few days ago, the Perry Cross Spinal Research Foundation’s official YouTube page shared a video of the mother-of-three Joy Heenan narrating the worst Christmas of her life. While sharing her story, she expressed that she was more worried about her children than herself. 

How did Joy Heenan’s accident take place?

On the 2010’s Christmas Eve, Heenan and her husband were preparing their house for the celebrations. While almost everything was done, the only task left was wrapping up of the gifts. The couple decided to do it at night over a glass of wine. 

During the arrangements, Heenan decided to take on her horse once. As she began riding at her farm in Warragul, she realized that her horse was not behaving well. She knew it would be better if she got down from it. However, when she tried, she faced a lot of difficulty getting down of the saddle. In no time, she fell from it and ended up having brutal lacerations. 

Following the unprecedented incident, she was taken to hospital for further treatment. She had broken her back at the T6 vertebrae between her shoulder blades. The mother-of-three became paraplegic, which meant she could never walk again.

In the video, she mentoned that when she fell, all she could think about was her children’s presents. She told in the video, “It was a terrible time. I ruined my kids’ Christmas. I hadn’t wrapped their presents, I didn’t have everything ready for them, it was just awful.” 

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Although the incident broke her from the inside, she managed to bounce back. Joy Heenan took charge of her life and indulged in things that gave her peace.

Joy Heenan healed herself through support

After getting operated, Joy Heenan realized that she did not have any mentor to talk to about dealing with her pain. Therefore, she decided to join Spire, a spinal injury resource and support network that opened in 2015. The institution helped her get back to horse riding with special care. Not only was she able to horse ride but she also could stand up with support.

Heenan also went to physiologists at Making Strides and also a local therapist to keep her body as strong as possible. She believed that it was important for her to take care of her mental and physical well-being. 

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Heenan’s incident was indeed a tragic one. However, one should appreciate the efforts she made to restore her life to normalcy.