It Wasn’t the Horse’s Fault: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, Love & Healing

We’ve all heard that life can change in an instant. It often takes much longer than that instant to appreciate how much life has actually changed and learn how to live after it does. Things happen fast and there is an awful lot to learn when that instant comes. This is a story of love, hope, hard work, and healing after our life-changing instant, when Paula suffered a severe, diffuse traumatic brain injury after falling off of a horse at a full gallop. Her doctors said that most people would not have survived the accident. Thankfully, Paula is not most people. She couldn’t move her right side or talk much for the first year after the injury. She fought hard and was an inspiration to everyone who came in contact with her. By all accounts, her recovery has been nothing short of a miracle. We hope that this story about Paula’s journey to SURVIVE the accident, our joint DRIVE to recover as much as possible, and our efforts to THRIVE in our new normal will help others who are in the middle of, or have had similar life-changing experiences. It’s the book I wish I had been able to read while sitting in the ICU Waiting Room for more than 3 weeks, hoping for her to survive and then waiting for her to wake up again so we could get on with the recovery. This book is dedicated to the thousands of individuals who have, or will, face the tragedy of suffering a severe brain injury, to their families and friends, and to the countless medical providers, therapists, and caregivers who try to help them survive, drive, and thrive.