Nichole's fall

• Serena Oatley, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2005

Every eye was on the girl as she rounded the corner to the next jump. It was almost three metres away. Suddenly the horse (whose name was Cloverleaf), leaped too early, knocked the brick wall down and fell to the ground, squealing and thrashing. The more the horse thrashed and kicked the more the girl got crushed. The crowd was quiet, whispering and stirring occasionally. The medical assistants rushed over, likewise the vet and whisperer. The whisperer calmed the horse and led him away, while the medical assistants rapidly but carefully picked up the girl and took her to the doctor who was standing next to the ambulance van.

The next day Nichole, who had been taken to hospital after the fall, woke with a splitting headache to find her family watching her. When she asked where she was, her mum explained that she had had a fall and hit her head, had two broken ribs and a badly bruised body. Soon she remembered basic things, like her name was Nichole Stinson and she lived on an American breeding and racing farm, had a very annoying little sister and a jockey twin, she had two horses whose names where Samson and Cloverleaf.

A nurse came in with some breakfast followed by the doctor who asked the family to leave for a few moments. When the family left the doctor asked Nichole how she was feeling. Nichole said that she felt like her head was going to explode into a million pieces and that could end up in a messy situation for the nurse to clean up. The doctor chuckled at Nichole’s sense of humour and said that that was good to see. He had also explained that this was a result of the hard knock to her head when Cloverleaf rolled on her which had left Nichole with a bruised brain. He arranged for the nurse to give her some medication for the pain and left. Nichole’s family came back in.

A few hours later, by the time her family had left, Nichole was desperate for more pain relief. The doctor suspected her brain injury must be worse than they first thought and decided that surgery was necessary.

During surgery the doctor discovered that the right side of Nichole’s brain had received permanent damage, which would result in the use of her left hand being weakened.

Six months later, after intensive physiotherapy, Nichole had regained enough control over her injured left hand that she was able to ride again although she still had to do physical therapy every now and then on her new horse. She now had a new riding interest, now Nichole rode and competed in Western Shows and rodeos.

Written by Serena Oatley
Year 6
Bowen State School