Horse rider wakes from coma, makes fast recovery after life-threatening trauma

A Winnipeg horse rideron life support after suffering severe head traumathis summer has awoken from her coma earlier than many medical experts predicted.

RebeccaFentum-Jones, 22, has made remarkable progress since she was thrown from her horse in mid-June,says her boyfriendRichie Rodgers.

She is now talkingin a whisperandusing a walker to get around, he said, after medical professionals warnedthe experienced horse ridermaynever wake up from her coma.

"They were telling us not to be shocked if she was still asleep at [the six-month]point, so for us to be even twomonths in and she's walking," he said. "She's exceeded everyone's expectations pretty dramatically."

Rodgers said his girlfriend is learningto walkwith the assistance of physiotherapy, and is meeting regularly with herspeech and occupational therapists. Her short-term memory is improving by the day, he said.

The moment she opened her eyelids was unforgettable.

"It kind of slowly kept snowballing until she kind of poked around and focused on you."

Rodgers said his girlfriend was flown by air ambulance to hospital on June 17 when she was tossedfrom herhorse, which stumbledas it came out of a ditch outside Winnipeg.

Herprogress has been making it a lot easier for us to staypositive-Richie Rodgers

Shehit the right side of her headon a paved road. She was not wearing a helmet.

Rodgers said the full extent of herhead injuries is still not known.

He addedherfamily, who have beenby her bedside throughout the ordeal, have been strengthened by Fentum-Jones'sresilience.

"Herprogress has been making it a lot easier for us to staypositive," Rodgers said. "We kind of have to catch ourselves andremind ourselves that we're still in the early days of the injury."

Community support

The outpouring of support from the horsing community has also boosted the spirits of Fentum-Jones's family, he said.

She has the pedigree, with a mother who was once ajockey and a grandmother who raised horses. The Winnipeg woman has worked as agroom at Assiniboia Downs, and most recently got a job as a barn manager at a ranch while teachingchildren how to ride.

She usually worea helmet during her leisurely trots, but went without the protective gear on the day of the accident.

Rodgers hopes other riderswill heed the family's warning and be careful.

"This is a bit of an eyeopener."