story by Siri Stevens
“We were in the holding pen and when it came time to call her name, we were in the process of getting in the alleyway,” said her dad, Shane, who was right there with her. “He flipped backward on top of her. I ran up and shoved him off of her. All four of his feet were sticking straight up in the air and was squirming trying to stand. After the horse was off, Mollie was complaining about her right leg and had a busted lip. She could wiggle her toes, but couldn’t raise her leg.” She was flown to LSU and remembers most everything about the accident. She ended up breaking a rib, breaking her pelvis in three places, her femur, and lots of bruises and scrapes. Mollie spent a week in ICU and is now recovering at home. She’s had three surgeries and has lots of screws and metal plates holding things together. All the hardware will be removed once her body heals – hopefully in September. “She can slide her feet on the bed and stand on the one leg to get to the wheelchair,” said Shane. She can’t put any weight on her right leg until May 1. Shane plans on taking her to the state finals so she can see her friends.
“I kinda blacked out a little bit,” said the 11-year-old from Quitman, Louisiana. “My whole body was shaking and tingling. I was thinking in my mind that this actually just happened.” Mollie has retained an incredible positive attitude during the entire process. “I remind myself that one day I’m going to be able to walk again. I try not to put my brain back there – go forward and go on and not back. I trust in God that he’s going to help me recover.”
Mollie grew up cheering and taking hip hop dance. She comes from a family of cheerleaders, her mom, Suzanna, and her 17-year-old sister, Ellie both cheer. Mollie made Cheer Captain this year, and hopes, after the doctor releases her with no restrictions, she will be back. She has been riding since she was nine and decided to try something new. “I wanted to do something else than cheer and dance. I wanted to find something new to compete at.” Their neighbor, Mr. Jerry, and Miss Danica, are cutting horse trainers and they were instrumental in the learning the horsemanship. Mollie competes in poles and barrels. “I like barrels better – it’s shorter and I’m better at it.” Her horse, Pistol (22), is her first horse to use in rodeo and she’s had him for two years.
Mollie has lots of ideas of what she wants to be when she grows up. “The only ones I know right now are nursing and schoolteacher.” The nursing has come about through the accident. She takes shots every day for blood clots and has seen the magnitude of the care she’s been given. She spends her time drawing, doing homework, playing on her phone, and watching hip hop videos.
“I want this to be a testimony in trusting in God that I’m going to grow and be stronger. I try to think it happened for a purpose that He was going to help me through it. Trust in God whatever you do – don’t look away from God and you can do whatever you need to do.”
