By:Jacinta Bergel
It was beautiful sunny day in December 2007. I was 11 years old and I was at Summer camp at Somerset Dam. There were lots of activities that we could do and it was awesome! There was one that I wanted to do more than anything. That was horse riding. I mounted the horse and off he went galloping in the scenic countryside. But, while I was riding and enjoying it, the horse took its bridle off, stood on the bit and took off!
He was fast! It tried to hold on as hard as I couldn’t, but after a while, I couldn’t hold on any longer and had to let go.
BANG
THUMB!
OUCH!
I was carried back to camp and we thought that the pain I had was a groin strain. That night, I didn’t sleep well at all, I was in pain. A day after the pain didn’t improve, so they called my dad and he picked me up. We went straight to the medical centre and immediately was rushed into their emergency are for an x-ray.
The doctor’s came to talk to us, “The x-ray shows that Jacinta has injured her femur.”
I looked at dad. I was scared.
The doctor continued explaining, “She has broken the neck of the femur and needs to be taken to the hospital immediately to have surgery.”
I gasped! Surgery?
The doctor showed us the pictures of the x-ray. The femur is in the hip section which means that I can’t walk or put pressure on it because it’s very, very painful.
We went directly to the hospital and after changing into hospital gown and getting everything checked, I was taken to theatre. That night I had surgery.
To make the femur better the surgeons put two titanium pins into the break –
After my surgery I stayed in hospital for one whole week.
The doctors and nurses checked on me and made sure that I was ok and not in pain.
During my stay at the hospital, I was taught how to use crutches correctly and also how to use a wheelchair.
“You are not allowed to put any weight on your right leg!” The physiotherapist explained.
“For how long?” I asked.
“For 6 months.”
I wanted to cry.
6 months to be in a wheelchair and with crutches was a very long time!
I wanted to run and play and ride horses. But I wasn’t allowed.
I knew that I needed to listen to the doctors so I could get better.
I spent the majority of those 6 months in a wheelchair.
It was a long slow process but I knew that God was looking after me because during the whole ordeal, my family and friends prayed for me constantly. My whole church family prayed for me as well. I also had people in other parts of Queensland as well as people in Western Australia and all over the country praying for me. I was covered in prayers!
Then one day I got the best news ever!
They told me that the pin was going to be taken out because the break was healed! In 2009 I had another surgery and the pins were removed. By the middle of 2009 I was able to run and jump and do all the things my friends were doing.
It was FUN!
AWESOME!
But, I still had to look after myself. The doctors told me that I had avascular necrosis meaning that the head of the femur could deteriorate – meaning that if it deteriorates I would need to get a hip replacement. That takes a long time to heal and get better.
But, because of all the prayers the femur is not deteriorating fast.
A few years ago, I had another surgery because part of the head of my femur had started to deteriorate. This surgery is meant to help slow down the deterioration of the bone. God has been really great and I’m doing well. The prayers helped and God took care of me then and is taking care of me now!
- Today Jacinta is 22 years old and still likes to ride horses, plays the violin and the piano.
