Michigan Nurse Paralyzed After Sustaining Spinal Fracture from Horseback Riding Accident
Dawn Rammage was on an outing with her wife last month when she was bucked from her horse and fell to the ground head-first
GoFundMe
Dawn RammageA Michigan woman became paralyzed last month after being bucked from her horse during an outing with her wife.
Dawn Rammage, of Grass Lake, a nurse at the University of Michigan Hospital, had emergency surgery on June 8 following the accident, according to a GoFundMe page created on her behalf.
The horse Rammage was on saw a chicken in a coop, prompting the horse to buck and causing Rammage’s fall. The resulting neck fracture and spinal cord injury left Rammage paralyzed from the shoulders down.
In an interview with ABC affiliate WXYZ from a hospital bed, Rammage, who is also a farrier, said she was completing her ride at the time of the accident.
Related: I Was Paralyzed After Falling from a Tree. I Learned to Walk Again with My 1-Year-Old Daughter
“For whatever reason, the horse bucked pretty good, twice and sent me into a spiral," Rammage told the outlet.
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Given her professional background, Rammage said that she knew of her condition after she fell to the ground head-first.
"In nursing, I feel like you know too much,” she told WXYZ. “So, my arms flew back in a certain posture. I knew. I was paralyzed.”
Rammage's wife Brianna Engel, who is also a nurse, said in the same interview that she was coordinating people as the ambulance arrived at their yard within 20 minutes after the accident.
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Rammage also told WXYZ that her chances of walking again are remote based on what doctors have said. But she added, “Life is always gonna constantly throw a curveball at me…But, you just need to keep moving in that direction and be like, ‘Alright, you got me there. But now, I’m gonna go in this direction.’ "
According to the GoFundMe description, Rammage, who had been a nurse for 18 years, and Engel met at the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor. They married in 2019 and raised a foster daughter. The fundraiser also said that horses have been Rammage’s passion.
Related: High School Football Player, 15, Paralyzed After Snowboarding Accident
“She will have a very long road of rehab and recovery,” per the GoFundMe. “Their family will also need to make the house handicap accessible so she can come home. Dawn will no longer be able to work and due to a recent job position change their financial future is unclear.”
PEOPLE contacted the GoFundMe organizer for additional information, but they did not immediately respond. As of Monday, July 1, the fundraiser has generated over $37,000.
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