Texas Children's Emergency Care Saves a Young Life

Texas Children’s got Madeline back in the saddle again after she was seriously injured by a horse.

On June 28, 2010, my 3-year-old daughter Madeline was stepped on by a horse.

Madeline loves horses and tries to be around them every second she possibly can—and she has absolutely no fear. On this particular day, when she followed me out to the pasture, she decided she wanted to pet the biggest horse of the bunch!

Before I could turn around, this 1,100-pound horse had run right over the top of her. My heart fell into my stomach, and it felt like the whole world went into slow motion. I scooped her up, put her in the truck and took her to the closest emergency center in Pearland. Once she was stable, Madeline was transported to the emergency center at Texas Children’s.

When we got there, a whole team took Madeline back to the trauma area and escorted us back with her. While the team was working with her, they were explaining everything to us. I especially loved the fact that there was a nurse who interacted with Madeline while the doctors did what they needed to do.

Once they had evaluated her and run a whole lot of tests, it was a waiting game. When Madeline began to get impatient, one of the nurses brought her a television to watch movies and a coloring book to help keep her occupied. Everyone was so wonderful—they kept coming and updating us on everything. They knew how scared I was, too, and took the time to comfort me.

Madeline had surgery and was transferred to the pediatric intensive care unit, where another team took excellent care of her. I thought it was really wonderful that they had an area for the children to play and that they could take toys to their rooms. Madeline got so used to this great treatment that every time someone walked in the room, she expected something from them!

I couldn’t have been happier with Texas Children’s Hospital and the way everyone took such good care of Madeline and of us. We wanted to show our appreciation by donating toys to the hospital. When we told Madeline, she was so excited that she could not stop talking about it!

I don’t think our experience would have been the same at any other hospital, and I can’t thank all the doctors, Madeline’s surgeon and the staff enough for the treatment we received. Thank you so much for everything! Madeline is doing great and back on her horses again!