September 21-25 is National Farm Safety and Health Week. This guest commentary on farm safety is from Natalie Miller, a middle school student in Marion County. She is active in both 4-H and FFA and enjoys spending time working on the family farm. 

I never expected a normal day on my family farm to turn into the longest, most challenging journey of my life. It was a normal Sunday. We finished fixing fence, then we needed to let a mama cow and her baby out to rejoin the herd. Dad asked me to push them out of the barn, like I had done 1,000 times before. Who knew this time, opening a gate would change my life forever?

As I opened the gate, maternal instinct (or insanity) took over for the cow, and in the blink of an eye, everything changed. She ran straight at me and flipped me upside down. To avoid hitting my head, I rolled away from a hay ring but landed in the cow’s path where she stepped on the back of my left calf. I didn’t feel any pain, but I knew I had to be hurt and needed to get away. I climbed the fence and ran to dad. When I realized my jeans were ripped, I touched my leg and my hand was covered in blood. I don’t remember much after that, but I know my dad’s quick thinking may have saved my life.

Dad didn’t panic. He quickly got me to the side-by-side and took me to the office, where he grabbed two dish towels and wrapped them around my leg with a roll of vet wrap.

When we arrived at the hospital, I walked in on my own. No one was overly concerned until the doctor asked me to remove my jeans. That is when everyone realized how seriously I was hurt.

Mom was helping my brother with FFA fruit sales when Dad called her.

”He first told me she would only need three to four stitches,” Mom remembers. “The next time he called, it was more like, ‘Get home, get packed, we are being transferred to St. Louis.’”

By leaving my jeans in place and immediately wrapping my leg, Dad kept the bleeding under control. Who knows how much blood I could have lost if he hadn’t acted quickly?

The next several days were a blur. I spent 14 days in Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital and had five surgeries to control infection and close a wound the size and depth of a deck of cards.

Thankfully, I was wearing jeans that day. I am confident the jeans are the only thing that saved my leg. The doctors and even my veterinarian agreed. Had I been wearing shorts, I wouldn’t have my left leg today.

Looking back, the only thing I would have changed that day would be to carry a rattle paddle with me into the barn. Our family has always looked at disposition before buying or keeping a heifer or cow, but this one fell through the cracks. I hope this can be a reminder to consider disposition in your selection criteria. We now have a zero-tolerance policy for bad behavior in our herd.

Since the accident, I worked tirelessly to get back to normal teenage activities. I have been released by the doctors, graduated from physical therapy and am playing in P.E. again at school. I know my accident has changed my life forever, but I also know God will use it to ensure someone else does not carry the same scar I do.

Last night marked two years since the accident. I once again helped move cows, this time with Mom. There has been a lot of fear and pain to overcome, but I refuse to let an injury stop me from doing the things I love — working the farm, riding my horse and pursuing my dream of becoming a veterinarian.