52 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
The Absolutely Amazing
Comeback of Devon Gibson
By Lauren R. Giannini
You can say that Devon Gibson is very
lucky, that she lives a charmed life, that the
stars were in alignment the day a horrific
fall left the rider-trainer paralyzed from
the neck down and that her recovery
borders on the miraculous. All of
these statements are correct, but
even Devon, who is extremely
articulate, finds herself groping for
the right words to express what’s
in her heart and her mind.
“My recovery is like one in a
million or in a trillion – I feel as
if I survived going over Niagara
Falls without the barrel,” admitted
Devon. “If you think of all the
fences I’ve jumped and the
crashes I’ve had, but I never
broke like this. I had a cracked
collarbone once and, when I was
10, I broke a bone in my foot when
a horse stepped on me. I never ever
spent time in a hospital. I had a great
experience when I was in the hospital,
but I never want to go back.”
Devon, based in southern California,
has 25 years of experience,
winning in hunters and jumpers,
coaching gold medal NAYRC
winners and teaching riders of all
ages and levels, both competitive
and pleasure. She is known for her
friendly and outgoing personality,
her dedication and devotion to the
horses and helping her students to
do their best and have fun, but the
horses always come first.
The Crash
On February 22, 2013, while
showing in a hunter classic
in California, Devon’s horse
“scissored” the jump with his legs
and flipped over, which catapulted
Devon to the ground face-first and
her body “scorpioned” over itself,
essentially breaking her neck and
lower back.
“I was lying there, conscious and
in shock, paralyzed – I couldn’t
feel my arms or legs – thinking, is
this what my life will be?” recalled
Devon. “I love what I do. I love
teaching and I love love love
riding. That day, all the stars were
in alignment.”
Paramedics, stationed only two
miles from the show grounds,
arrived quickly. One of them was
up-to-date about spinal injuries,
not a standard protocol for rescue
squad personnel in California,
and they immediately ice-packed
Devon’s spine. They called for
a medevac helicopter, which just
happened to be refueling at the
airport located next door. Seven
minutes later, the medevac delivered
Devon to a hospital in the Coachella
Valley with a relatively new level II
trauma unit and neurosurgeons
specializing in spinal cord injuries.
Devon had fractured C-4 and
C-5 and also L1 in her lower back,
destroyed all supporting cervical
ligaments and demolished the disc
between C3 and C4. The fractured
cervical vertebrae caused the
paralysis; however, the spinal cord
injury was “incomplete” – bruised
and swollen, but not permanently
damaged.
“The surgery involved inserting
a rod on each side of my neck
towards the back with a screw in
each vertebrae to stabilize C3 to
C6 – it’s very short there, maybe
two inches,” Devon explained.
“They did a laminectomy of C3 and
C4 – took out part of the vertebrae
to reduce pressure on the cord.
The surgeon felt I had a 95
percent chance for a full recovery
– thanks to the paramedics and the
helicopter. So I ran with that.”
In ICU after the surgery that stabilized her fractured
neck, Devon poses with great friends and
clients Vicki Shinn, Linda Swanson and Lyn
Ferrera. Devon admits that she still feels
overwhelming gratitude for the support of
friends, horsey and civilian alike, who
even helped to feed her when her
arms weren’t working.
Photo courtesy of friends
Devon’s first ride took place only 12 weeks after the
horrific fall that broke her neck and back, leaving her
paralyzed from the neck down. She started driving and
teaching again 10 weeks into recovery. Shown here, on
this momentous occasion, aboard Popsicle, owned by
Pam Griswold, with Kylee Arbuckle for company.
Photo courtesy of Christy Arbuckle
e
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