A Straughn Middle School student was injured when she was thrown from her horse Sunday afternoon.

Sixteen-year-old Paige Ladd hit her head on a fence post, causing bleeding on the brain and a C2 vertebrae fracture, her mom, Dee, said.

“We don’t really know what happened to the horse, but all of a sudden he took off in a dead run,” she said. “He ran for quite a while and came up on a fence. He stopped short and spun around and she came off and hit her head on a fence post.”

Dee Ladd said her daughter was unconscious for about a minute, and had difficulty knowing who her dad was for a few minutes following the accident.

“We called EMS and they came out and took her to Mizell,” she said. “We had Dr. Robert Revel as the ER doctor. He stabilized her and got scans of her head. That’s when he determined she was bleeding on the brain because of the trauma and had the C2 fracture.”

Paige was airlifted to Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan Sunday night.

Ladd said it was “touch-and-go” treatment on Sunday night.

“As the night progressed, she was doing better,” she said. “They did another CT scan on her head (Monday) morning, and the bleeding of the brain didn’t progress. She was stabilizing and there was no swelling on the brain.”

Ladd said Paige doesn’t require surgery right now.

“She’ll be in a neck brace for about three months,” she said. “She’s up and walking around. They’ve had her out of bed several times today. She’s been sleeping most of the afternoon, but she’s doing much better.”

Ladd said she wasn’t sure how long Paige would have to stay in the hospital.

“The neurologist told us a minimum of five days,” she said.

Despite all that happened, Ladd said she’s proud of her daughter.

“She’s pretty tenacious and independent,” she said. “She’s a good kid. I hated to see it happen to her.”

But what blessed her the most, she said, was her compassion for her mother.

“When she was coming off her medications, she said, ‘Don’t leave. Don’t leave me.’ I told her I wouldn’t, and she said, ‘But, Mama, what about your trip to Chicago?” Ladd said. “I have cancer, and I was supposed to have treatment on Wednesday. We’re going to put it off.

“Our plate is full to say the least,” Ladd said. “Our finances and our insurances are being hit hard. That’s OK. We are going to do whatever we need to to make sure she gets better.

“We are so blessed with everyone who has offered prayers,” she said. “Our friends are going crazy with posts to her Facebook page, mine and my husband’s. We’re so appreciative. I thoroughly believe that without those prayers things may not have turned out like they did. I am humbled by the number of people who have reached out.”