Down but not out: Injured rodeo star on long ride back to ring

"Well, they always said I was hardheaded."

Marcella Upchurch grinned as she said this. The puckish grin isn't the only thing she's hiding under the brim of her ball cap. There's also a faint scar, and beneath that -- a titanium metal plate.

The 17-year-old from Rover almost died in September when a routine rodeo competition in Columbia went suddenly, terribly wrong.

"I shot through the gate and I went to get off my horse for the goat tying," she said. "My foot got caught in the stirrup."

Her horse, a quarter horse sorrel gelding named Razor, panicked as he dragged her and the rodeo workers approached, trying to catch him and free Marcella.

"He kicked out once and missed me, then the second time he got me," she said.

Brain injured

True to his name, Razor left an inches-long gash on her forehead, but the damage was worse than a mere cut.

"It cracked her skull and crushed her sinuses," said her mother, Malisa Upchurch. "It broke her right cheekbone and her right eye swelled shut."

Marcella was taken to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital by LifeFlight where she would remain for 10 days.

"There was some swelling on the brain," said Malisa.

Because of the swelling, and because of the bone fragments that had been pushed into her brain, there was some concern about brain damage as well -- but not anymore.

"I was so amazed by what she was able to come back to," said Dawn Bobo, her homebound teacher. Dawn's own daughter, Rachel, suffered traumatic brain injury when she was struck by a car when she was 9, so Dawn knew what Marcella and her family would be facing. She also knew what success there could be -- Rachel graduates from college this year.

"Marcella's able to do her schoolwork beautifully. She has some trouble with her math, but nothing out of the ordinary," said Dawn.

In fact, said Malisa, the only noticeable difference is some short-term memory loss.

Home bound

Because any kind of brain injury can result in seizures, Marcella has had to spend her senior year at home, instead of Community High School.

"The doctors wanted to give her brain time to heal," said Malisa.

Marcella hasn't had seizures, but she has developed recent severe headaches. They are exploring different possible causes, from her vision to her wisdom teeth, but they may end up having to go back to a neurologist about the problem. In the meantime, Marcella studies at home with Dawn. She doesn't mind.

"I get better grades when I work at my own pace," she admitted with another shy grin. "But I want to graduate with my class."

The hardest part about being a homebound student she said, was knowing that people at school were talking about her accident, talking about her -- and not very kindly.

"A bunch of them think there's nothing wrong with me and that I should be back in school," she said. " Some people say I dropped out of school and some even think I planned this."

Marcella wonders if the ones spreading those rumors think she did it for the attention and she wants to tell them she'd rather be back at school -- and back in the rodeo ring.

Facing the scars

She lifted the baseball cap to show the hair growing back. Not only is there a scar on her forehead from Razor's razor-sharp hoof, there's a much longer, straighter scar right across the top of her head. In order to push back the intruding bits of bone, and to clean out the membrane that surrounds and protects the brain, Vanderbilt surgeons had to perform brain surgery on the teenager.

"Well, we have to admit she's got brains now," said her mother. "We've seen them."

She can joke about it now, but said the five hours spent in the waiting room during the operation were the longest of her life.

Since Marcella came home -- on her little brother Ethan's ninth birthday -- the family hasn't gotten out much.

"We don't go much of anywhere but to the doctors," said Malisa.

Marcella, always with a ball cap or cowboy hat on, is reluctant to go out with her shorn head (the locks saved in her rodeo scrapbook) and scar, even though it has faded now to where you would have to know it was there to see it.

"When she first got up and saw herself in the mirror and saw her hair, she said they would laugh at her," said her mother.

Off to Vegas

Marcella, who hardly gets out unless it's to go to the doctor or to the barn to visit her horse, is going to have to face a much larger crowd than her classmates soon. In December, she'll be taking her first airplane trip ever, going to Las Vegas for the National Rodeo Finals. Not to compete -- at least, not yet. Marcella will be receiving the Fighting Spirit Award from Western Wishes, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to kids faced with adversity and who love the western way of life.

"Since 1994 this award-winning program has had the pleasure of turning dreams into lasting memories for these inspiring kids," states the group's web site. "The common thread we find with most Western Wishes kids is that they possess a fierce competitive spirit. Focusing on their goals, rather than their affliction, gives them a positive outlook on life. As such, they become ambassadors of hope to others who are about to enter the long road to recovery or who are preparing to face the end of an already too-short life."

Marcella found out about the award at the annual banquet for Southern All Star Rodeo (S.T.A.R.), a youth rodeo organization she belongs to. In fact, before her accident in September, Marcella was the points leader in the all-round class of her age division, as well as in line for the top honors in goat-tying, barrels, poles, break-away roping and steer stopping. Because she couldn't finish the Columbia rodeo and missed the next one as well, the last one of the season, she slipped off the top rung -- but still finished third in every category except steer stopping, where she finished fourth.

"She is a very determined and talented young girl who will obviously go far with this endeavor," said Carolyn Kaysaer, the S.T.A.R. secretary.

Back in the saddle

Marcella has every intention of going the distance, too, despite the horrific accident that set her back. She hadn't been home long when she was already sneaking back into the saddle -- just to prove to herself that she could.

"I'd had falls before," said the 17-year-old. "Nothing major."

She managed a ride without any fear from her accident setting in --until it came time to dismount.

"The only thing that really bothers me is the part where I have to get off," she said. "I'm afraid my foot's going to get caught again."

It's a problem she'll work on -- and get over. Marcella has every intention to get back into the rodeo arena again, possibly even going pro after graduation. She'd also like to get a degree in equine science and open up her own riding center.

"I want to start a program for kids that face adversity," said Marcella.

Her mother is less than thrilled about going back to the rodeo, but with Marcella's 18th birthday only months away, and in light of her daughter's fierce dedication to the sport, she gave in.

"If I had my choice, no," said Malisa. "I didn't want her to get back up on a horse again, but she wants to."

Marcella grinned, and touched her forehead where the titanium plate lays hidden,

"Well, they always said I was hardheaded," she said.