Monday started out as a normal cheer practice for 15-year-old Jenessa Thompson.“We got the idea, let’s go to the goalpost and take some pictures,” Skylie Thompson, a fellow Cyril cheerleader and Jenessa Thompson’s cousin, said.But that post fell while the cheerleaders were on it.“It just tilted this way and then fell forward,” Skylie Thompson said.The cheerleaders and their coach were not injured — except for Jenessa Thompson. The goalpost had fallen on her head.“I just saw that massive beam going across her head,” cheer coach Taylor Reynolds said“Underneath the pole, she was kind of just not moving,” Skylie Thompson said. Skylie Thompson and three other cheerleaders then picked up the massive goalpost off Jenessa Thompson. She tried to stand but collapsed in her coach’s arms.“The amount of blood, I just … asked her to relax, to lay in my arms,” Reynolds said.Jenessa Thompson was flown to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City.“I prayed. Everyone prayed,” Debbie Thompson, Jenessa Thompson’s grandmother, said.Debbie Thompson said she thinks the prayers from everyone in the community truly saved her life.“The difference between yesterday and today is just unreal,” Debbie Thompson said.That’s because, within 24 hours, Jenessa Thompson is up walking and talking.“A miracle in itself because what I saw should have taken her out,” Reynolds said.The 15-year-old still has a long road to recovery but is doing better than expected. The family has asked that people continue to pray because there is a chance she may not recover eyesight in one of her eyes.A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Jenessa Thompson’s family pay for her medical bills. Anyone who would like to donate can do so here.
CYRIL, Okla. —
Monday started out as a normal cheer practice for 15-year-old Jenessa Thompson.
“We got the idea, let’s go to the goalpost and take some pictures,” Skylie Thompson, a fellow Cyril cheerleader and Jenessa Thompson’s cousin, said.
But that post fell while the cheerleaders were on it.
“It just tilted this way and then fell forward,” Skylie Thompson said.
The cheerleaders and their coach were not injured — except for Jenessa Thompson. The goalpost had fallen on her head.
“I just saw that massive beam going across her head,” cheer coach Taylor Reynolds said
“Underneath the pole, she was kind of just not moving,” Skylie Thompson said.
Skylie Thompson and three other cheerleaders then picked up the massive goalpost off Jenessa Thompson. She tried to stand but collapsed in her coach’s arms.
“The amount of blood, I just … asked her to relax, to lay in my arms,” Reynolds said.
Jenessa Thompson was flown to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City.
“I prayed. Everyone prayed,” Debbie Thompson, Jenessa Thompson’s grandmother, said.
Debbie Thompson said she thinks the prayers from everyone in the community truly saved her life.
“The difference between yesterday and today is just unreal,” Debbie Thompson said.
That’s because, within 24 hours, Jenessa Thompson is up walking and talking.
“A miracle in itself because what I saw should have taken her out,” Reynolds said.
The 15-year-old still has a long road to recovery but is doing better than expected. The family has asked that people continue to pray because there is a chance she may not recover eyesight in one of her eyes.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Jenessa Thompson’s family pay for her medical bills. Anyone who would like to donate can do so here.
