A California woman struck by a bull at a rodeo credits the attack with saving her life.
A California woman rammed by a bull at a rodeo in a freak accident now says the offending beast saved her young life.
Paige King, 25, was sitting in the stands of a rodeo in the Northern California city of Redding, when a runaway bull jumped a barrier wall, injuring six people. She was struck in the back and was transported a nearby hospital's emergency room.
There, King underwent a CAT scan to check for internal injuries. Doctors ultimately discovered a mass of growth on her neck. A biopsy determined it was thyroid cancer.
The news devastated King and her family.
"I was stunned, honestly, as one of your kids discovered that they might have cancer. It gives you chills to know that this is way bigger than the rodeo was this year," her dad, Erick Mattson, recently told KRCR-TV.
A friend who is a rodeo announcer referred the family to a treatment center in Texas.
"I'm very grateful for him and appreciate what he's done for us," King told the station.
Thus began her road to recovery.
"Through some rodeo family, we were referred to one of the best cancer treatment hospitals in the nation," her dad wrote on a GoFundMe page established to help the family with medical costs.
She and her family are currently traveling back and forth between California and Texas.
“The next several months will be challenging but she is strong, she is surrounded by an amazing loving group of friends/family and together we will get through this," King's mother, Jennifer Mattson, wrote on her Facebook page.
King, through happenstance, was able to meet the bull, named Border Crisis, after she was injured. She and a co-worker were driving to work when they saw the massive mammal in a fenced pen.
They stopped and photographed King with the bull.
"I was able to smile about it and laugh. I was scared at first, but it was fun," King told the station. "It was a full-circle moment, and I'll cherish it forever."
Her mother had nothing but praise for Border Crisis.
"As scary as that night was for us, we will forever be thankful that it happened and remember Border Crisis as the bull that saved her life. We know that he’s living happily on the ranch and has no idea that he is our hero, but we know," she wrote on Facebook.
"Bridwell Pro Rodeos give him some special treats from our family as a thank you!" she said.
