Senior has newfound passion 2 years after nearly losing hand in ATV crash
By Web Staff
Click here for updates on this story
MUSTANG, Oklahoma (KOCO) — A lifelong cheerleader almost lost her hand after being pinned under an ATV. Two years and 17 surgeries later, she’s back on the sidelines for Mustang High with a newfound passion.
Avery Fulton is full of spirit and spunk, you wouldn’t know the adversity she has overcome.
“I have a metal rod and 12 screws going like this,” Fulton said. “I’ve had a skin graft. So my arm was sewn to my hip for three weeks. That was definitely a journey.”
The journey for the Mustang High School senior started two years ago. She was riding on an ATV with friends.
“We just started going too fast and we started to feel uneasy and we were yelling, ‘stop slow down,’ and she kinds of overcorrected it and that’s what caused it to roll and it landed on my side,” Fulton said. “I took my left arm, which was broken from the girls landing on it, and I lifted up the ATV off my right arm which is the more severe arm. And then I tucked it into my shirt. The abdomen part of my shirt, and held it there until the EMT got there.”
An EMT who just happened to be turning into the neighborhood and saw what happened. Fulton calls him her guardian angel.
“He got a kitchen towel from the neighbors and wrapped up my arm and put a tourniquet on it and save me from bleeding out. So I really feel like he was meant to be there at that time,” Fulton said.
“There’s a lot that has to go right for injuries like that to turn out reasonably well,” said Tom Lehman, Director of Hand Trauma Services at OU Medical Center.
A crushing injury to Fulton’s hand and wrist, injuries to the nerves and tendons and a disruption of blood supply – Lehman said Fulton almost lost her hand entirely.
“It takes a long, long time to get to a point after injuries this severe that we’re finally done,” Fulton said.
Now, 17 surgeries later, her last just this summer, Fulton is as spirited as ever.
Although she had to give up cheerleading, she found a new passion in dancing on the varsity pom squad.
“The day I made the team I was just in tears. I was bawling because it was such a victory and it has been the best decision I’ve ever made. That team is everything to me now. God definitely had a plan for me because that’s where I’m supposed to be.”
After everything she has been through, Fulton wants to pursue a career in the medical field. She said she has a special bond with her doctor after two years of surgeries.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
