CHEROKEE COUNTY, Ga. — A 9-year-old girl, badly hurt when a mule kicked her in the head, is making what her parents call remarkable progress, thanks to help from a horse.
Emma’s mother, Lisa Johnson, said she her daughter were trying to round up a neighbor’s mules that had gotten loose when the accident happened.
“She didn’t want to see those animals get hurt, or get run over by a car,” Lisa Johnson told Channel 2's Mark Winne.
Emma spent 13 days in a coma after the kick, leading doctors to deliver a dire prognosis.
“He gave us a 50/50 chance of whether she would live or die,” said Lisa Johnson.
“Just went straight to praying that Jesus would touch her with his healing hand,” said David Johnson, Emma’s dad.
But David and Lisa Johnson say it is their daughter’s love of animals that makes Georgia Equine in Motion, which specializes in adaptive horseback riding, such an important part of her therapy.
“The actual terminology is hippotherapy. ‘Hippo’ is the Greek word for horse,” said therapist Amy Wallace.
Emma's parents said she doesn't have much speech yet, but Emma has made incredible progress in just about every other way.
“God has answered prayer after prayer,” said Lisa Johnson.
Her parents and therapists say Emma has been giving back in her own way.
“Her smile is contagious. It will take you through an entire day,” said Wallace.
A 5K race has been organized to help Emma Johnson. The race and fun run takes place at First Baptist Church of Canton on Saturday Nov. 1 at 8:30 a.m.
Click here if you'd like more information or to register for the event.
WSBTV
