CYRIL, Okla. (KFOR) — A 15-year-old girl from Cyril, Oklahoma, is in the ICU after a football goalpost fell on her head while her cheer team posed for a picture on the crossbar.
As of Monday night, Jenessa Thompson’s grandparents told NewsNation affiliate KFOR-TV she is awake, talking and gave a thumbs up. However, the family said the incident could have been much worse.
Jenessa’s grandmother Debbie Thompson received a concerning call from one of her granddaughters that let her know Jenessa was in trouble.
“She was out of breath and she said, ‘Grandma get to the football field now,’” Thompson, said.
“‘I’m going,’ and I ran,” Thompson said.
Thompson said she lives just five blocks away from the football field, so she got to the scene quickly. She said she saw Jenessa lying in her cheer coach’s arms.
“She wasn’t responsive that I could tell. Her little arms were limp,” Thompson said. “She was moaning but pretty much unconscious.”
At practice, Thompson said the cheer team wanted to pose for a picture on the football goalpost. Jenessa was on the ground next to her cheer coach as they took the picture. That’s when the goal post came down.
“The goalpost hit her solid here and she was pinned to the ground,” Thompson said pointing to the right side of her face. “A lot of blood, the ambulance came, and they said they needed to call the chopper.”
The helicopter took her to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, with her family not far behind.
“It was a long time before we got a report,” Thompson said.
However, she said they later got encouraging news.
“They said they couldn’t find any brain bleeds,” said Thompson, holding back tears. “That was a real honest to goodness hallelujah. God is good. That’s when the tears came, that’s when we cried and everybody was jumping up and down,” said Thompson and her husband, David.
Some people from the small community of Cyril gathered in support in the hospital parking lot.
The Thompsons said Jenessa will likely be in the ICU for about two more days. They said doctors told them she might have a broken or dislocated jaw but are still looking for any more issues.
