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Bernie Wolfe loved her life. She had everything she had wanted; a great job, a beautiful wife, and her 2 children that loved her no matter what. She was a strong, independent woman--thanks to the army--and she wouldn’t have changed a single thing. Even when she was nearly killed by that roadside IED.
It had been 5 years since the accident, and Bernie was the happiest she’d been in a very long time. She worked at Holby in the AAU trauma unit, which she was able to get back up and running, and she got to work with her beautiful wife, Serena Campbell.
Bernie & Serena’s relationship had a rocky start when they had made up yet again in December 2018. Jason & Greta had gotten married, Bernie had fled, but this time Serena went after her. She was able to stop Bernie from getting on the plane back to Nairobi by kissing her and sobbing as she stood in line to go through security. The two sat in the back seat of Serena’s car for nearly 2 hours as they talked and shared soft kisses. They vowed they’d never bring up what had happened while Bernie was gone, and both promised to work on communication.
Bernie also loved horses. She looked up to them because they were strong, beautiful creatures. Growing up, she dreamed of living on a farm and owning a bunch of animals. She would picture herself doing barrel racing, or maybe even hogtying. She let those dreams go when she learned about the other side of farms; the selling kind. Honestly, it was probably for the best because if she hadn’t decided she wanted to enlist in the army, she wouldn’t be who she was today. And probably wouldn’t have met Serena.
For their 5-year anniversary of getting together, Bernie wanted to do something special. Serena had mentioned that she always wanted to ride a horse, or at least touch one, to which Bernie couldn’t say “no”.
She spent several weeks coming up with ideas on just exactly how she was going to get them in front of horses. She thought of trail rides, a petting zoo, and briefly had a thought of befriending a cowboy that had come in as a patient and convinced him in letting them visit his farm. She was about to start the conversation when something in her brain told her it would be an unprofessional thing for a trauma surgeon to do, not to mention a bit awkward.
Bernie was about to give up on the idea when one last Google search landed her on a website for a place called Bronco Bucky’s Arena & Tack Shop. After scrolling through the website and even visiting the shop’s social media page, Bernie decided to give them a call in the hopes they had some horses that they could meet. She knew the probability was slim given the place wasn’t a petting zoo or rescue and therapy ranch, but she thought she’d give it a shot anyway.
She was able to get a hold of the owner, Teresa, and after hearing they’d be able to visit, and maybe even ride some horses, she spent 20 minutes on the phone getting the details. Their anniversary was a week away and thankfully they both had the day off so Bernie thought that would be the perfect day to go out.
Bernie really wanted to keep their special day a surprise, but since neither of them had cowboy boots--why would they?--she was forced to tell Serena some of what she had planned for Tuesday.
On Saturday, Bernie was told that they needed to go out to get groceries, which was the perfect opportunity to get everything they needed to visit the arena. She knew that was the day she would have to tell Serena some of what she had planned.
“Do you mind if we make one stop before we get groceries?” Bernie asked as they both got into her car.
She was usually the one that drove them everywhere and it made sense to do it beforehand in case they get perishables and spend too much time in the western store.
Serena didn’t question what kind of stop they were taking until they pulled up to a place called Boot Barn. Maybe she needed some work boots?
Neither of them had ever been inside Boot Barn and they definitely felt out of their element.
“Bernie, what are we doing here?” Serena finally asked as she was led over to the cowboy boots.
“Do you trust me?” Bernie asked.
“I trust you,” Serena nodded.
“Well, I wanted to keep this a surprise, but we’re going to visit a place that has horses on Tuesday and I figured we needed the proper footwear,” Bernie replied with a smile on her face.
“Oh, Bernie, that is just the sweetest thing ever,” she said with tears in her eyes as she moved to hug Bernie.
It took about 30 minutes for both of the women to pick out the perfect cowboy boots. Bernie chose a black and brown pair, and Serena was able to find a leopard print pair. Bernie chuckled to herself when she realized that she could’ve bought the boots without having to bring or even tell Serena what was going on. At least she was able to keep that they were going to get to ride the horses a secret.
Next, they needed to pick out a shirt for Serena. Bernie owned a couple of plaid shirts, but she hardly wore them because she thought she looked like a lumberjack, especially when she paired them with her skinny jeans.
Serena was disappointed there wasn’t a leopard print shirt that matched her boots, but Bernie was glad because apart from owning enough items with the animal print, she was afraid too much of it would scare the horses. Serena went with a plaid shirt that blended well with her boots.
Before heading to pay for their apparel, Bernie quickly picked out 2 hats for them and she was proud of herself for picking one for Serena that she didn’t hate. She wasn’t much of a hat person--her fluffy winter hat being the exception--but she excited to get to be around horses, even it meant wearing funny clothes.was
Tuesday finally rolled around and Bernie was so excited. The two women couldn’t help but spend almost two hours in bed kissing, touching, and moaning.
“Good morning,” the blonde said and kissed the top of her head
“It is now,” Serena smiled and pressed her lips to Bernie’s again.
The 2 women finally got out of bed and got ready for the day. They went to their favorite cafe for breakfast before getting in the car and driving to Bronco Bucky’s.
“Where are we going, Bernie?” Serena asked when they got back in the car.
“Do you trust me?” Bernie asked while looking over at her wife.
“Of course, I trust you,” Serena smiled. She knew Bernie had trust issues so she never questioned whenever Bernie would ask her.
It was a good 30 miles outside of Holby, so they spent the time sharing their experiences with horses. Bernie had ridden some when she was younger, nothing too extreme, she mostly rode them at carnivals and the circus, but she enjoyed every second of it. Serena, however, had only seen them when she went to the zoo, which wasn’t too often, and on the television. She adored the massive animals, but she had no desire to own one because they were a lot of work and messy and she wasn’t that type of woman to get her hands dirty in that way.
Once they arrived at Bronco Bucky’s, they were greeted by a red-headed woman named Teresa Martin, she was the owner, and her 2 dogs Cassie & Roxy. Teresa showed them around the tack shop and pointed to the 12 horses in the dry lots across the street. Then they made their way over to a big stable that had another dry lot attached which contained 3 horses. Teresa explained that most of the mares were across the street and even had some half a mile down the road on another lot of land--the 2 women had seen them on their way by--while the ones outside the stable were geldings, which were castrated male horses. They weren’t allowed near the mares because even though they were fixed, they tended to fight and would cause each other too much harm.
Teresa let the women pet and groom the horses they were going to ride. Bernie picked Cash, a black & white quarter horse. He was so calm and he really loved getting groomed. Serena chose a reddish-brown horse named Buddy, he was an older quarter horse but seemed to be as calm as Cash. There was also a horse named Phantom, but he was separated from Bernie & Seren because he was a little antsy, which they assumed was because he wasn’t getting any attention. He was a Tennessee walking horse so he was bigger but so beautiful. It didn’t take them long to figure out why he was named Phantom because he was all black except for a white stripe that went down the middle of his face. The women were allowed to pet Phantom and give him some treats, which he was very grateful for.
After they finished grooming Cash & Buddy, Teresa showed them where they kept the saddles and told them which one belonged to which horse. It took some time, but they got both of the horses saddled up and ready to go. The hard part, Serena thought, was getting on the horse.
Bernie was able to get on Cash with no trouble at all, to which Serena chalked it up to her long legs and muscular physique.
Serena, of course, had a hard time, and both Teresa & Bernie suggested she used a step stool. Buddy struggled with how much Serena tugged on the saddle, but after the 3rd attempt, Serena had mounted the brown horse. She released a heavy sigh the same moment Buddy decided to shake his whole body and it caused Serena to let out a gasp. The feeling of a horse moving that way scared Serena and she hoped it didn’t happen again.
Teresa showed Bernie & Serena how to hold the reins and what to do to get the horses to move. Soon they were both walking slowly around the dry lot, and Serena had a massive smile on her face and Bernie did too.
Teresa had offered to take pictures for them so with a little bit of maneuvering, Bernie got her phone out of her tight jeans and handed it to her.
The horses had made 2 laps around the dry lot and everything was going great. Cash was moving at a slow pace while Buddy had a bit more getup. Teresa was a bit surprised given his age but she didn’t question it.
As Buddy was getting closer to the west side of the dry lot, the neighbor dog named Dixie came running by and got underneath the dry lot gate. It startled Buddy and since he was walking fast, he stopped himself too quickly and tried to step back at the same time, causing him to lean back, which, unfortunately, threw Serena off of him and she landed behind him. The sound spooked Buddy and he took a step back and his right back leg landed on Serena’s right hip. He quickly stepped forward when he realized what he stepped on. Teresa was watching and tried to get the dog away from Buddy, but it was too late, and witnessed the horrible accident.
“Shit! Serena!” Bernie shouted. She had her back turned when Serena got bucked off, but heard her land and was quick to dismount Cash and ran over to her right as she was stepped on.
Teresa had rushed into the dry lot to contain Buddy and keep him away from Serena. She didn’t worry about Cash when Bernie got off of him because she knew he would stay away.
“Are you okay?” Teresa asked, she was very concerned about Serena considering how hard she had fallen. Serena tried to move but was quickly hit with excruciating pain in her pelvis.
“Don’t move, Serena,” Bernie rushed out as she knelt next to her to assess her injuries.
“Bernie, it’s my pelvis,” Serena cried. Bernie knew she had a high pain tolerance, so when she saw the tears in her eyes and the pain in her voice, she knew this was serious.
“Call an ambulance, please, Teresa,” Bernie said calmly as the woman was tying Buddy & Cash up far enough away from them. “And do you have any ropes I can use? I need to tie Serena’s legs together to make the transport from the ground to the stretcher easier,” she said.
“I’m scared, Bernie,” Serena whimpered. She knew this was serious and she knew there was a possibility she would never walk again.
“It’s okay, Serena. I’m going to get you help,” she replied as she ran her fingers through Serena’s grey hair as a way to try and calm her down.
Teresa had called for an ambulance and found some rope in the tack room where the saddles were. She had seen her share of injuries in her life, and she didn’t think Serena’s was that bad, but it was the way she fell and how hard she hit the dirt, plus the way Buddy stepped on her. The dirt was so dry so it was as hard as concrete. Serena had gone up about 6 inches higher than she was sitting because of how Buddy bucked her off and that was what caused her to land so hard.
“Ambulance is on its way,” Teresa said as she handed Bernie the rope. “Is there anything else I can do?”
“Can you hold her hand and make sure she doesn’t move? I am going to move her leg and it’s going to hurt,” Bernie replied as she moved to Serena’s feet and got the ropes ready to wrap around Serena’s legs.
“Do you know what you’re doing?” the red-headed woman asked curiously.
“Yes. I saw injuries like this in the army,” Bernie replied quickly. “Serena, do you trust me?” she asked for the second time that day as she turned her attention to her wife.
“Yes, I trust you,” she gasped. She was terrified, but she knew she was in good hands.
“Okay, I’m going to slowly straighten and move your right leg. I want you to take a deep breath on the count of 3,” Bernie said before taking a deep breath to prepare herself.
On three, Bernie lifted Serena’s left ankle, the less injured side, and pulled it gently towards her, causing Serena to scream in agony. Bernie flinched and even Cash & Buddy made noises nearby. Although Serena’s pelvis was injured, any movement to her legs caused excruciating to shoot from her hips and up her spine.
Bernie let Serena take a minute before she continued to move her leg to prepare her for the ambulance. Teresa couldn’t help but feel bad for what had happened. It wasn’t like Buddy to get spooked by the neighbor dog, he usually ignored her whenever she ran into the lot. As she crouched and held Serena’s hand, she prayed that her injuries weren’t life-threatening and she would be able to recover quickly.
Bernie was able to get Serena’s legs tied together just before the ambulance arrived. She informed them of what had happened and soon they were loading Serena onto the stretcher as gently as possible.
Once they got Serena loaded, Teresa offered to follow in Bernie’s car. Bernie was obviously going to ride in the ambulance and getting her car to the hospital hadn’t even crossed her mind. The offer was accepted and soon the ambulance was getting on the road. Bernie held Serena’s hand the entire ride to Holby, both of them silently praying the injuries weren’t too bad, but with both of them being surgeons, they had an inkling as to what they were going to be faced with by how much pain Serena was in. Bernie had also seen a glimpse of Serena’s right side and noticed the swelling already occurring.
After x-rays and CT scans, it was clear that Serena had severely fractured her pelvis. Bernie had seen the results and she almost let out a sob. It was as if Serena’s pelvis had shattered like glass. Her right side was worse than her left, which Bernie wasn’t surprised with. She knew Serena would be faced with many surgeries and her heart broke for her.
It had been 9 months since the accident and Serena was doing well. She had had 5 successful surgeries to put her pelvis back together like a jigsaw puzzle with pins and needles.
She also had to do intense physical therapy to learn to walk again. The only problem that she had, and would have for the rest of her life, was that her right leg was an inch and a half shorter than her right due to what Buddy had done to her. Putting platforms on all of her right-sided shoes was an obstacle, but it was nothing compared to what could’ve happened.
Although Serena suffered a horrible accident, she told Bernie she would love to visit Bronco Bucky’s again. After everything happened, nothing about that day scared her from wanting to be around horses again and it showed Bernie just how strong and brave her wife was.
The two women would visit the arena again and would recommend it to anybody.
Serena was so grateful that Bernie had been by her side at every single moment during her recovery. In a way, it made their relationship stronger. Bernie also stopped asking for Serena’s trust, something inside her had settled the war inside her head regarding her trust issues. Maybe it was witnessing Serena’s accident, or maybe it was having to watch her go through the grueling recovery. Whatever the reason, she was thankful because it made her seem vulnerable whenever she felt like her own wife didn’t trust her. And trust was so important in life and a relationship.