A little over a year after a tragic accident left her in a coma, a Red Bud cowgirl is back in the saddle – though she likely still has a long road to recovery ahead.

The community was rocked last fall as Annika Olson, a then-freshman on the rodeo team at Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff, Mo., suffered a severe head injury.

As previously reported, Annika was exercising her horse Chicka in mid-September at the college ranch. She took Chicka out into the pasture, and it was sometime later that head rodeo coach Chad Phipps saw that Annika’s horse was wandering without her.

Phipps soon found Annika unconscious, and she was quickly transported to the emergency room at Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center.

With  hemorrhaging and bruising on her brain, she was stabilized and life flighted to Saint Louis University Hospital, where emergency surgery was performed to remove part of her skull in order to relieve extreme swelling and pressure.

A seizure following the surgery placed Annika on life support as doctors induced a coma for several days. Though she seemed to be improving, further complications demanding the removal of a second piece of her skull ultimately left her in a coma for several months.

With such a tremendous health scare now behind her, Annika has been awake for some time now, attending physical therapy and recovering from the damage that was caused last year.

Her mother Krista spoke alongside Annika recently to discuss the progress she’s made over the past few months.

Most excitingly, Annika and her mother reported that excellent physical therapy progress now allows her to move without any assistance, leaving her wheelchair, cane and other mobility aids behind.

“She has gotten rid of all of the assisted devices for mobility,” Krista said. “She’s still working on her gait to make it more natural, but she is walking without assistance.”

While she is doing much better physically, Annika is still recovering from the trauma to her brain as Krista explained that cognition and memory in particular is still a challenge for her.

“Memory is still very hard, and so we’ve been reminding her of where she was a year ago and where she’s been,” Krista said.

Still, the two were positive about her ongoing recovery, with Krista noting she is seeing cognitive improvements in her daughter daily.

With four months in a coma, four months in a wheelchair and two months with a rollator or cane, Annika has made excellent progress since the incident.

Regarding the accident, Krista acknowledged the family is still uncertain what could have happened, particularly as her only other injury at the time was a scrape as though she didn’t try to catch herself as she fell off Chicka.

Along with recognizing the progress Annika has made, Krista also pointed out the tremendous support she and the family have received from the community throughout her recovery.

Shortly after the accident, the community gathered for an event at the Monroe County Fairgrounds for a benefit horse show, and though the event suffered unfortunate weather, folks still came out to donate and show support for the family.

Krista offered thanks to the numerous individuals and organizations which have reached out for the family, including McKenzie’s Infinity – which provided apparel for the cause of raising funds for the Olsons – and the dozens of churches, equine groups, businesses and others who either sponsored the initial fundraiser or served as a support network in the months that followed.

“It is overwhelming and unexpected, I guess,” Krista said. “A lot of support came from different organizations that we weren’t directly connected to but somebody we knew was, and then they submitted on our behalf, which was pretty amazing.”

Regarding Annika’s current condition, Krista explained she is still attending therapy or receiving other medical help to address various concerns such as her vision.

On a lighter note, Krista remarked that Annika is now something of a “foodie,” always eager to try new restaurants and meals.

She’s also now left-handed like her parents, though function of her right arm is expected to improve with continued therapy and botox injections.

Looking ahead, Annika plans to attend Intensive Cognitive and Communication Rehabilitation through Boston University, a program geared specifically to young people who have suffered brain trauma and are looking to return to school.

“They specialize in brain injury students who want to return to college,” Krista said. “Her goal is to start that in January… They teach her memory technique, how to battle mental fatigue.”

Annika is also interested in traveling to every state in the country. She’s currently at 31 states – though she plans to take a brief detour to Canada before traveling to Nevada and Texas.