20 Random Facts
1. Cody’s great grandparents: Edward Milburn moves to Texas from Southampton, England, in 1922, after WWI. He meets and marries Ingrid Bakker, whose Norwegian family had settled in central Texas in the 18th century. They work as farmers, growing cotton and other products until the crop prices collapse in 1931. They live hand to mouth for several years, until WWII happens, and they’re able to get the farm working again.
2. Cody's grandparents are Tobias and Michelle Milburn. They grow up together and get married after school. Michelle is an elementary school teacher, and Edward is an accountant. They take over the family farm when Edward and Ingrid get to a point where they need help. Tobias builds a small one bedroom house for them, letting his parents keep the house, until they pass away. They’re both retired now, and they take the opportunity to travel as they can.
3. Cody’s parents: William Milburn meets Sarah Owens in Chyeyenne, Wyoming when he is working a rodeo in town for a week. It’s 1974, and Sarah leaves with him at the end of the week. Their first child, Cheyenne, is born about nine months later in 1975. William continues working as a rodeo clown and general helper around the rodeo circuit, and Sarah and Cheyenne travel with him in an old RV. In 1977, their second daughter, Dakota, is born. Helena follows in 1980, and Aurora is born in 1982. Cody is the baby of the family, and the only boy. He’s born shortly before Thanksgiving in 1985.
4. The family travels the rodeo circuit with William in that old RV until the children reach school age. When Cheyenne is five, she moves to the family farm outside Cransfill Cap. Dakota and Helena eventually join her. William and Sarah visit as often as possible, and they take breaks from the circuit whenever money allows, which isn't often.
5. When Aurora is five, Sarah has finally had enough of the nomad lifestyle. William quits the rodeo circuit, and the family buys a trailer that they set up on the family property. Cody’s only three, so he doesn't really remember the years of travel or not growing up with his sisters for the first years of his life. He does think maybe that's the reason he and Rori are so close, though, and why the three older sisters act like they're his mothers all the damn time.
6. Cody likes living on the family farm. There are chickens, a few cows, a goat, and horses. It’s hard work sometimes, getting up early to do chores and help out, but he still likes it.
7. Sarah makes candles that she sells to various shops in the Hill Country. Tourists seem to like them, and she enjoys working with the wax and fragrances. William boards horses for some of his rodeo contacts and works part-time as a mechanic to help put food on the table.
8. Cody’s great-grandparents die within six months of each other when Cody is six. They always told him wonderful stories, and he misses them a lot.
9. His older sisters grow up and move away. Cheyenne becomes a science teacher in Grapevine, marries a nice guy named Mark, and has four kids (Madison, Brian, Jennifer and Patrick). Dakota does clerical work for an insurance company in Grand Prairie, marries a nice guy named Adam, and has three kids (Stephanie, Kevin, and Chad). Helena becomes a physical therapist at JPS, marries and divorces a not so nice guy named Carl, and has two kids (Wade and Cole). Rori is his best friend.
10. Rori starts competing in the rodeo when she’s nine.. Cody likes to watch her practice, and he tags along to events when his parents let him. By the time he’s eight, he’s running barrels in the youth rodeo leagues with her. From there, he moves into steer riding and team roping when he’s thirteen. When he’s fourteen, he starts riding bareback broncs. He’s good enough to win a few times, and Rori is amazing, in his opinion, when it comes to barrel racing and roping. An old family friend, Dale Crowder, acts as chaperone to take them to rodeo events around the country.
11. Cody has a girlfriend throughout high school. He thinks they might eventually get married one day. When Janie goes to college in Virginia, he’s traveling the country with Rori on the rodeo circuit, so they try a long distance relationship. It doesn’t work, and they split amicably. He still talks to her sometimes.
12. After graduation, Cody and Rori travel without Dale having to tag along. They both do pretty well on the circuit, and even get first place occasionally. None of the pots are that big, though, so the prize money is usually enough to pay for gas and food before they move on to the next town.
13. When Cody’s twenty-one, he starts bull riding. He’s mostly competed in the bareback or saddle bronc riding prior to this, so his family is overprotective about the dangers that bull riders face. It usually has good prize money, though, and there are more sponsors around, so he does it anyway.
14. Cody’s good with the bull riding. He starts to get a bit of a name for himself, and people sniffing around to endorse him after he places first and second enough times. His easy charm and looks don’t hurt his reputation, either.
15. Bull riding is the most dangerous event in rodeo, as Cody learns from personal experience. He suffers several broken ribs, a head injury or two, and general bruising during the years of riding. It isn’t anything that keeps him from riding. Not then.
16. In October 2010, Cody is competing at a small rodeo in Colorado. The bull he’s riding, Desdemona, is just plain mean, and he gets bucked not too long after they come out the gate. Cody’s impact on the ground results in him hitting his head, and he isn’t able to get out of the way fast enough. The bull tramples him, resulting in a concussion, broken ribs and a tibial plateau fracture in his knee. His face and torso get bruised, too, but the fracture changes his life.
17. Cody is unconscious for four hours after they finally get him away from the bull. There’s scarring on his abdomen from where the bull’s horn got him after his initial fall, and the fracture is bad. His knee is busted up, and he’s forced to endure hours of surgery as the doctors try to fix everything as best as they can. He now has plastic in his knee. Details: tibial plateau fracture, had to get Ortho consult, Helena & family got him transferred to her hospital in Ft. Worth, where he underwent surgery in mid-November, a couple of weeks after the accident. He was in the hospital for Thanksgiving and his birthday. He was released in December, and he's been doing PT since. By mid-January, he'll have been able to get back on a horse (by lying about the pain) and he can drive himself short distances, but his leg starts to ache. He has a cane he refuses to use unless it's really painful, which actually isn't too often unless he's pushed too hard.
18. His body gets fixed as well as it can be, and Cody is told that his days of riding professionally are likely over. The damage affected his muscle strength, and the doctors are mostly relieved he’ll be able to walk relatively normally again. After physical therapy and given time.
19. The family gets him settled into an older house in the northside area of Fort Worth. Rori sets up a room for herself, and Helena makes arrangement for him to do physical therapy with her at the county hospital where she works. Dale gets him a desk job working at a cattle auction in the Stockyards, and some other rodeo buddies get him hired to help out at the Cowtown Coliseum.
20. He’s finally able to ride a horse again, if he ignores the pain in his leg, but he knows there’s no way he’s going to be in shape to compete ever again. Regardless of his determination, his body just isn’t going to allow it. So he’s adjusting to his new life over the last few months, and he focuses on the fact that he’s kind of lucky to be alive. He’s also lucky that his sisters actually supported his arguments against moving back home with his parents, like his momma wants even if they only do it so they can smother him with their constant attention and nagging in Fort Worth.
Recovery from surgery
Some info here
Crutches for 6-10 weeks after leaving hospital
Gradual weight bearing after that, up to six months with cane to help with weight bearing
No prolonged standing for 12-14 weeks
No heavy labor for 16-20 weeks, at least
No dental work until after 3 months, at least
PT for 3-6 months after able to walk with crutches
After 9 months, still has the stiffness and swelling when walking or standing too long, and the difficulty with ROM, though I am at about 105/110 right now and at almost full extension. I've been doing water exercises, stretching in a hot tub/bath tub, and have purchased a recumbent stationary bike
2. Cody's grandparents are Tobias and Michelle Milburn. They grow up together and get married after school. Michelle is an elementary school teacher, and Edward is an accountant. They take over the family farm when Edward and Ingrid get to a point where they need help. Tobias builds a small one bedroom house for them, letting his parents keep the house, until they pass away. They’re both retired now, and they take the opportunity to travel as they can.
3. Cody’s parents: William Milburn meets Sarah Owens in Chyeyenne, Wyoming when he is working a rodeo in town for a week. It’s 1974, and Sarah leaves with him at the end of the week. Their first child, Cheyenne, is born about nine months later in 1975. William continues working as a rodeo clown and general helper around the rodeo circuit, and Sarah and Cheyenne travel with him in an old RV. In 1977, their second daughter, Dakota, is born. Helena follows in 1980, and Aurora is born in 1982. Cody is the baby of the family, and the only boy. He’s born shortly before Thanksgiving in 1985.
4. The family travels the rodeo circuit with William in that old RV until the children reach school age. When Cheyenne is five, she moves to the family farm outside Cransfill Cap. Dakota and Helena eventually join her. William and Sarah visit as often as possible, and they take breaks from the circuit whenever money allows, which isn't often.
5. When Aurora is five, Sarah has finally had enough of the nomad lifestyle. William quits the rodeo circuit, and the family buys a trailer that they set up on the family property. Cody’s only three, so he doesn't really remember the years of travel or not growing up with his sisters for the first years of his life. He does think maybe that's the reason he and Rori are so close, though, and why the three older sisters act like they're his mothers all the damn time.
6. Cody likes living on the family farm. There are chickens, a few cows, a goat, and horses. It’s hard work sometimes, getting up early to do chores and help out, but he still likes it.
7. Sarah makes candles that she sells to various shops in the Hill Country. Tourists seem to like them, and she enjoys working with the wax and fragrances. William boards horses for some of his rodeo contacts and works part-time as a mechanic to help put food on the table.
8. Cody’s great-grandparents die within six months of each other when Cody is six. They always told him wonderful stories, and he misses them a lot.
9. His older sisters grow up and move away. Cheyenne becomes a science teacher in Grapevine, marries a nice guy named Mark, and has four kids (Madison, Brian, Jennifer and Patrick). Dakota does clerical work for an insurance company in Grand Prairie, marries a nice guy named Adam, and has three kids (Stephanie, Kevin, and Chad). Helena becomes a physical therapist at JPS, marries and divorces a not so nice guy named Carl, and has two kids (Wade and Cole). Rori is his best friend.
10. Rori starts competing in the rodeo when she’s nine.. Cody likes to watch her practice, and he tags along to events when his parents let him. By the time he’s eight, he’s running barrels in the youth rodeo leagues with her. From there, he moves into steer riding and team roping when he’s thirteen. When he’s fourteen, he starts riding bareback broncs. He’s good enough to win a few times, and Rori is amazing, in his opinion, when it comes to barrel racing and roping. An old family friend, Dale Crowder, acts as chaperone to take them to rodeo events around the country.
11. Cody has a girlfriend throughout high school. He thinks they might eventually get married one day. When Janie goes to college in Virginia, he’s traveling the country with Rori on the rodeo circuit, so they try a long distance relationship. It doesn’t work, and they split amicably. He still talks to her sometimes.
12. After graduation, Cody and Rori travel without Dale having to tag along. They both do pretty well on the circuit, and even get first place occasionally. None of the pots are that big, though, so the prize money is usually enough to pay for gas and food before they move on to the next town.
13. When Cody’s twenty-one, he starts bull riding. He’s mostly competed in the bareback or saddle bronc riding prior to this, so his family is overprotective about the dangers that bull riders face. It usually has good prize money, though, and there are more sponsors around, so he does it anyway.
14. Cody’s good with the bull riding. He starts to get a bit of a name for himself, and people sniffing around to endorse him after he places first and second enough times. His easy charm and looks don’t hurt his reputation, either.
15. Bull riding is the most dangerous event in rodeo, as Cody learns from personal experience. He suffers several broken ribs, a head injury or two, and general bruising during the years of riding. It isn’t anything that keeps him from riding. Not then.
16. In October 2010, Cody is competing at a small rodeo in Colorado. The bull he’s riding, Desdemona, is just plain mean, and he gets bucked not too long after they come out the gate. Cody’s impact on the ground results in him hitting his head, and he isn’t able to get out of the way fast enough. The bull tramples him, resulting in a concussion, broken ribs and a tibial plateau fracture in his knee. His face and torso get bruised, too, but the fracture changes his life.
17. Cody is unconscious for four hours after they finally get him away from the bull. There’s scarring on his abdomen from where the bull’s horn got him after his initial fall, and the fracture is bad. His knee is busted up, and he’s forced to endure hours of surgery as the doctors try to fix everything as best as they can. He now has plastic in his knee. Details: tibial plateau fracture, had to get Ortho consult, Helena & family got him transferred to her hospital in Ft. Worth, where he underwent surgery in mid-November, a couple of weeks after the accident. He was in the hospital for Thanksgiving and his birthday. He was released in December, and he's been doing PT since. By mid-January, he'll have been able to get back on a horse (by lying about the pain) and he can drive himself short distances, but his leg starts to ache. He has a cane he refuses to use unless it's really painful, which actually isn't too often unless he's pushed too hard.
18. His body gets fixed as well as it can be, and Cody is told that his days of riding professionally are likely over. The damage affected his muscle strength, and the doctors are mostly relieved he’ll be able to walk relatively normally again. After physical therapy and given time.
19. The family gets him settled into an older house in the northside area of Fort Worth. Rori sets up a room for herself, and Helena makes arrangement for him to do physical therapy with her at the county hospital where she works. Dale gets him a desk job working at a cattle auction in the Stockyards, and some other rodeo buddies get him hired to help out at the Cowtown Coliseum.
20. He’s finally able to ride a horse again, if he ignores the pain in his leg, but he knows there’s no way he’s going to be in shape to compete ever again. Regardless of his determination, his body just isn’t going to allow it. So he’s adjusting to his new life over the last few months, and he focuses on the fact that he’s kind of lucky to be alive. He’s also lucky that his sisters actually supported his arguments against moving back home with his parents, like his momma wants even if they only do it so they can smother him with their constant attention and nagging in Fort Worth.
Recovery from surgery
Some info here
Crutches for 6-10 weeks after leaving hospital
Gradual weight bearing after that, up to six months with cane to help with weight bearing
No prolonged standing for 12-14 weeks
No heavy labor for 16-20 weeks, at least
No dental work until after 3 months, at least
PT for 3-6 months after able to walk with crutches
After 9 months, still has the stiffness and swelling when walking or standing too long, and the difficulty with ROM, though I am at about 105/110 right now and at almost full extension. I've been doing water exercises, stretching in a hot tub/bath tub, and have purchased a recumbent stationary bike