Community helps man trampled by bull at rodeo event

WEST, Texas (KWTX/Gray News) – A Texas man is making a miraculous recovery after being trampled by a bucking bull while helping out at a rodeo event.

Austin Patterson grew up in rodeo and has always loved bull riding, as he has done it most of his life.

According to his fiancée Megan Shoonmaker, Patterson had to retire from bull riding in 2019 after breaking his neck while riding.

“Doctors pretty much told him that if he got on a bull again and fell off, even the slightest bit wrong, it would paralyze or kill him,” she said.

But that didn’t stop him from being around what he loves, and he continued raising and training bulls while helping other riders.

Sonny Barthold, a close friend of Patterson’s in the bull world, said he has always been there to help others.

“He’s the kind of guy who always helps everyone at our events,” he said.

Patterson did just that on November 2, when things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

“We were just going to see how Austin was Austin, but they were having trouble getting a bull in the lead, so he jumped in and things kind of went south from there,” Shoonmaker said.

Cody and Heather South have known Patterson for years. They said he told them he simply slipped that day and the bull ran over him.

“You know once you’re in there, it’s hard to get out,” Cody South said.

Shoonmaker and another friend immediately took him to the hospital and later learned that he had broken five ribs, his sternum and pelvis, a collapsed lung and a lacerated liver.

“When he talked to Austin, he said he had never felt like he was going to die before, but that night he felt like he was. It was really scary,” she said.

But thanks to his doctors and all the encouragement from family and friends, Patterson has made an incredible recovery.

“The first thing he said to us in the ER when they wanted to transfer him to the intensive care unit was that he couldn’t go there because he had a wedding on Saturday,” Shoonmaker said.

However, Patterson still has a long road to recovery ahead of him and Barthold has begun one auction advantage to help him.

“He’s not going to work as much as he’s used to working and you know we want to keep his bills paid for him,” Barthold said. ‘We have such a strong group of people. We are ready to help him.”

According to Barthold, they have already raised more than $60,000, with plans to raise even more.

“I’ve told Sonny a few times, there really are no words to describe how grateful and grateful we are,” Shoonmaker said.

Lovers have one too GoFundMe to help Patterson further.