- Jim Love talks with female bull rider Jordan Halvorsen and accident that caused her to flatline twice.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And today we're talking with Jordan Hafferson, and the story
is just an amazing story and we're so glad, first
of all, that you had some time to join us
and talk about it. Jordan, Yes, sir, And of course,
for those who do not know, Jordan is a female
bull rider. Not an easy thing to do for male
(00:23):
or female, obviously, but you had a unique experience what
could have been a fatal experience, a tragic experience, and
you have an amazing story to tell. You were bull
riding and then this incident happened to you, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
A yeah, so are we talking about my liver?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, well, about the accident itself, About the accident.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Itself, gotcha. Yeah, I had entered a boy riding out
in Tennessee and just kind of had some what you
would call bad luck, and I ended up underneath a
bull and he stepped like right on the perfect spot
to last rate my liver pretty severely.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Now, obviously this was a terrible, terrible accident. Had you
been hurt though not as seriously before in bull riding.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh yeah, I've had had plenty of injuries leading up
to that point, just none of them as severe as
that one.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And I assume when this happened, obviously you knew how
severe it was.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Honestly, actually, at first I had no idea, like I
had actually had like a little bit of a laceration
to my liver before, which was like a grade too,
and they just kept me overnight and I went home
the next day. So literally when it happened, I was like,
I'll be out of here in the morning, like I'm good.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, And then they, you know, came in and they
were like, oh no, you're you're about to go back
for surgery.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So and I understand the surgery and what makes this
to me an amazing story, an amazing story of recovery,
and just an amazing story of bravery. But you also
had some sense of what was happening during the surgery, Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Sir, I believe you know, when people talk about having
an out of body experience, that's definitely I think what
I had. So when right before they took me back
from surgery, I actually had like a blood pressure cuff
on my arm, and my blood pressure had gotten so
(02:50):
low that the blood pressure cuff could no longer pick
up my blood pressure. So a doctor and a student
nurse came in and they're like, hey, we need to
stick this needle in your wrist and your artery so
we can keep track of your blood pressure. And they
couldn't find it. They probably struck me about ten times.
And about the tenth time, you know, the student had
(03:11):
asked to do it again, and I said, I just
like it, you know, if you guys stopped. Well, about
the time, yeah, and about the time I said that,
you know, a surgeon was in the doorway holding two
bags of blood and he said, you guys need to stop.
We need to take this girl back to the o
R right now or she's gonna die. Like yes, very
(03:33):
very vivid memories of all this going down, and for
some reason, like I remembered being wheeled out of my
room and like I remember them starting the surgery. And
about the time that the surgery started, everything went solid white,
you know, like it was just bright, and I just
remembered I didn't have any emotions, Like I wasn't mad,
(03:54):
I wasn't sad, I wasn't I just wasn't. I didn't
feel anything. But I just remember remembered seeing a figure
standing off in the distance and I said, I'm not ready.
I'm not ready. And I woke up, which ended up
being three days later. They had had me induced into
a medical coma. I had flatlined on my first surgery,
(04:15):
and they had put me on the transplant list to
get a new liver, and then they had transported me
to a bigger hospital, and it ended up I didn't
need the liver transplant. The first hospital had gone in
there and packed my liver so well that they had
saved just enough tissue for my liver to regenerate. So
(04:37):
your liver will regenerate to full capacity even if you
destroy it, I guess, you know, like it'll repair itself.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
That's just amazing and of itself. So you did not
need the liver transplant, after all, You've been able to
regenerate and return to good health.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yes, sir, Yeah, and didn't it end up needing a
delivery transplant. But the time that this happened was actually
at the very start of COVID, So like the day
that I got hurt, like COVID was kind of up
in the air. So by the time I woke up
from my being in my coma, the world was completely
shut down, and so like it was just kind of
(05:18):
like this crazy you know, I went from the world
being open to the world literally being shut off. They
only let my family and my dad in the hospital
while I was in ICU, and once I got out
of ICU, they kicked him out. And I was there
for two weeks because I was high risk for COVID.
Then I'd just gotten taken off a ventilator and that
(05:40):
like really weakens your lungs and so like I could
not risk getting it, And so I was there for
two weeks, but couldn't have family in there, nothing like
I was just there by.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
So oh, that had to be terrible. I'll tell you again.
We're talking with the Jordan Hafferson. An amazing story, flatlined.
You came back this amazing story of what happened during
the surgery, And of course I'm going to assume the
surgeons told you that during that surgery you were completely out.
(06:15):
You're talking about seeing the bright lights and figuring the distance,
but they're going to tell you you were completely out.
So you feel like that was indeed an out of
body experience.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, I mean I felt like I mean, at that point,
like I felt like I you know, like that was
probably about the time that they had lost me for
however long they did, and it was just a very
real feeling. And you know, I feel, like most people,
it probably like it just gave me a very different
(06:51):
sense of life after it happened, and that you know,
everything is for a reason and just God has a
purpose for you no matter what, and you know He's
not done with you until he is.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
I feel like your purpose is still being fulfilled. Yes, well,
let me ask. Of course, I assume you've rodioed for
a number of years. Are you planning to bull ride again?
I know, before we be in recording you said you
had an injury that was preventing it right now, but
are you going to get back bull riding?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, I think it's inevitable that I will get on again.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You will do it at something at this point.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, I just don't. I mean, there's just I'm just
letting my body heel right now, Like I don't. I'm
at the point in my career that I don't feel
like I need to rush anything. I mean, the I
had a pretty severe broken leg happened in September. I
broke the tibia and the phibia completely in half. Had
(07:58):
to get a rod and put in and so so
it's just taking a little bit longer to heal. And
so it's been about six months now and it's it's
still giving me a little bit of problem. So I
just don't want to rush anything, you know, like if
you're not one hundred percent, you can't ride one hundred percent,
And so I don't want to get on and not
(08:19):
be able to ride my best. Again.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Just an amazing story, and we thank you for joining
us today. In closing, got to say, do you have
some advice maybe for other girls getting into rodeo. You know,
we don't always think of women as bull riders, and
you obviously have made your mark in this sport and
will continue to make your mark in the future in
(08:43):
this sport.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, my advice would be slow and steady wins the race.
Don't feel like you have to go out there and
prove something to someone right off the bat. You you know,
just work at it and slowly build yourself up. You
don't build a house without a foundation, So go out
and build the fination before you you know, end up
getting hurt.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Don't try and do it too quickly.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Right like, take the right steps. Slow and steady wins
the race every time, and you know, just start from
the ground up and work out it every day and.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Well, I will tell you Jordan, it has been a
pleasure visiting with you. What an amazing story, and thank
you for sharing that with us and for sharing some
time with us.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yes, sir, thank you for having me
And today we're talking with Jordan Hafferson, and the story
is just an amazing story and we're so glad, first
of all, that you had some time to join us
and talk about it. Jordan, Yes, sir, And of course,
for those who do not know, Jordan is a female
bull rider. Not an easy thing to do for male
(00:23):
or female, obviously, but you had a unique experience what
could have been a fatal experience, a tragic experience, and
you have an amazing story to tell. You were bull
riding and then this incident happened to you, yes, sir.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
A yeah, so are we talking about my liver?
Speaker 1 (00:51):
Yes, well, about the accident itself, About the accident.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
Itself, gotcha. Yeah, I had entered a boy riding out
in Tennessee and just kind of had some what you
would call bad luck, and I ended up underneath a
bull and he stepped like right on the perfect spot
to last rate my liver pretty severely.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Now, obviously this was a terrible, terrible accident. Had you
been hurt though not as seriously before in bull riding.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Oh yeah, I've had had plenty of injuries leading up
to that point, just none of them as severe as
that one.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
And I assume when this happened, obviously you knew how
severe it was.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Honestly, actually, at first I had no idea, like I
had actually had like a little bit of a laceration
to my liver before, which was like a grade too,
and they just kept me overnight and I went home
the next day. So literally when it happened, I was like,
I'll be out of here in the morning, like I'm good.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yeah, And then they, you know, came in and they
were like, oh no, you're you're about to go back
for surgery.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
So and I understand the surgery and what makes this
to me an amazing story, an amazing story of recovery,
and just an amazing story of bravery. But you also
had some sense of what was happening during the surgery, Yes.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Sir, I believe you know, when people talk about having
an out of body experience, that's definitely I think what
I had. So when right before they took me back
from surgery, I actually had like a blood pressure cuff
on my arm, and my blood pressure had gotten so
(02:50):
low that the blood pressure cuff could no longer pick
up my blood pressure. So a doctor and a student
nurse came in and they're like, hey, we need to
stick this needle in your wrist and your artery so
we can keep track of your blood pressure. And they
couldn't find it. They probably struck me about ten times.
And about the tenth time, you know, the student had
(03:11):
asked to do it again, and I said, I just
like it, you know, if you guys stopped. Well, about
the time, yeah, and about the time I said that,
you know, a surgeon was in the doorway holding two
bags of blood and he said, you guys need to stop.
We need to take this girl back to the o
R right now or she's gonna die. Like yes, very
(03:33):
very vivid memories of all this going down, and for
some reason, like I remembered being wheeled out of my
room and like I remember them starting the surgery. And
about the time that the surgery started, everything went solid white,
you know, like it was just bright, and I just
remembered I didn't have any emotions, Like I wasn't mad,
(03:54):
I wasn't sad, I wasn't I just wasn't. I didn't
feel anything. But I just remember remembered seeing a figure
standing off in the distance and I said, I'm not ready.
I'm not ready. And I woke up, which ended up
being three days later. They had had me induced into
a medical coma. I had flatlined on my first surgery,
(04:15):
and they had put me on the transplant list to
get a new liver, and then they had transported me
to a bigger hospital, and it ended up I didn't
need the liver transplant. The first hospital had gone in
there and packed my liver so well that they had
saved just enough tissue for my liver to regenerate. So
(04:37):
your liver will regenerate to full capacity even if you
destroy it, I guess, you know, like it'll repair itself.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
That's just amazing and of itself. So you did not
need the liver transplant, after all, You've been able to
regenerate and return to good health.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
Yes, sir, Yeah, and didn't it end up needing a
delivery transplant. But the time that this happened was actually
at the very start of COVID, So like the day
that I got hurt, like COVID was kind of up
in the air. So by the time I woke up
from my being in my coma, the world was completely
shut down, and so like it was just kind of
(05:18):
like this crazy you know, I went from the world
being open to the world literally being shut off. They
only let my family and my dad in the hospital
while I was in ICU, and once I got out
of ICU, they kicked him out. And I was there
for two weeks because I was high risk for COVID.
Then I'd just gotten taken off a ventilator and that
(05:40):
like really weakens your lungs and so like I could
not risk getting it, And so I was there for
two weeks, but couldn't have family in there, nothing like
I was just there by.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
So oh, that had to be terrible. I'll tell you again.
We're talking with the Jordan Hafferson. An amazing story, flatlined.
You came back this amazing story of what happened during
the surgery, And of course I'm going to assume the
surgeons told you that during that surgery you were completely out.
(06:15):
You're talking about seeing the bright lights and figuring the distance,
but they're going to tell you you were completely out.
So you feel like that was indeed an out of
body experience.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Yeah, I mean I felt like I mean, at that point,
like I felt like I you know, like that was
probably about the time that they had lost me for
however long they did, and it was just a very
real feeling. And you know, I feel, like most people,
it probably like it just gave me a very different
(06:51):
sense of life after it happened, and that you know,
everything is for a reason and just God has a
purpose for you no matter what, and you know He's
not done with you until he is.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
I feel like your purpose is still being fulfilled. Yes, well,
let me ask. Of course, I assume you've rodioed for
a number of years. Are you planning to bull ride again?
I know, before we be in recording you said you
had an injury that was preventing it right now, but
are you going to get back bull riding?
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Yeah, I think it's inevitable that I will get on again.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
You will do it at something at this point.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Yeah, I just don't. I mean, there's just I'm just
letting my body heel right now, Like I don't. I'm
at the point in my career that I don't feel
like I need to rush anything. I mean, the I
had a pretty severe broken leg happened in September. I
broke the tibia and the phibia completely in half. Had
(07:58):
to get a rod and put in and so so
it's just taking a little bit longer to heal. And
so it's been about six months now and it's it's
still giving me a little bit of problem. So I
just don't want to rush anything, you know, like if
you're not one hundred percent, you can't ride one hundred percent,
And so I don't want to get on and not
(08:19):
be able to ride my best. Again.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Just an amazing story, and we thank you for joining
us today. In closing, got to say, do you have
some advice maybe for other girls getting into rodeo. You know,
we don't always think of women as bull riders, and
you obviously have made your mark in this sport and
will continue to make your mark in the future in
(08:43):
this sport.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, my advice would be slow and steady wins the race.
Don't feel like you have to go out there and
prove something to someone right off the bat. You you know,
just work at it and slowly build yourself up. You
don't build a house without a foundation, So go out
and build the fination before you you know, end up
getting hurt.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Don't try and do it too quickly.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Right like, take the right steps. Slow and steady wins
the race every time, and you know, just start from
the ground up and work out it every day and.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Well, I will tell you Jordan, it has been a
pleasure visiting with you. What an amazing story, and thank
you for sharing that with us and for sharing some
time with us.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
Yes, sir, thank you for having me
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