🙏 Three Months After a Life-Changing Rodeo Injury, 17-Year-Old Turner Morris Is Regaining Sensation to His Toes

‼️ THREE MONTHS AGO, TURNER MORRIS WAS FACING A FUTURE WITHOUT MOVEMENT BELOW HIS INJURY.
❤️ TODAY, THE 17-YEAR-OLD COWBOY HAS REGAINED MORE MOVEMENT AND SENSATION—ALL THE WAY TO HIS TOES.
🙏 NOW, HE HAS HIS EYES SET ON ANOTHER MILESTONE: WALKING AGAIN.

Three months after a devastating rodeo accident changed his life, 17-year-old Turner Morris is making progress that his family had been praying to see.

The Shelby, North Carolina, teenager was injured in June while competing in a saddle bronc event in Conyers, Georgia. According to his family, Turner fractured his C6 vertebra and suffered a spinal cord injury. He was flown to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he underwent surgery and spent 10 days in intensive care before being transferred to Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

When Turner first arrived at Shepherd, his mother, Amanda, said he was classified as having a C5 complete spinal cord injury, meaning he had no function below the level of the injury.

That classification has since changed.

Amanda says Turner is now classified as C6-7 B incomplete, with movement extending into T1 and sensation reaching all the way down to his toes.

“This is a major change!” Amanda said in an update shared with those who have followed Turner’s journey.

And Turner is continuing to work for every bit of progress.

After spending 10 weeks as an inpatient at Shepherd Center, he has moved into the facility’s outpatient program. Amanda says her son now participates in at least five to six hours of intensive therapy every day.

Yet one of the most meaningful parts of Turner’s story has little to do with physical recovery.

During his hospitalization, the teenager became affectionately known as the “4th floor mayor.” Amanda says Turner welcomed new patients and their families, visited other young patients and even helped organize get-togethers.

While dealing with a life-changing injury of his own, he was still looking for ways to make other children feel less alone. ❤️

Now Turner has a new goal: to walk again.

His family understands that there are no guarantees. Reaching that goal will require extensive rehabilitation, including specialized therapy long after he leaves Shepherd Center.

Turner hopes to return home in October and continue rehabilitation in South Carolina, Charlotte and Atlanta.

Remarkably, he is also continuing his education. Turner is a high school senior taking dual-enrollment college classes and hopes to graduate with his ᴀssociate degree. He plans to study business and marketing, with dreams of eventually opening a fly-fishing guide shop and owning bucking bulls.

The accident changed Turner’s path—but it did not erase his dreams. 🐎❤️

His family has also created a fund to help cover specialized therapy expenses that insurance may not pay for.

For everyone who prayed for Turner when his story was first shared in June, Amanda wants them to know just how much progress he has made.

His journey is far from over.

Please keep Turner and his family in your thoughts and prayers as he continues fighting forward. 🙏❤️