Saw this on the news last night and it was a little creepy. This cheerleader took a 15 foot fall and broke her neck and while strapped to the stretcher she kept cheering. It was kind of like watching a broken windup doll that was still trying to move. She’s doing OK, so I don’t feel too bad making fun of her.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – Kristi Yamaoka wasn’t about to let a broken neck and concussion keep her school spirit down.
The Southern Illinois University cheerleader lost her balance during a routine Sunday and fell about 15 feet onto her head, hushing the crowd of about 14,000 as she was placed in a back and neck brace.
But the 18-year-old sophomore, in fair condition Monday and expected to make a full recovery from chipped neck vertebra and a concussion, let the stunned fans and national television audience know right away that she was going to be OK.
When the pep band fired up SIU’s fight song “Go Southern Go,” Yamaoka gave a two-handed thumbs up from the gurney, then moved her arms – the only things not strapped down – in time to the music and cheered.
“As long as my arms were functioning, I could do the fight song,” a groggy Yamaoka told The Associated Press by telephone Monday morning from Saint Louis University Hospital.
SI.com – Injured cheerleader expects full recovery from fall
I love the dedication (o: