by LAREIGN WARD, Press Argus-Courier Staff Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:27 AM CST
Funeral service for an Alma teenager will be held Thursday following his death Saturday from injuries suffered in a bullriding accident in Muskogee, Okla.
Peyton Douglas Jackson, 16, was competing in his second junior bullriding competition, his mom, Becky Jackson, said Tuesday.
"He was thrown from the bull and the bull stepped on his chest and it punctured both of his lungs, did some damage to his heart," Jackson said. "He didn't have a pulse. (Medical personnel) took him to (a) Muskogee hospital and tried to revive him but he was gone."
Jackson and her husband, Tom, were at the competition. Becky Jackson said she saw Peyton ride the bull but did not see the animal step on him.
"They had him on the stretcher; I could tell that his arms were limp," she said. "I assumed he was unconscious, but no, I didn't imagine anything that serious."
She said her only child was wearing all the proper protective gear and described his death as a "freak accident."
"I believe in my heart that he was gone when they put him in the ambulance, but they worked on him, tried to revive him in the ambulance," she said. While unsure of the exact time frame, Jackson said he was pronounced dead a few minutes after arriving at Muskogee Regional Medical Center.
Funeral will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Living Word River Valley Church in Alma, with burial to follow in Evergreen Cemetery. Funeral director Carol Gaither of Ocker Funeral Home of Alma said Peyton's body was released from Muskogee Tuesday morning and taken to the funeral home.
Jackson said Peyton first became involved in the rodeo circuit about six months ago.
"There were some friends of his that were bareback riders; he had gone to a ride or two with them (and) he fell in love with it," she said. "He liked the danger of it, he liked the thrill of it and the excitement."
She and her husband made what she described as a "very prayerful decision" to let Peyton compete.
"It was what he wanted to do," Jackson said. "My husband and I, as his parents, we loved him and that was our job as parents to let him do what he wanted to do. We supported him."
She said her son was a "well-rounded kid" who enjoyed hunting, fishing and maintained a 3.5 grade point average at Alma High School, where he was in 10th grade.
Alma High School Principal Jerry Valentine said extra counselors were made available to the student body following Saturday's accident.
"He was an outstanding student, (an) outstanding young man and he loved to rodeo," Valentine said.
Peyton's classmates are attempting to raise money for a memorial bench in his honor, Valentine said. Donations can be sent to the high school care of the sophomore class.
In addition, Peyton's family has set up a memorial fund at BancorpSouth, with proceeds benefiting Alma Little League baseball. Jackson said Peyton spent "lots and lots of hours" playing Little League and other sports.
"It's hard, but we're going to make it," Jackson said. "(We have) lots of good memories."
To donate to the memorial fund, go to any BancorpSouth location and ask for the Alma Baseball Program Inc. account.
Ginny Wilson wrote on Aug 20, 2008 11:58 AM: