Lois Aichholz Medical & Farm Bills
Donation protected
"I'm not planning on dying right now!"
Please help us during Lois' recovery from an attack by an over-protective Mama cow.
"I've never seen a cow do anything like this!"
On Tuesday evening, June 13th Lois and her husband, Donnie, were trying to bring a 3-day old calf and it's mother, into the barn for medical care. Unexpectedly, the mother cow panicked and turned on Lois and began attacking her. She tried to get into the truck, but the mama cow slammed into the door, crushing Lois between the door and the truck. Next, the cow slammed Lois into the side of the truck multiple times, crushing her and the truck. Donnie was desperately trying to get the cow off her - yelling and kicking. But the cow would not be stopped. Lois was then thrown to the ground where she was head butted, trampled and kicked by the bellowing mama cow. She tried to crawl under the truck to get away but was knocked unconscious. The cow finally decided to move on and got her calf and left. Donnie and their son Andy, who had heard the commotion all the way from inside the house, rushed to her and called the ambulance right away. In all his years of farming, Donnie says he's never seen or heard of a cow doing anything like this!
What happens when a cow attacks?
First taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Washington, MO, the 72 year old was transferred to Mercy St. Louis for treatment. Her injuries were too severe and numerous, she needed specialists at a bigger hospital.
In the ICU at Mercy St. Louis she was diagnosed with:
Bleeding on the brain, broken clavicle/collar bone, five broken ribs, a broken tibia at the knee, and a crushed vertebrae in her back.
Lois has now been moved out of ICU and into a trauma room and the brain injury has stabilized. She has a brace for her back and will still need surgery to repair her broken leg. All things considered, it's miraculous she didn't have more injuries.
It will take some time to get back in the saddle.
When her children first arrived to visit with her Lois' immediate response was "I'm not planning on dying right now!"
Her enthusiasm for life is still fully intact - she's already asking when she can ride her horse again! But unfortunately she will be facing months of severe pain, immobility, therapy and recovery. While the exact path is still to be determined, she will need rehabilitation care in a facility to learn how to move with all these injuries and then extensive physical and occupational therapies once she heals.
How Can you Help?
Any financial assistance you can provide would greatly appreciated. She and Donnie are fortunate to have health insurance, but will be facing extensive bills with the long road ahead - just the two ambulance rides alone will be $2000 out-of-pocket! And the farm with all it's horses, cows, dogs, cats, chickens, geese, peacocks and ducks needs a lot of work and money to keep it up and running while she heals.
About Lois:
Lois has been animal and horse-crazy since she was a little girl. She has taken in and healed every kind of animal she ever could, even bottle feeding lion cubs from the St. Louis Zoo. She got her first horse when she was 16 and rode him from Valley Mount Ranch in Fenton to her home in Kirkwood, where she'd keep him in the garage for the weekend. She moved to New Haven, MO her senior year in high school and has since called it home. She went on to train horses at the racetrack, raise pigs and cows and then started a breeding and foaling farm - Oakwood Farms - 30+ years ago. Giving up nights, weekends and even special events, she always showed the vets "how it was done," saving animal after animal that they said was beyond hope. Lois has never turned away an animal or a person that needed help.
Lois has five children, nine grand children and one great grand child. She LOVES when the kids come to the farm and get to experience "farm life." They get to ride ponies, go for tractor rides, fish and are often put to work. She wouldn't have it any other way!
With her dedication to horses, you'd have thought it would be a horse! Running a breeding and foaling farm, Lois has handled all kinds of horses. She's stood seven or more stallions at stud, handled untold number of cranky mares and calmed scared foals. She's taught foals to nurse, found nurse mares for orphaned foals and even raised several sets of twins.
She's trained horses to walk calmly with a halter, be comfortable under a saddle and load quietly into a trailer.
She has handled every kind of "horse situation" you can ever imagine and even those you cannot. 
She's a horse person through and through and her family has always worried about her getting hurt by a horse.
Alas, it was the cow.
We thank you so much for reading her story and for any help you can provide. Very much appreciated.
Please note that the funds will be managed by her family - Donnie, Joe, Michelle, Tim, Andy and Amanda - and all proceeds will go to medical expenses and farm operation.
Please help us during Lois' recovery from an attack by an over-protective Mama cow.
"I've never seen a cow do anything like this!"
On Tuesday evening, June 13th Lois and her husband, Donnie, were trying to bring a 3-day old calf and it's mother, into the barn for medical care. Unexpectedly, the mother cow panicked and turned on Lois and began attacking her. She tried to get into the truck, but the mama cow slammed into the door, crushing Lois between the door and the truck. Next, the cow slammed Lois into the side of the truck multiple times, crushing her and the truck. Donnie was desperately trying to get the cow off her - yelling and kicking. But the cow would not be stopped. Lois was then thrown to the ground where she was head butted, trampled and kicked by the bellowing mama cow. She tried to crawl under the truck to get away but was knocked unconscious. The cow finally decided to move on and got her calf and left. Donnie and their son Andy, who had heard the commotion all the way from inside the house, rushed to her and called the ambulance right away. In all his years of farming, Donnie says he's never seen or heard of a cow doing anything like this!
What happens when a cow attacks?
First taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Washington, MO, the 72 year old was transferred to Mercy St. Louis for treatment. Her injuries were too severe and numerous, she needed specialists at a bigger hospital.
In the ICU at Mercy St. Louis she was diagnosed with:
Bleeding on the brain, broken clavicle/collar bone, five broken ribs, a broken tibia at the knee, and a crushed vertebrae in her back.
Lois has now been moved out of ICU and into a trauma room and the brain injury has stabilized. She has a brace for her back and will still need surgery to repair her broken leg. All things considered, it's miraculous she didn't have more injuries.
It will take some time to get back in the saddle.
When her children first arrived to visit with her Lois' immediate response was "I'm not planning on dying right now!"
Her enthusiasm for life is still fully intact - she's already asking when she can ride her horse again! But unfortunately she will be facing months of severe pain, immobility, therapy and recovery. While the exact path is still to be determined, she will need rehabilitation care in a facility to learn how to move with all these injuries and then extensive physical and occupational therapies once she heals.
How Can you Help?
Any financial assistance you can provide would greatly appreciated. She and Donnie are fortunate to have health insurance, but will be facing extensive bills with the long road ahead - just the two ambulance rides alone will be $2000 out-of-pocket! And the farm with all it's horses, cows, dogs, cats, chickens, geese, peacocks and ducks needs a lot of work and money to keep it up and running while she heals.
About Lois:
Lois has been animal and horse-crazy since she was a little girl. She has taken in and healed every kind of animal she ever could, even bottle feeding lion cubs from the St. Louis Zoo. She got her first horse when she was 16 and rode him from Valley Mount Ranch in Fenton to her home in Kirkwood, where she'd keep him in the garage for the weekend. She moved to New Haven, MO her senior year in high school and has since called it home. She went on to train horses at the racetrack, raise pigs and cows and then started a breeding and foaling farm - Oakwood Farms - 30+ years ago. Giving up nights, weekends and even special events, she always showed the vets "how it was done," saving animal after animal that they said was beyond hope. Lois has never turned away an animal or a person that needed help.
Lois has five children, nine grand children and one great grand child. She LOVES when the kids come to the farm and get to experience "farm life." They get to ride ponies, go for tractor rides, fish and are often put to work. She wouldn't have it any other way!
With her dedication to horses, you'd have thought it would be a horse! Running a breeding and foaling farm, Lois has handled all kinds of horses. She's stood seven or more stallions at stud, handled untold number of cranky mares and calmed scared foals. She's taught foals to nurse, found nurse mares for orphaned foals and even raised several sets of twins.
She's trained horses to walk calmly with a halter, be comfortable under a saddle and load quietly into a trailer. She has handled every kind of "horse situation" you can ever imagine and even those you cannot. She's a horse person through and through and her family has always worried about her getting hurt by a horse. Alas, it was the cow.
We thank you so much for reading her story and for any help you can provide. Very much appreciated.
Please note that the funds will be managed by her family - Donnie, Joe, Michelle, Tim, Andy and Amanda - and all proceeds will go to medical expenses and farm operation.
Organizer
Michelle McMahan
Organizer
Kirkwood, MO
