Girl may have Chris Reeve-like paralysis

OKLAHOMA CITY, July 14 (UPI) -- An 18-year-old North Carolina girl thrown from a rodeo horse suffered paralysis similar to that of "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve, doctors said.

Kelly Blanton of Taylorsville, N.C., can't move or feel anything below the chest line, said the doctors at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center's OU Medical Center.

She was on a ventilator in critical but stable condition with severe back injuries, the hospital said. Her parents were with her in the hospital.

Blanton was injured Monday when she was thrown from her horse while practicing at the International Finals Youth Rodeo in Shawnee, Okla.

The worst-case scenario is Blanton could remain permanently paralyzed and on a ventilator, The Shawnee News-Star reported.

She is expected to be transported within two weeks to a Denver hospital that specializes in spinal cord injuries, The Oklahoman reported.

Reeve, who died in 2004, achieved stardom for his portrayal of fictional superhero Superman.

He became a quadriplegic May 27, 1995, after being thrown from a horse in a Virginia equestrian competition. He required a wheelchair and breathing apparatus until his death Oct. 10, 2004.

He lobbied on behalf of people with spinal-cord injuries and later for human embryonic stem-cell research.