Bull rider Chris Littlejohn has always seemed to be in an uphill battle, whether it was overcoming nearly a ton of bucking beast or other adversities that come along the rodeo trail.

 Now the three-time Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualifier is continuing his battle, albeit from the Missouri Rehabilitation Center in Mt. Vernon, Mo., while trying to recover from one of the most serious accidents of his long and storied career. Littlejohn severely bruised his spine at a bull-riding event June 20 in Odessa, Mo.

 Doctors did surgery to fuse three vertebrae in Littlejohn’s neck. Though the injury produced some paralysis, the cowboy noted June 30 that he had some feeling in his lower extremities and could move at least one leg.

 “It just makes me sick just thinking about it,” said Fred Boettcher of Rice Lake, Wis., a six-time Wrangler NFR qualifier. “I owe a lot to that guy. He taught me everything I know as far as the rodeo business.”

 He’s done that with a lot of young cowboys over his tenure in the business. Now he’s in need of some help of his own to cover the extreme medical costs that come with his injury. Like many who compete on livestock in an effort to make a living, Littlejohn doesn’t have much in the way of insurance.

 So friends have banded together to create a fund that will be used for the tremendous costs of his recovery – one he hopes enables him to return to the sport he loves. While a permanent site is being established, a temporary address to send contributions is to the Chris Littlejohn Medical Fund, P.O. Box 663, Maryville, MO 64468.