HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) – A high school cheerleader is at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas after suffering head and spinal injuries at practice.
The reported accident happened on Aug. 19, and it has affected 14-year-old Jocelyn Treaster’s ability to walk.
Loved ones said the Hutchinson High School freshman enjoyed cheering on the Salthawks until the accident at practice landed her in a wheelchair, just as the season began.
Treaster revisited the moments leading up to her traumatic injury.
“There were two flyers on the flipping in the air, so [a teammate] came down and landed on my head,” Treaster shared. “And the stunt group behind me was too close to me because they were behind us, and [another teammate] came down and slammed her foot right into the back of my head.”
Treaster said she knew that something was seriously wrong after she took back-to-back hits to the head.
“My coaches came over and they were just asking like what was wrong and stuff, like, ‘What happened?’” And I was trying to tell them, but I was in too much pain,” Treaster said.
Treaster went home shortly after an athletic trainer assessed her, but Treaster’s mother, Cassie Ceniti, said she could tell that something wasn’t right.
“Our house is basically five minutes from the high school, and so by the time I got her to the house, in that five minutes, she could no longer walk,” Ceniti said.
Treaster was rushed to the hospital, where she spent three days undergoing tests and treatments. The teen spent weeks seeing concussion specialists, physical therapists, and a chiropractor, trying to regain full mobility.
More than a month after the accident, Treaster said she also noticed something while sitting at a Wednesday night church service.
“All of a sudden, just no feeling,” she said.
Ceniti recalled the text messages she received from her daughter.
“She’s like, ‘Mom, I can’t walk,’ or, ‘I can’t feel my legs, I can’t feel the vibration in my legs from the music, but I can feel it in my chest,’” the mother said. “And I was like, ‘We need to go, we need to go get her.’”
From a Wichita hospital, Treaster was flown to Children’s Mercy.
Ceniti said she “immediately broke down.”
“I’m like, this is serious because it could mean she never walks again, possibly,” the mother said.
According to Ceniti, she feels that the school should have taken more safety measures for her daughter and the cheer team.
“Injuries are going to happen with any sport you’re in. It’s inevitable, but I sent my daughter to school walking, and I got my daughter back, not walking. It’s not something that a parent wants to have to go through.
Treaster’s stepfather, Travis Ceniti, said the family thinks that “some things could have been done [differently].”
“We want to make sure that the policies were done right,” he said.
Among the family’s safety-related concerns is the question of whether floor mats were required during practice.
The Kansas State High School Activities Association permits cheerleaders to perform stunts on a gym floor without a mat, as long as the lights in the gym are on and a coach is present.
The Hutchinson High School has not immediately responded with questions about its precautions.
Treaster and her family are focused on what could be a long road to recovery. The high school freshman said she would like to start back cheering next year.
There is a GoFundMe established to help Treaster and the family with medical bills and travel expenses.