Mercina, 18, is happiest when she’s in the saddle. The New Jersey teen competes across the state and country in barrel racing and breakaway roping with Cracker Jack, the horse she calls her teammate. She has also competed in lacrosse, danced and played percussion in her high school symphonic band.

“She is incredibly independent and determined when she sets her mind to something,” her mom, Gigi, says.

For the past few years, Mercina has drawn upon that determination as she faced an unexpected diagnosis of os odontoideum, a condition that causes instability in the upper neck and can put pressure on the spinal cord. The diagnosis could have ended her horse-riding aspirations. But thanks to a multidisciplinary team at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), she successfully navigated major spine surgery, a careful recovery and a return to the sport she loves, with award-winning results.

Early symptoms lead the family to seek answers

Mercina's symptoms were slow to surface. Once, when she was around 7, she briefly lost feeling in her legs while doing an acrobatic roll, but the sensation passed quickly. A similar episode occurred several years later, and once again she recovered and moved on.

Then, during a rodeo in October 2023, Mercina tripped while competing in goat tying and fell hard. Afterward, she told Gigi that the back of her neck felt strange when she looked down. This time, the family sought answers.

In January 2024, they visited an orthopedist at CHOP’s Specialty Care Center in Mays Landing. An X-ray raised concerns, prompting a CT scan and referral to a CHOP spine specialist.

CHOP spine and neurosurgery experts create a treatment plan

Mercina and her parents met with CHOP orthopedic surgeon Jason B. Anari, MD, and pediatric neurosurgeon Alexander Tucker, MD, who diagnosed her with os odontoideum. The second cervical vertebra in her neck had a peg-shaped part that didn’t connect to the rest of the bone, causing instability around the neck and skull and compressing the spinal cord. 

For someone who rides horses and risks hard falls while competing, the condition could significantly increase the risk of spinal cord injury. Until it was addressed, Mercina had to stop riding.

“At the time, she was ranked second in the state for barrel racing,” Gigi says. “So this was hard to hear. She was crying.”

Drs. Anari and Tucker recommended surgery to fuse the top two C1 and C2 vertebrae, stabilizing her neck. For Gigi, the doctors’ combined expertise in spinal orthopedics and neurosurgery brought reassurance during a frightening time.

“I got this confidence from them,” she says. “They showed us the images, explained everything in detail. And they talked to her, not just us, asking if she had questions.”

Dedication during recovery from neck fusion surgery 

The team scheduled surgery for May 2024, giving Mercina the summer to recover. She had two goals: return to competitive riding and dance at her older brother’s wedding that September. Dr. Anari assured her both were possible if she followed her recovery plan.

The surgery was a success, and Mercina returned home wearing a neck brace. She approached recovery with the same discipline she brought to rodeo competitions.

“When Mercina ate spaghetti, we tucked tea towels around the brace to keep it clean,” Gigi says with a laugh. “She followed the instructions to a T, and then some.”

Returning to rodeo competition after spine surgery

About three months after surgery, imaging showed Mercina was healing well, and Drs. Anari and Tucker cleared her to gradually resume riding. Their reassurance helped her trust that her neck was now more stable than before surgery.

Shortly after her return, Cracker Jack startled at the sound of a crumpling water bottle and bucked Mercina into the air. She fell, stood up and immediately realized her neck felt fine.

“After that, she never looked back,” Gigi says.

Mercina returned to competition by the end of summer 2024. She also danced at her brother’s wedding, just as she had hoped.

In 2025, she qualified for the National High School Finals Rodeo in breakaway roping. Then, in May 2026, nearly two years after surgery, she achieved a long-awaited goal: becoming the New Jersey High School Rodeo Association’s state champion in breakaway roping.

“Everyone was in tears,” Gigi says. “It was a close competition. She really deserved it.”

After that win, she once again competed in the High School Nationals. At her next CHOP follow-up visit, Mercina proudly showed her state championship belt buckle to Dr. Anari and credited the team with helping make that moment possible.

Now studying accounting in college, Mercina continues to compete in local races and roping events and plans to explore professional rodeo opportunities.

Gigi hopes her daughter’s story offers reassurance to families facing a rare spine diagnosis.

“When you're dealing with anything related to the spine, of course your mind goes to the worst-case scenario,” Gigi says. “But these doctors were so clear, reassuring and confident about what they're doing, it was kind of the magic formula.”