The special bond that often exists between humans and animals is undisputable, frequently therapeutic, and always endearing.

According to information from the American Veterinary Medicine Association, “The human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviors essential to the health and wellbeing of both.”

And while studies have been conducted for years looking into this phenomenon, perhaps no one knows how special these bonds can be better than Aubrey Jones, a 13-year-old student from Bourbon County. Having grown up around animals on the farm, she understands the experience firsthand.

“I've been on the farm ever since I can remember and the animals have been a big part of my life,” she said. “But my ponies are probably my favorite along with my show heifer, Frosty.” 

Aubrey, the daughter of Lindsey and Jay Rankin, and Mike Jones, has a real love for her animals, especially her ponies, Shadow and Roxy. And she admits taking care of all the animals on the farm can be hard work.

But it was an experience she had a few years ago that proved to be her toughest battle, not only for her but her entire family.

While still in elementary school, she began to have pains in her shin; growing pains she thought, as did her family doctor, whom she visited when the pain did not go away.  

“I remember going to the nurse's office at school all the time complaining about it,” Aubrey explained. “They'd just give me an ice pack. But there were days I would just cry in class it hurt so bad.”

That prompted her family doctor to investigate further with X-rays and blood work, all leading to Aubrey going to a specialist in Louisville.  

The news they received after all the testing was not good. Aubrey was diagnosed with Ewing’ sarcoma, a bone and muscle type of cancer often striking children and teens.  

Lindsey Rankin, upon hearing the news, thought there must be some mistake.

“We thought they were wrong; that this couldn’t be,” she said. “You never think that it will be your child. You just never think it'll happen to you.”

Lindsey added that when Aubrey started with the pain in her shin, her first thought was growing pains, as well, but when she began to limp, that’s when they sought help from their family doctor.

“He sent us to an orthopedist in Louisville who X-rayed her, and that's when they found it,” she said. “The tumor had grown so large in her femur that it had burst her bone.”

Aubrey remembers well finding out the news not fully understanding what was happening.

“We got a phone call later after all the testing that night and he told my mom and stepdad the news,” she said. “I’m not even sure I knew what cancer was. I thought I would be going to school the next day with just crutches or something like that.”

Aubrey said looking back, she thinks it was a blessing to not understand what cancer was all about once she found out.

“I think I would've been a little bit more freaked out,” she said.

Aubrey soon began treatment that included months of chemotherapy. Ironically, as hard as chemo treatments can be, she said the pain went away after the very first one. Her treatment also included multiple surgeries that would remove most of the muscle in her leg and replace the bone with a metal rod.

“I remember counting each chemo treatment thinking we were one step closer to getting finished,” Lindsey said. “We were taking it one day at a time.”

Of all the recovery efforts taking place, Aubrey said it was the IV port that was used to administer medicine or take blood that hurt the most. Otherwise, she said she wasn’t scared about anything.

Instead, Aubrey would focus on the farm and her ponies. The road to recovery would prove to be a long one filled with days of using a walker or sitting in a wheelchair. And there were those times Aubrey had doubts about riding again. But that did not deter her from looking to the future.

“I think, the whole time that I had cancer, my biggest concern was getting back up on my horse,” she said. “That was one of the first questions that I asked when I could barely walk. I knew it was going to be hard and it would take some time, but it’s all I could think about and I think that if you set your mind to doing something, no matter how hard it is, you can do it.”

The day would come when Aubrey finally returned to the saddle. She admitted it was scary at first, but she could sense her pony Shadow understood the situation.

“It was amazing,” she said. “I was scared a little bit. I'm not going to lie. But I was happy, and I think Shadow was happy, too.”

Aubrey and her family feel as though the horses played a major role in her recovery and therapy.

“The doctors even said that the horses were good therapy,” she said. “I was just so excited to be able to ride again.”

Aubrey will always have the memories of cancer and what she had to go through to recover. She now has a visible limp but a more visible smile. And her most memorable experience through it all centered around the farm and two horses that proved to be the best medicine of all.

“I’ll be a freshman in high school next year and I would like to join the FFA chapter, but I feel like I learn more behind a horse's ears than anywhere,” she said. “And in the future, I think I would like to barrel race…but I haven’t told my parents yet!”

After all she’s been through, barrel racing would be no big thing and there is likely nothing she can’t do.