23 January 2023 , 14:08
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A 21-year-old jockey who was seriously injured in a New Year’s Day race riding accident has been told her chances of regaining any feeling in her legs are “zero percent”.
Joree Scriver suffered lower limb paralysis when the horse she was riding fell during a six furlong claiming race at Sunland Park in New Mexico.
She was taken to hospital where she underwent surgery on six fractured vertebrae. She also sustained multiple rib fractures, punctured lung, broken nose and face fracture.
She has since been transferred to Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, one of the top rehabilitation centres for patients with neuro and spinal injuries in the US.
“She hasn’t had any feeling or motion in her legs,” her sister Nicole West told the DRF.com. “She remains paralysed right now.”
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She said doctors had advised Scriver there was “zero percent” of recovering feeling in her legs, but added, “It’s not impossible. Miracles happen.”
Scriver started riding in 2019 and enjoyed her best year in 2021 when she rode 77 winners. She rode 66 winners last year.
A week after the accident, she had reported feeling a tingling sensation in both legs but recalled little about what happened.
“All I remember is my horse's head went down, and I went down,” Scriver told Thoroughbred Daily News. “I don't remember going down, but I remember seeing my horse's head dip down.
“I remember being in the ambulance. And then going for surgery, I remember them putting on that breathing mask thing that makes you go to sleep. And that was it. Then I was out of it.”