KINGSTON, Jamaica - Following her visit to a nephrologist (doctor specialising in diseases of the kidney) at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) on January 14, popular female apprentice jockey Samantha Fletcher says she is doing much better.
Fletcher, who is now resting at home, is eager to put her feet in the stirrups as soon as possible.
“I am feeling much better than before. I am recovering well, and I am doing everything that the doctor has asked me to do, but to tell the truth, I miss riding, I want to mount up again.
“The doctor said that I need at least six weeks of rest for the injuries to heal properly before I can start training again, and I am doing just that right now,” the 27-year-old Fletcher told this website.
Fletcher said that upon her visit to the KPH, it was revealed that she had a cracked rib, which caused her a lot of anxiety.
“Along with the slight damage to my kidney, the doctor said that I had a cracked rib. He didn’t tell me whether it is one rib or more, but he said that after the CT [computerised tomography] scan was done, it showed the crack. The doctor told me that the X-ray did not show this cracked rib,” Fletcher revealed while sounding a bit concerned.
Fletcher then stated emphatically that by no means this is the end to her career as she is determined to get back in the saddle.
“My career is not over. After all, I am not dead. This injury is just a setback as better days are ahead. I don’t know when I will be back, but I am keeping my focus on recovering.
“Again, I say, my task is to get better as quickly as possible, and after that, I will do everything to get fit and ready to ride and continue my career as a jockey.
I love riding horses, I like being around them, and I like riding in a race and, of course, winning as often as possible,” Fletcher said.
On December 26, 2019, Fletcher, who was aboard a two-year-old during the regular exercise period, fell from the young horse and was kicked in the side.
“I fell from my mount, and him [horse] came around on me and kicked me in my side. When the horse dropped me, I landed on my feet, but because I know that when horses drop you, they intend to kick you, so knowing that I tried to pull around his head so that his bottom could go around a bit so that I could run under the rails, but that didn’t work for me. If I had dropped and let go of the reins, he would have kicked me straight in the head,” she said.
Fletcher was then transported to the Spanish Town Hospital in the racetrack ambulance suffering from severe pain, especially to her swollen left side.
After reaching the hospital, Fletcher had to endure more than 60 hours of agony at the largest Type B facility in the country before she was given a bed on Saturday evening.
“I had to be sitting down for two nights straight when they said that I should be in bed lying down...they had me sitting there well without any response from anyone at the hospital. It was down in the evening hours I got a bed and treatment,” she said.
“To be honest, when I got the bed in the holding area I was treated good...I got better treatment, but overall I felt disrespected.”
Since she started her career on September 29, 2018, Fletcher has ridden 10 winners from 237 mounts.
