And this morning felt like mid-winter. I tossed and turned all night in the worst possible pain. The cold & damp weather seized my hips and spine. The more I struggled with pain the more a migraine added to my terror.By 5.am I was half awake but I couldn't walk steady enough so I went back to bed and didn't wake up until 9.30 am. I suspect those last 4 hours of sleep were the only good sleep I managed to acquire in 24 hours.
These nights dropping below 40 degree's are hard on me physically and emotionally. I am terrified of going through another winter homeless.
No-Name looked at me as though I had lost my ever loving mind feeding him after 9.30 am, when breakfast should be at dawn. Horses are creatures of habit and they don't like their feed times dramatically changing.
It wasn't long before I received a frantic phone call from my grand-daughter about a Weimeranian hybrid puppy who had been injured. I have no idea if the pup has a sliver of wood stuck in her throat, or has been bitten by a snake or spider. But whatever has happened it's pretty bad.
Not being able to contact Becky or Warren I ran to the Lazy J to get some broad spectrum antibiotic for puppies, and get Jan's expert advice. The puppy, Gracie, quickly adopted me and it's more than likely that she will join Rio as my "sidekick."
Jockey Jacky Martin was seriously hurt at the track and his progress seems to be on the hearts and minds of everyone in the horse industry. It must have been bitter sweet that the horse he was scheduled to ride, Ochoa, went on to win the All American under Roy Balidillez. It's time to stop racing 2 years olds and allow them to gain the bone density to sustain the impact of racing on their legs. It's time for some serious re-visitation of standard practices - to save both horses and jockeys.
Jockey Jacky Martin In Critical Condition
Jockey Jacky Martin was placed on a respirator Sunday morning at University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, two days after sustaining neck fractures in a spill at Ruidoso Downs in New Mexico. His wife, Tracey Martin, said he has been diagnosed as a paralyzed from the neck down and at this point there are no surgeries scheduled.
She is in the process of sending copies of his medical records to a handful of doctors around the country in an attempt to “look for other answers.” Her search for further medical opinions has been assisted by R.D. Hubbard, the owner of Ruidoso who is helping to put Tracey Martin in contact with specialists in California.
“Everyone is trying to help,” she said between tearful breakdowns Sunday.
Jacky Martin, 56, was injured in the sixth race Friday, when his mount in the $6,500 maiden claiming sprint for Quarter Horses, Phire Power, fell after the wire and threw the jockey.
“He’s never moved since he hit the racetrack,” Tracey Martin said Sunday.
Tracey Martin said in addition to three neck fractures, she has been told her husband has multiple contusions around his spinal cord. There has been some hope the paralysis will be temporary when the swelling in his back subsides. But, Tracey Martin said doctors have been trying to prepare her for life with a paralyzed spouse.
“We need everybody’s prayers, and we’re going to need everybody’s help somewhere down the road,” she said Sunday.
Jacky Martin on Friday night was airlifted from Lincoln County Medical Center in New Mexico to the El Paso hospital, and as of Sunday he was listed in critical condition, said Tracey Martin.
Jacky Martin will go down in history as one of the greatest Quarter Horse jockeys of all-time. He has won seven runnings of the prestigious All American Futurity, and on Monday had been named to ride the $2.4 million race’s favorite, Ochoa. Martin has compiled a record of nearly 3,000 wins and $46 million in mount earnings since he began riding in 1972. Martin is a member of the Ruidoso Downs Racehorse Hall of Fame.
The only thing left for me to do is to plead to the family members of Robert Huckins to intervene. If that be Michael Huckins, Dr.Kenneth Ogilvie ( Diana Huckins? Dominic Huckins? Malcolm Huckins? ) or Patricia Ogilvie-Huckins. If you would be caring enough, and humane enough to do so, please make your brother, son, cousin return the entire building fund he stole from us so that I can buy a home. I simply can't go on homeless. It is already September 2011 and my nerves are in shambles after over 3 years of hell, that should never have been allowed. I am devastated at the loss of my mother, my career, my home and all I want is what we have paid honest money for - and I beg for your mercy.Today Robert Huckins has his own home...
He also has OUR home.....
He also has a lot of people's money...
And his freedom.
No women should be abused to this degree. I am homeless and I want to see my mum and return to my career, so I won't stop asking if I have to ask every single day until I die. Robert Huckins gave no-one an alternative, so I plead with sincerity for your mercy and intervention.
Without self-confidence we are as babes in the cradle. And how can we generate this imponderable quality, which is yet so invaluable, most quickly? By thinking that other people are inferior to oneself. ~Virginia Woolf
