Jump jockey winning his race for life after cheating death in fall

BRIAN Toomey, the North Yorkshire jump jockey who cheated death earlier this year, appears to have cleared another obstacle in his remarkable race for life.
Brian Toomey at the yard of Kevin Ryan at Hanbleton near Thirsk. Picture: Tony BartholomewBrian Toomey at the yard of Kevin Ryan at Hanbleton near Thirsk. Picture: Tony Bartholomew
Brian Toomey at the yard of Kevin Ryan at Hanbleton near Thirsk. Picture: Tony Bartholomew

The 24-year-old underwent successful surgery on Tuesday to have a metal plate inserted onto the right hand side of his skull in order to protect his brain.

The operation, undertaken at James Cook Hospital, Middlesbrough, came four months after the rider suffered life-threatening injuries in a fall at Perth.

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Surgeons had to cut away a large part of Mr Toomey’s skull in order to minimise the swelling to his brain, and his family, including his girlfriend Amy Ryan, Flat racing’s 2012 champion apprentice, were told to prepare for the worst.

In a humbling interview in today’s Yorkshire Post, the rider reveals the extent of his gratitude to his weighing room colleagues – including the record-breaking 18-times champion jockey AP McCoy – who helped maintain a bedside vigil during his darkest days in a medically-induced coma.

He also gives his full backing to the Injured Jockeys Fund which is about to begin building work on a £3.5m rehabilitation centre in Malton which will be named in honour of the charity’s tireless fundraiser Jack Berry.

Mr Toomey now accepts that he will never race again – he says the British Horseracing Authority’s medical supremo Dr Michael Turner will not sanction a medical licence – but he is slowly realising that he is lucky to be alive.

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Speaking before his operation, he said: “When I get the plate put in it will put my family at ease because it will make me safer.

“If I tripped over at the moment I would be in a bit of bother because there is nothing there to protect the brain. It will be another bridge crossed. I want to thank everyone who has wished me well and to let them know that I am coming along really well.”

My 15 weeks in hospital: Page 11; Comment: Page 12.