Micky Fitz

Jamie

Jamie

At the Start
Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
252
Location
Birmingham, UK.
Anyone heard anything on his condition?

Was reported on BBC and many press websites he was taken to hospital with suspected spinal injuries. No updates like there was with Tony McCoy, so here's hoping everything is okay with Mick, one of the nicer people in the game. :)
 
He has an injury to his spine and he's having Xrays, news on the BBc just now - but it's from earlier.
Nothing new on the RP site
No word of how serious it is - hope to God he's OK. I think he might retire now, after today and yesterday I think Chloe might stamp her little foot!
 
I do hope Mick is ok :( ...and agree maybe now he will have thoughts about retiring
 
Still nothing, talk about one rule for one and one for another. When McCoy did this it was nationwide press, and yet Fitzgerald is suspected to have a similar injury and no news whatsoever. Terrible!
 
Just reported on Sporting Life...

By Nick Robson, PA Sport

Mick Fitzgerald is reported to be in a "comfortable" position in the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

The 37-year-old was taken to Liverpool's Fazackerley Hospital on Saturday following his fall from L'Ami in the John Smith's Grand National.

Immediate reports suggested the Irishman had suffered spinal injuries and was undergoing further assessment.

Fitzgerald was transferred to Liverpool Royal last night and a hospital spokesman said: "I can tell you he is comfortable and currently undergoing assessment."
 
Originally posted by Jamie@Apr 6 2008, 08:41 AM
Still nothing, talk about one rule for one and one for another. When McCoy did this it was nationwide press, and yet Fitzgerald is suspected to have a similar injury and no news whatsoever. Terrible!
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You are obviously not aware Jamie that a change to the protocol in updating of information on jockey injuries has been introduced recently following an initiative agreed between the Professional Jockeys' Association and the Racecourse Association.

As a result the clerk of the respective course or their representative must call the nominated next of kin within fifteen minutes of an incident where possible. No information other than that agreed shall be given out to other relatives, friends, members of the public or the media.
 
Great news - apparently although Mick is very sore and will probably stay in hospital tonight, and he's having more Xrays, all his moving parts are still moving!

What a relief, the news blackout had me really worried there... :rolleyes:
 
Mick has 8 hour operation

Mick Fitzgerald is reported to be in a "comfortable condition" following surgery on his neck after being injured in a fall in the John Smith's Grand National.

The 37-year-old jump jockey had an eight-hour operation at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Sunday to realign three vertebrae and two discs.

He sustained the injury after being unshipped from L'Ami at the second fence in the big race at Aintree on Saturday.

Professional Jockeys' Association chief executive, Josh Apiaifi, told www.jagb.co.uk: "Mick Fitzgerald underwent an eight-hour operation on Sunday to re-align three vertebrae and two discs in his neck, from the injury he sustained in his fall in the Grand National.

"He is reported to have come through the operation well and also has movement in his limbs.

"He is obviously being closely monitored by the medical team at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital and investigations are also being made into the possibility of him being moved closer to home.

"Chloe, Mick's partner, has spoken to him after the operation and he is in a comfortable condition."
 
Oh my, after the two broken vertabrae he had in the neck before his comeback win on Tragolgan...
I do hope he will call it a day now much tho I'll miss him riding
 
I can't really understand all the calls for Fitzy to hang up his boots. Sure, he's had a nasty fall and a serious injury but it could be argued that plenty of jumps jockeys bounce back after injuries and surgery of similar severity.

Fitzy isn't showing he's past it; in fact he's been riding better than even these past few seasons. He's not too old either and is (or was, before Saturday!) fit and healthy. I'm sure he can recover well from this injury due to his fitness and if he decides to carry on with his career then good luck to him.

There are plenty of other jocks who should be hanging up their boots first, in my opinion!!!!
 
Two x broken necks are not, esp as both of them two vertebrae not just one, either of them ordinary injuries

I can't think of another jock in recent years who has suffered this particular set of problems
One set is a warning - two?? The neck is a very fragile part of the spine, and one more squeeze could leave you not just paralysed but insensible, ie in the brain department

It's got nothing to do with physical fitness whatever
 
Mick Fitzgerald is set to be moved to a hospital in Oxford as he continues to recover from a neck injury sustained in the Grand National.

The 37-year-old rider sustained the damage after being unshipped from L'Ami at the second fence in the big event at Aintree on Saturday, a race he won on Rough Quest in 1996.

Fitzgerald underwent an initial eight-hour operation to realign three vertebrae and two discs at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Sunday and is due to move closer to home before a scheduled second bout of surgery.

"Mick is being moved to a private hospital in Liverpool this evening," read a statement posted on the Professional Jockeys Association's official website, www.thepja.co.uk.

"He is awaiting transfer by either air or road ambulance, hopefully within the next 24 hours, to the Nuffield Hospital in Oxford, where a bed awaits him.

"This move is a result of Mick's partner Chloe Jackman and the PJA's Ann Saunders efforts.

"In the future the PJA's medical advisor, who is currently being recruited and will be funded by Betfair and the Injured Jockeys Fund, will take on this role and ensure when a jockey leaves the racecourse with an injury, they are placed in the best medical hands as well as located safely and in a timely manner to a suitable hospital near to their family
 
Yes, Mick is one of the good guys in racing in my opinion :clap: and an excellent rider, just a pity L'ami fell as I had a 50/1 winner coupled with it. :(
 
Maybe HRA guidelines and restrictions will be tightened concerning jocks returning from spinal injuries?

Hope Fitz is okay. He will be missed if he has to quit.
 
They're pretty tight already - so if the medics clear him, and the HRA grant him a licence, if Fitzy wants to continue riding then good luck to him in my opinion.

Remember they refused Charlie Mann and only recently they have turned down Pigeon Farrant's application to ride again.
 
Mick has his 2nd neck operation on Monday according to The Morning Line. Brendan Powell was due to go and see him so if I hear anything else I will let you know.
 
I have to admit, I am really pleased that news is getting out about Mick Fitzgerald and how he is progressing. I was worried there would be a news black out until after his next operation. Really pleased the press is being kept updated especially as so far, the news has been pretty positive although another big operation for him on Monday. :brows:

Losing Fitzgerald would be like losing my right arm - Henderson
by Lee Mottershead and Rodney Masters

NICKY HENDERSON on Saturday welcomed Mick Fitgerald's desire to resume his riding career by saying that losing his injured stable jockey's services would be akin to "having my right arm chopped off".

Henderson was speaking two days after visiting Fitzgerald in Oxford's Nuffield Hospital, where the 37-year-old is set to undergo a lengthy operation on Monday, in which orthopaedic surgeon Jeremy Fairbanks will concentrate on the neck injury the rider sustained in his Grand National fall from L'Ami.

Fitzgerald, who will also have a knee operated on during surgery, insisted that "retirement is the furthest thing from my mind".

>>John Francome knows all about the high risk associated with life as a jump jockey, which makes him perfectly qualified to proclaim Mick Fitzgerald as superhuman in the wake of his Grand National fall last weekend.

The former champion was one of Fitzgerald's first visitors following his transfer to the Nuffield Hospital in Oxford, where the 37-year-old is due to undergo further surgery on Monday.

Francome said: “Mick must be as tough as nails. He has had a rough time of it with eight hours of surgery to his neck, plus injuries to a knee and bruised ribs, but when I arrived at the hospital I found him sittingup in a chair and in really good spirits. It was great to see him looking so good.” Fitzgerald will need to be resilient because he now faces up to a further five hours of surgery.

His initial session of surgery to realign three vertebrae and two discs in his neck came 24 hours after the second-fence fall from L'Ami, and was carried out at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

One of his closest friends, Carl Llewellyn, said they did not even discuss whether he would return to raceriding during a visit on Thursday evening.

“We didn't mention it, because there are other things to think about in the short term. He has a metal ‘halo' fitted to his head to support the neck, but that didn't stop him taking a few steps around the bed. Up to Wednesday night he hadn't eaten since the fall, but he looked in good shape – he had some colour in his face, which is unusual for him!”

Other hospital visitors included Dominic Elsworth.

While his number one jockey is sidelined, Henderson will engage the regulars who ride out at Seven Barrows. He said: “Andrew Tinkler had a couple of winners for us at Liverpool, Marcus Foley is due back from injury next week and our conditional jockey, Felix de Giles, is in great form.”
 
Reports in The Racing Post sound as if Mick is in good spirits, especially as he has been able to see his two young boys and his partner, Chloe since he moved to The Nuffield Hospital.

Mick has a major five hour operation today on his neck and on his knee. Fingers crossed all goes to plan.
 
Originally posted by Kathy@Apr 14 2008, 08:26 AM
Reports in The Racing Post sound as if Mick is in good spirits, especially as he has been able to see his two young boys and his partner, Chloe since he moved to The Nuffield Hospital.

Mick has a major five hour operation today on his neck and on his knee. Fingers crossed all goes to plan.
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I would echo those sentiments..Get well soon Fitzy. :clap:
 
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