| ||
 JACKY
MARTIN: Jockey will have pacemaker implanted in diaphragmBy PETE HERRERA for SureBet Sunland Park, NM - Feb. 15, 2012 - Paralyzed quarter horse jockey Jacky Martin will have surgery this week in Houston in an effort by doctors to improve his ability to breathe more easily. Jacky’s wife, Tracey, told SureBet Racing News on Monday that doctors will insert a diaphragmatic pacemaker in hopes it will help him breathe on his own, even if it’s for short periods of time. Currently, Jacky remains on a respirator. The Hall of Fame rider and winner of seven All American Futurities suffered a broken neck in a spill on Sept. 2, 2011, at Ruidoso Downs. The accident occurred just days before Martin was to ride the favorite and eventual winner, Ochoa, in the $2.4 million futurity last Labor Day. The diaphragmatic pacemaker is used in medicine as a surgically implanted device to help patients breathe following complications from spinal cord injuries. The device works through pacing of the diaphragm. The pacemaker helps patients with their breathing by setting the respiratory rate by electrical stimulation (pacing) of the phrenic nerve. The pacing is done through the use of electrodes which are implanted into the diaphragm, which is controlled by the phrenic nerve. The procedure was first approved in Europe and in the United States in 2008. It is used in patients with injuries that cut across the cervical spinal cord high in the neck and result in paralysis of all four limbs and respiratory failure that requires constant mechanical ventilatory support. Martin sustained three cervical cracks that caused paralysis from the neck down. Jacky has undergone numerous medical procedures and tests in the months since the accident. He and Tracey are currently living near the Sunland Park racetrack. ``The optimal thing is to rebuild the muscles in his diaphragm so he might be able to breathe on his own,’’ Tracey told SureBet. ``But even if its four hours on the pacer and four hours (on the ventilator), it would still be a better quality of life.’’ Tracey said Jacky was able to breathe on his own for 2 ˝ days after the accident before complications set in. She remains hopeful that Jacky will eventually be able to breathe on his own. ``I believe as long as his lungs are clean and strong, I believe it’s going to be a matter of enough exercise,’’ she said. ``Something is getting through there. There is some sort of electrical activity going on.’’ Sunland Park is conducting a somewhat unique fund-raising event for Jacky this month that began on Feb. 10 and will run through Feb. 26. Sunland is asking its bettors to place a wager or any type of donation for Martin into barrels located throughout the track. Wagers placed can be of any denomination and from any track. Proceeds from winning tickets will go to the Martins. Also, monetary donations can be sent directly to the Jacky Martin-Tracey Martin Special Account, at the Ft. Gibson State Bank (P.O. Box 130) in Ft. Gibson, Oklahoma (74434). The fund-raiser at Sunland will include a special race in Jacky’s honor on Feb. 26. This is not the first time Sunland and general manager Harold Payne have stepped up to help the Martins. Tracey said one of Sunland’s technical employees spent numerous hours putting together information from the many MRIs and CT Scans Jacky underwent in the days following the accident, so that she could seek additional medical opinions. Once the information was compiled on several discs, Sunland paid the airfare to have the information flown to California so doctors there could review it. ``It is a wonderful thing,’’ Tracey said of the latest fund-raiser by Sunland. ``Harold is a very generous man.’’ Jacky Martin video interview | ||
|
|
