02 February 2024 , 10:05
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Grand National-winning jockey Graham Lee has been pictured for the first time since he suffered life-changing injuries in a racing fall.
The 48-year-old is seen smiling in a wheelchair alongside three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning trainer Henrietta Knight.
Knight was the latest of a number of friends and colleagues who have been able to visit Lee in James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.
It was posted on X by Lee’s daughter Amy on a special account, which is raising money and awareness of spinal injuries.
She said: “Graham’s had so many familiar faces allowed to see him over the last few weeks… including Henrietta Knight today!
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“These visits have made so much difference to dad’s motivation and help make the days brighter.”
Knight, who recently returned to the training ranks after a career hiatus, drove five hours to visit Lee.
“I was pleasantly surprised by Graham’s ability to talk and discuss things.” she said. “Equally it’s shattering that he can only use his head and neck.
“I thought it was good for the world to know he is still Graham Lee despite his shocking injuries. It was so lovely to see him. I’m so fond of him.”
She added: “I told him it was important to have goals and one of his main ones is to do the London Marathon in a wheelchair to raise money for the Injured Jockeys Fund.
“He is determined to do it and he would have fantastic support. He said what the IJF has done for him was just unbelievable.”
Lee won the 2004 Grand National and was a Cheltenham Festival winner before make a successful switch to the Flat in 2014, winning the Ascot Gold Cup the following year.
In November he suffered an unstable cervical fracture which caused damage to his spinal cord when he was unseated from a horse at the start of a race at Newcastle.
Four days later he underwent surgery at the Royal Victoria Infirmary Hospital in Newcastle to stabilise the fractures and further protect his spinal cord while a tracheostomy was performed to make him more comfortable and improve communication.
He was subsequently moved to the spinal unit at James Cook which is nearer to Lee’s home.
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A established by Amy Lee in support of the IJF has so far raised more than £180,000.