Emotional Graham Lee on the brutal reality of his life since being paralysed
Irish jockey Graham Lee has given an emotional insight into how challenging his life now is following life-changing injuries in a racecourse fall.
The 49-year-old from Galway city was a hugely successful rider, winning both the Grand National and Ascot Gold Cup, but was left paralysed from the neck down after an incident at Newcastle in 2023.
Lee sustained a cervical fracture which damaged his spinal cord when he came off his horse exiting the stalls and has needed 24 hour care since.
He spent many weeks in intensive care before being moved to a spinal unit and is also a regular visitor to Jack Berry House in Yorkshire, the Injured Jockeys' Fund rehab facility.
Lee, who rode Amberleigh House to win the 2004 Grand National and Trip To Paris to win the Gold Cup in 2015, told the Racing Post: "Don't get me wrong, I know there are people worse off than me, but with my injury, every day is groundhog day.
"Racing can be a very lonely place," he added. "As a jockey, you're permanently hungry, you're doing loads of miles and you have to deal with defeat every day.
'Racing can be tough but when you get something like what happened to me, it comes together like no other sport. I've been humbled by the support and love I've received. I've been blown away by it, to be honest."
Lee revealed he is holding on to a 'glimmer of light' that could put an end to the brutal reality of his life since his horrific fall.
"You think, how am I going to get through today? You see no light at the end of the tunnel. No matter how small the tunnel is, you don't see a glimmer, but then Becks (Lee's wife) found something on Facebook the other day about an operation you can have in China.
"After Jack (Berry) read about it, he said, 'It looks like we're going to China, then'. I wouldn't think it will happen but it's a glimmer of light, a little bit of hope."
Funds are also being raised for the ex-jockey through The Graham Lee Racing Club whose horse We've Got This won for the first time at Redcar on Friday.
Lee rode almost 2,000 winners in a career that saw him transfer from the jumps to the flat but overcame many challenges in the early part of his journey as a jockey.
"I was a very moderate rider who was told, 'You can't and you won't,' but yet I did," says Lee. "I had lots of broken bones and plenty of head injuries along the way but my body always overcame the obstacles. It always healed. This ain't healing.
"That makes me angry at my body, which is probably very unfair because my body is okay, it's just the spinal cord that is broken. I'm angry because in the past my body collapsed but then came back. At the minute, there is no coming back.
"When you're a jockey, you always dream of getting on that one horse who will take you to the next level. My situation is the same. I'm hoping and I'm dreaming. That's what keeps us going. I'm just hoping that somewhere, some day, there will be that glimmer of light."
"I am the luckiest man in the world to have the most amazing wife," he said. "Excuse my language but she is my f***ing rock. In Amy and Robbie, I've got two amazing children who are happy, healthy and make me feel incredibly proud and fortunate. Yes, I have to get Becks to scratch my nose or itch my ear, and I probably do her head in, but I'm so lucky to have her."
"I was lucky to have a very good career but, at the end of the day, it means nothing," said Lee. "People say to me, 'Wow, you won the Grand National, you won the Gold Cup.' So what? It means nothing.
"I would give up every winner I ever rode to walk out of this room. If the TV was switched on and I saw Amberleigh House winning the Grand National or Trip To Paris winning the Gold Cup, it would be like watching a totally different person, even though I know it was me.
"I'll be forever thankful for what racing has given us as a family, but at the minute I can't forgive racing for what it has taken away from me. Maybe that's because it's still raw."
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