"I'm running out of options"
"I'm running out of options," Jumps jockey Braidon Small told the Warrnambool Standard.
On Wednesday, Braidon will put his faith in the hands of leading neurosurgeon Associate Professor Martin Hunn for a third time.
The neurosurgeon will remove part of a tumour growing inwards and upwards into his brain before undergoing six weeks of intensive radiotherapy treatment one month after the operation.
The father of two said he had no other option but to have the operation and the treatment. Mr Hunn and his medical team have made my wife Amy and me fully aware of what can go wrong in this operation. “Amy and I are aware of the consequences.” Mr Hunn has told us the best they can do is remove 80 per cent of the tumour.”
The tumour, which is growing on the right side of my temporal lobe, urgently needs operating on after he had reviewed MRIs first taken in April 2019." Braidon, who has six plates and 12 screws inserted into his skull following operations in April and December 2019, said he was fortunate the tumour was found.
Braidon hopes to return to the jockeys' room one day but is struggling financially as he has no income coming in to service his mortgage and feed four mouths. Lauren Jackson, wife of former jumps jockey Shane Jackson has set up a GoFundMe campaign to support Braidons family financially.
We wish Braidon the best of luck with his operation on Wednesday. Our thoughts and prayers will be with him.
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