Jockey Page Fuller suffered a transient ischaemic attack (TIA) last week during a race at Fontwell.
She has revealed that the TIA left her blind in one eye when jumping a fence.
The jockey had to pull up her horse Touchthesoul early after just jumping one obstacle, as the 27-year-old struggled to see out of her right eye.
An MRI scan has since revealed that a prior fall during a race she had last month, had cause a tear in the arteries in her neck which consequently lead to a blood clot.
Speaking to the Racing Post, Fuller says: “I jumped off feeling absolutely fine, but then felt a bit funny and couldn’t really see anything on my right side.
“Was down the inside and couldn’t see any of the horses to my right. I looked around and could see then with my left eye, but not my right eye.
“Coming into the fence, my vision went right down and I could only just see it, but, luckily, the horse was a bit of a life-saver and got me over. When I went to pull him up, I realised my right arm was weak and in spasm with pins and needles.”
For now, Fuller is taking time to rehabilitate at the Injured Jockeys Fund’s Oaksey House, however, she has admitted she now has doubts over her long term future as a jockey.
She says: “At the end of the day getting my health right is the priority now.
“Things will depend on how the artery heals.
“It’s going to be a long process, but I’m going to have the right people around me with Oaksey House. I feel confident I haven’t had any significant effects in terms of dexterity, so hopefully I can get back to normal, but you can never take that for granted.
“When you say stroke, it sounds awful because strokes can be awful, but I’m hoping- the way everyone is talking about- I’m at the less-severe end of what it could’ve been.”
