ONE of the world’s leading jockeys has revealed she has to Google herself to remind her who she is – after a devastating fall turned her brain to mush.
Jamie Kah swept all before her on the Australian racing circuit.
Kah suffered a horrendous injury that left her unable to remember who she was – until she Googled herself
The trailblazing female jockey was speared into the turf and suffered a catalogue of horrific injuries
The pin-up girl of the sport riding the best horses in the best races, she has almost 1,200 career wins and more than £36million in prize money.
But a horror fall at Flemington racecourse last March changed her life.
Kah was shown being wheeled into the back of an ambulance before being rushed off to hospital and placed in a coma.
Her injuries were massive, including a broken foot, wrist, collarbone, ribs, finger and nose.
But it was the damage to her brain that was most concerning.
She suffered bleeding to the brain and simply would not come round when doctors tried to wake her.
When she did she woke up a different person.
Kah told Channel 7: “I woke up in hospital thinking I was 18 years old and that I lived in Adelaide again.
“I kept saying my address, which was my old address from back home in Adelaide.
“I could remember that, but they told me it was wrong, but I couldn’t remember where I lived.
“I started to Google myself to put all the pieces together. It was like some sort of a movie.
“I couldn’t remember how old I was, so I wrote my name and Google told me, I’m like, ‘Oh, 27, not 18. There we go’.
“Lots of things came back after I Googled myself. I could see articles about what had happened in the race fall.
“I didn’t know what had happened to me so I started reading about it.
“I had worked out I was in hospital because I’d fallen off a horse but I had to find out what had actually happened.
“My vision wasn’t good at the start. I couldn’t see anything, and I kept walking into walls.
“When I woke up, I couldn’t remember who dad was, or really who I was, then there were some concerns.
“The doctors told me there was a scale between three to 15, and three was the worst.
“I was three.”
Kah’s boyfriend and fellow jockey Ben Melham stayed by her side through her recovery.
But it was a rare trip outside to see one of her favourite horses that really made her feel better.
Alongside a photo of her posing alongside her horse Brax, Kah wrote: “Seeing Brax today was the best thing for me and my mushy brain.
“It’s the only thing that has helped. Can’t thank everyone for all their nice words and thoughts, you’ve been amazing.
“I have the best parents that care so much and @benmelham you’ve gone above and beyond for me. I’m a very lucky girl.”
Kah was thankful to jockey boyfriend Ben for helping her through her ordeal
