"They Told Me They Thought I Was Dead"
Chronicling the return of Richie Silverman to pari-mutuel racing, The New York Times recently profiled the 46-year-old horseman, who commented on the Meadowlands situation and reflected on the gut-turning accident
which knocked him out of action last summer.
On June 18, 2010 at the Meadowlands, with his wife and children in attendance, Silverman was involved in a multi-horse accident which left him with a pair of broken ankles and a severe concussion, which led to an induced coma.
In the article, Silverman explained that he was told he was launched 20 feet up in the air before landing on a fallen horse and having his sulky then land on top of him.
“They told me they thought I was dead,” he was quoted as saying in the The New York Times article.
After the accident, Silverman was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center, where he would stay for five days. He was then transferred to CareOne for rehabilitation, where he stayed for 17 days.
On December 30, 2010, Silverman returned to charted racing when he drove in 10 qualifying dashes at the Meadowlands. He made his pari-mutuel return to the track Saturday, January 8 at 'The Big M.'
Prior to racing on Saturday, Silverman returned to CareOne to give thanks to the facility which helped kick off his rehab.
"I still can't believe he's racing," CareOne Occupational Therapist Devon Tomasovich was quoted as saying in an article by the Asbury Park Press.
"I can't tell you how helpful you were, the whole place," Silverman told Tomasovich.
The New York Times quoted Silverman as saying that he pondered his future in horse racing when he started the road back.
“The first two months of my rehab I was balancing this in my head, whether I wanted to come back. I didn’t know if I wanted my wife and children to ever see something like that again. But I love driving and the thrill of winning. If I was in the position where today I could train 30 horses, make a nice living, I would give up driving. But I’m not in that position. I still have to provide for my family.”
In regard to the Meadowlands, Silverman said, it's “the Yankee Stadium of harness racing.” He went on to state that he “never thought there was going to be the day when anyone would ever think about closing the Meadowlands. To me, it’s devastating.”
(With files from The New York Times and Asbury Park Press)
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