He may not have broken anything during a scary spill yesterday during the qualifying session at Truro Raceway, but doctors have told horseman Shawn Dixon
that he may as well have.
After having been catapulted from his racebike during the first of two qualifying dashes at the half-mile oval, Dixon has been told by doctors that the injury he suffered brings as much pain as a broken bone in the same area would.
"I was following in behind some horses when the one two in front of me (Lexis Miracle, driven by Ben Hollingsworth) just fell to the track," Dixon, 49, explained to Trot Insider. "I was able to get my horse clear, but I caught his wheel as I was going by and I just got slingshotted to the track."
Hitting the track headfirst -- which subsequently cracked his helmet -- Dixon then slammed to the track directly on his tailbone. Besides his helmet, tailbone, back and neck, Dixon's equipment also took a beating, as his racebike and harness also sustained a great deal of damage.
Dixon was taken to Colchester Regional Hospital where x-rays proved to be somewhat inconclusive. Afterward, a CAT Scan on Dixon's back showed that the horseman suffered severe bruising to his tailbone.
"The doctors told me that the pain I'm feeling now and in the future is at least the same as what I would be feeling if I broke my tailbone, if not worse," Dixon explained.
Dixon said that doctors have told him that he will be missing significant time from the sulky and racebike, at least a couple of months, in order for the injury to heal properly.
"Uncomfortable would be quite an understatement," the swollen Dixon said.
Please join Standardbred Canada in wishing Shawn Dixon a speedy and full recovery.