“Set a Goal and CHASE it . . . ” A Patient’s Courage To Pursue His Dream

June 30, 2016 by Patient Stories in category Patient Stories with 0 and 2

Written by Chase Clark

Horse racing has been in my family for generations. Every year there are two prestigious horse races: the Kentucky Derby and the All American Futurity. Ever since I can remember, my dream was to be one of these equine (horse) athletes. Little did I know, the road to get there would not be easy.

A few months after I was born, my parents noticed that my head was growing faster than my body, so they took me to Primary Children’s Hospital. Here we met Dr. Brockmeyer, who went to work with his team performing tests to figure out what was wrong. The tests showed that I had hydrocephalus, meaning I had excess water on my brain. Shortly after the first of many surgeries to fix this syndrome, we learned that I had a second syndrome called Dandy-Walker Syndrome. This resulted in a cyst on my spinal cord that required yet another surgery.

During this time, my dad was training at Los Alamitos race course where I became buddies with two jockeys, Cody Jensen and the late Sam Thompson. My interactions with these two made my dream of becoming a jockey spread like wild fire. As I watched them overcome adversities and recover from injuries, I thought, “Well if they can get injured and ride again, I can too.”

At the time it seemed out of reach, but my support group was phenomenal. Surgeries and school started to make life problematic, which led to Amy Jensen (Cody’s wife) helping me through school and other obstacles.

Many years and surgeries later, I asked Dr. Brockmeyer what my odds were of becoming a jockey. He told me that as long as my body lets me and I have the best safety equipment we could give it a shot. Dr. Brockmeyer always told me that I could do anything, which kept my dream alive.

After a long journey, my dream finally became reality. Now I’m a professional stakes-winning jockey living my dream every day. Without the wonderful doctors at Primary Children’s Hospital and a wonderful family and support group, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

To everyone out there going through similar life-changing surgeries and procedures, my advice is to set a goal. No matter how crazy it may seem at the time, if you set a goal and CHASE it, it will make your journey easier to navigate. We may look different or think that our syndromes hold us back, but they don’t. Just remember that you’re the pilot to your body and mind, not the co-pilot.