Silva Martin and Rose Cha W. Photo by Samantha Clark.
We just received confirmation from Boyd Martin that his wife Silva has been hospitalized following a freak accident this morning at her winter base in Wellington. Silva was teaching a lesson on horseback when the horse tripped and fell on her. She was wearing a helmet, but was knocked unconscious and suffered a seizure. Her working students quickly sprung into action, and Silva was flown by helicopter to Delray Medical Center. Boyd said she has been drifting in and out of consciousness since then, and there is bleeding and swelling on her brain. She is currently having trouble moving her left arm and leg.
As bad it sounds, Boyd said the doctors are optimistic that it might just be a severe concussion, as opposed to a more serious head injury. Silva is in the intensive care unit in the hospital, where she is listed in stable condition. Boyd, who is scheduled to ride five horses at Red Hills starting tomorrow, started driving south as soon as he learned of the accident, and he’s still a couple hours away from being able to see her at this point. Phillip Dutton has already offered to ride some of Boyd’s horses if he ends up staying in the hospital with Silva. Boyd said he’ll wait to make that call after he’s able to speak with the doctors.
It goes without saying that we’re all very worried for Silva and are sending her our very best wishes for a quick and full recovery. At this point, the doctors said it is too soon to know if she will suffer any longterm effects from the accident. Boyd wanted me to say that her helmet very obviously prevented this from being a much more serious injury. We will continue to keep you updated on Silva’s condition. In the meantime, please leave her a get-well message on her Facebook page.
