St. Julien, injured in April spill, recovering from spinal-cord surgery

Jockey Marlon St. Julien has taken positive steps - literally - in his recovery from a spinal cord injury in recent days.

St. Julien on Tuesday walked for several steps around the intensive care unit at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, according to Robyn Dean, the wife of St. Julien’s agent, Bobby Dean. Robyn Dean, who has visited St. Julien regularly and kept abreast of medical developments, said doctors stopped St. Julien from walking any farther for fear of doing too much, too soon.

It was the second time St. Julien has gotten up since a breathing tube was removed this past weekend, Robyn Dean said.

In another piece of good news, St. Julien, who had numbness and lack of movement in his lower arms, has recently been able to move all his fingers.

St. Julien, 46, was injured in a one-horse spill at the start of an April 19 race at Prairie Meadows, his home base for the summer. His injury required spinal surgery, and recovery was complicated when he contracted pneumonia. Swelling around the injury site made his condition and recovery prospects difficult to assess, but it now appears St. Julien, a winner of 2,461 races during a career that began in 1989, is making steady progress.

Dean said doctors hope St. Julien will be well enough to be moved from the ICU to a rehabilitation facility this weekend.