IT is hard to imagine suffering three fractures in your back, as well as a fractured sternum, ribs, jaw and nose could be a best-case scenario.
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But that's the way Port Macquarie jockey Andrew Adkins preferred to look at it as he recovers from a horror fall at Royal Randwick Racecourse a fortnight ago.
The 21-year-old was approaching the finish line in the opening race of the day on April 13 when the horse in front of him "moved out a little bit".
As a result, fellow jockey Glyn Schofield was also thrown from the saddle.
"We just got a little bit restricted for room," Adkins recalled.
"The horse next to me fell and I didn't have anywhere to go so I went straight over the top, my horse came down and that was about it.
"I fell and (the horse) sort of ran over me when it got up and got running."
It was Adkins' first significant fall in a career spanning six years, including four years as an apprentice and the last 18 months as a professional.
A rough estimate would take his race tally towards the thousands.
"I'm lucky to have gotten away with (not falling) for that long," he said.
While the injuries were severe, Adkins knows it could have been a lot worse and came with the territory of being a jockey.
"When you're a jockey it's about when you fall, not if; it comes with a licence," he said.
"The way I fell and the way it turned out I'm very lucky."
Initial forecasts were a three-month rehabilitation process, but it hasn't stopped him from earmarking a return to the saddle once his bones have healed.
He didn't feel there would be any second-guessing once the green light was given to return.
"It's always going to be in the back of your head before you fall or after you fall because it's a known thing and part of the job and what you don't want to happen," he said.
"You always think about it, but (returning) won't affect me at all."
Adkins admitted the last two weeks had been a challenge as he became familiar with Call of Duty on the PlayStation.
"I've just been sitting around not doing much at all," he said.
"I've gone and had a few coffees here and there, a few breakfast's and played the PlayStation, watched tv and movies, that's about all I can do.
"I've got to sit back, let it all heal and I don't want to be rushing back with those sort of injuries until I get the hundred percent all-clear."
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