Leading Northern Ireland road racer Jamie Hamilton says he feels as though he has ‘been run over by a bus’ every morning he wakes up in hospital.
The 24-year-old from Ballyclare was critically injured after a 160mph crash in the feature Senior TT on the Isle of Man on June 12, forcing the race to be stopped.
Hamilton was initially treated at Noble’s Hospital in Douglas before being transferred to Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool, where he was in a critical condition for several days.
However, he is now over the worst and is continuing his recovery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
Hamilton sustained a head injury in the crash and multiple fractures to his right arm and leg.
Speaking from his hospital bed, the Cookstown/BE Racing rider told the News Letter: “Whenever I get up in the morning I feel like I’ve been run over by a bus and I’ve got so many aches and pains.
“As far as the arm and leg is concerned my arm got infected two days ago so they took the whole thing apart again, cleaned it all and rebuilt it, so I’m hoping it will improve now.
“As far as the leg goes I’ve a cage on it now and it’ll probably be on there until Christmas or else January. It’s badly broken but I’m lucky that I’m here to tell the tale.
“I’m going to be reasonably fit by the end of the year but right now I just need this time to recover and get better,” he added.
“John Burrows has been great to me. I’d like to think that somewhere down the line I’ll get another chance on his bikes to get some good results and make this whole experience worthwhile.”
Hamilton intends to return to road racing but is happy at the moment to switch off from the sport, even though he couldn’t resist checking on the results of the Southern 100 during the week.
“I had a look to see who won the big bike race at the Southern 100 but to be honest I haven’t been that worried about it. I’m more annoyed about the fact that I wasn’t there myself,” he said.
“I want to race motorbikes again and I honestly believe that once I get this cage off I can get on my pushbike and get some training done and start over.”
Visiting at the hospital is strictly limited only to Jamie’s close friends and family.
He has expressed his gratitude for all the messages of support he has received since the accident.
“I’m grateful for everyone who has sent me good wishes and right now I need to focus on getting better amongst my good friends and family,” he said.
Hamilton finished fifth in the Lightweight TT race on Burrows’ Kawasaki before his ill-fated crash in the Senior race.
