Posted by fashion imagers on 3:49 AM |
One of eight circus acrobats who plunged to the ground during a hair-hanging act says she wants to get back in the ring, and she's hopeful her fellow acrobats will someday return with her. But the medical team treating them said Wednesday that two have spinal cord injuries, and only time will tell if they can ever walk again, let alone perform.
"I'm hoping to join back up with the tour and show the world that I'm OK, and I'm hoping some of the other girls will do the same," Samantha Pitard told The Associated Press after being released from a hospital Tuesday.
Pitard and seven other acrobats were performing an act described as a "human chandelier," hanging from an apparatus by their hair during a Sunday performance of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus, when a clip at the top of the apparatus snapped, dropping them about 20 feet to the ground.
The other women remained at Rhode Island Hospital, where a dancer on the ground who was injured was treated and released Sunday. Several acrobats were still in intensive care, with injuries that included a laceration to the liver, broken bones and joints, and spinal fractures.
Neurosurgeon Adetokunbo Oyelese said the two most seriously injured can feel their legs but move them only minimally. While he is hopeful they will walk again, it could take one to two years before they do.
